Review: The Wild Wood by Charles de Lint

Winter is coming to the Canadian woods. An artist tries to work on her paintings, but strange images sneak into her paintings. She becomes afraid and wants to flee. The Wild Wood by Charles de Lint is a Contemporary Fantasy, reprinted in trade paperback ten years after its first publication. The book is interesting to readers due to its realistic characters, contrasting setting and fairy tale plot.

Mr. de Lint provides realistic characters to keep the book interesting. Eithnie is an artist that has lost some life to her paintings. She retreats to her cabin in order to get a grasp on the problem and refresh herself. In her retreat, she is confronted by fantastic elements intruding into her life. Strange images find their way into her drawings which sparks a crisis in Eithnie of believing she is going insane as well as dredging up other tragic memories. Other characters like her supportive cousin, her friends in Arizona and the enigmatic Joe help her deal with the crisis. This leaves readers with a strong, sympathetic understanding of Eithnie's plight.

Next, the author provides a contrasting setting that brings the fantasy elements to life. Most of the story is set in a small cabin in a Canadian forest with winter coming. There is a dying wood with a marsh near the cabin. The fairy creatures are natural forest spirits. Contrast comes in with the descriptions of the southwestern desert. Saguaro cacti are described as wise old spirits. The desert is a calm, ancient place that is soothing to troubled people. Mr. de Lint uses vivid descriptions of the setting to make the story more immediate.

In the end, the fairy tale plot gives the book its greatest strength. The story begins with the main character, Eithnie, encountering strange creatures appearing in her art and near her cabin. Terrified, she flees to her friends living in the desert. While there, she gains some perspective on her problems. When she returns home, Eithnie faces more encounters with the fairy creatures, which bring up memories of a tragedy earlier in her life. This tragedy is paralleled by what is happening to the fairy creatures at the same time. The author brings this fairy tale set in our modern world to a satisfying conclusion with his perceptive weaving of the plot elements.

Readers will find The Wild Wood by Charles de Lint an appealing Contemporary Fantasy. Its fairy tale plot, contrasting setting and realistic characters makes the book interesting. Reprinted after ten years, the book is a nice addition to Charles de Lint's body of work. He creates another memorable story for this short novel. Readers will find a fast, entertaining read in this book.

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