Memory and Dream

By: Charles de Lint

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 20 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

As the young student of the cruel, brilliant artist Vincent Rushkin, Isabelle Copley discovered that she could paint images so vividly real they brought her wildest fantasies to life. But when the forces she unleashed brought tragedy to those she loved, she turned her back on her talent and her dreams.

Now, 20 years later, Isabelle must come to terms with the shattering memories she has long denied and unlock the slumbering power of her brush. And, in a dark reckoning with her old master, she must find the courage to live out her dreams and bring the magic back to life.

This is a tale of love, courage, and the transforming power of imagination.

©1994 Charles de Lint (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"In de Lint's capable hands, modern fantasy becomes something more than escapism. It becomes folk song, the stuff of urban myth." (Phoenix Gazette)
"[B]eautifully evokes a sense of creative community, making it almost possible to believe that the rarified aesthetic atmosphere might well be capable of conjuring up a spirit or two." (Publishers Weekly)
"[M]oves gracefully through the borders between reality and imagination, weaving a powerful tale about the relationship between an artist and her work. A strong addition to fantasy collections." (Library Journal)

Great Concept, Neat Characters, Irritating Action

The first chapter of Charles de Lint's Memory and Dream (1994), one of his many urban fantasy works set in the big fictional city of Newford, consists of a magical description of a painting in which a woman is reading a glowing book, while around her hover or perch myriad fairy-like figures. Are they real? "Or perhaps they are shadows only, and the summer's night that lies outside her window belongs not to memory, but to dream?"

The story itself begins with the great opening line of the second chapter: "Catharine Mulley had been dead five years and two months the morning Isabelle received the letter from her." Isabelle Copley is an artist of abstract paintings inspired by cityscapes, though she is seemingly living alone on wild Wren Island. She has much buried traumatic unfinished past business involving Cathy and their former mutual friend, the small literary local press editor Alan Grant, as well as her former Jekyll and Hyde "troll" of a genius artist teacher, Vincent Rushkin, her enigmatic Native American ex-boyfriend John Sweetgrass, and a fire that ended a lot of things. Cathy's letter, which she sent two days before her death by cancer, has arrived with a key to a locker in the Newford bus station. The letter and key, along with Alan's request for Isabelle to illustrate an omnibus collection of Cathy's urban faerie stories, set in motion a chain of events that thrust the artist into "the untidy tangle of dreams and memories." Into that story in the present of the early 1990s, de Lint suspensefully works the past story of the traumatic events in the 1970s that cut Isabelle off from Alan and Rushkin and John.

The first two thirds of the novel caught me. The conceit of the book, that a select number of gifted artists are able to paint into our world benign or malignant "numena" (spirits) who cannot bleed or dream but are real nonetheless, is fresh, the relationships between Isabelle and Cathy, Rushkin, and John are compelling, the mystery behind the fire that changed everything is potent, the revelations stun, and the speech and actions of the characters (though often irritating) feel right. Too, the themes about student-mentor and victim-abuser relationships, love, the impossibility of knowing what another person is thinking, the presence or absence of magic in the everyday world, the nature of being real and being human, and the roles of technique, talent, inspiration, passion, and responsibility in artistic creation, are all passionately treated. Throughout, de Lint sprinkles numinous descriptions, as when Alan thinks an underdressed gamine who visits him at night was "a vivid dream, the kind that seems so real it's like a memory," as well as moments of epiphany in which suddenly everything changes and anything becomes possible: "It was as though the carpet underfoot had suddenly dropped a few inches, settling like an elevator at a new floor." There are quietly moving scenes, too, as when Alan tells Isabelle that he thought that she had modeled all her female figures in paintings on Cathy.

Approaching and enduring the climax in the last third of the novel, however, de Lint tries too hard to generate suspense by writing too many manipulative cliffhanger point of view shifts and scene changes, even to the extent of abusing his neat numena concept, all of which decreases suspense and increases critical awareness. For in the last part of the novel his writing loses authenticity. The worst cases involve supporting characters whose points of view are excrescent, like Detective Davis, who talks like a sheriff or cop on a soon to be canceled TV show: "The only reason I'm going along with you is because I know you folks are straight shooters, but if you're dicking me around we're going to be playing twenty questions down at the precinct. Take that as a serious promise, lady." Necessary supporting characters like Marisa perform abrupt changes from irritating skepticism and weakness ("We're talking real life, not fairy tales") to unbelievable belief and strength ("Alan . . . For god's sake, go to her"). And while de Lint is excellent at getting in the heads of artist types, especially when depicting their theories and processes of creation, not to mention their non-action-hero qualities (as when Alan feebly picks up a rusty tire iron without knowing what to do with it), his main characters lose plausibility when pushed too far (nearly to absurdity), as when Alan feels "a savagery he hadn't known he possessed" or Isabelle dives at a monster. Action scenes yank de Lint out of his comfort zone, reflected by the fact that most of the bad lines and unconvincing things happen in the latter third of the novel, as when some teen gang members, sporting hoodies and spouting "homeys," make a cameo appearance rendered unnecessary by subsequent events.

Kate Reading reads the novel with her usual flavor, clarity, and sensitivity, doing fine with female and male characters alike--apart from some uncomfortable moments as with Detective Davis and the "gangbangers."

Be all that as it may, Memory and Dream is often rich and moving, often a heady pleasure. If you are interested in the mental and emotional and physical workings of artists and writers et al, as well as in socio-political matters like child abuse, gender, class, poverty, and charity, all mixed in a modern city in which magic lies just around the corner, this book would probably work for you.

Life affirming

Where does Memory and Dream rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The writing is like a painting, bright, vivid, and haunting

Who was your favorite character and why?

Isabell because she is a flawed human who takes responsibility for her choices and becomes a more fulfilled person.

What does Kate Reading bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her portrayal of Kathy made the character more interesting. She tends to portray the female lead as weak which does not always fit the character. Overall though she gives each character their own unique voice which facilitates the story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Isabel decided to choose to live.

Any additional comments?

This was a very hopeful fairytale!

Another gem from Charles DeLint

I have never yet been disappointed with his work and this wonderful story is no exception.

Completely blown away

Where does Memory and Dream rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top five percent

What other book might you compare Memory and Dream to and why?

It is set up the same as the Dresden Files. Magic present in modern society. De Lint's work is levels above, however, like Shakespear to Batman. The depth of his characters and story is a cut above.

What does Kate Reading bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She reads with feeling and does both male and female voices well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Had a hard time putting it down. Glad I lisrened in the summer, beecausevI did not have to wake up early for work.

Any additional comments?

Enjoyed this book emensly.

Boring - I gave up

With so many great books out there which I have yet to read, why should I work hard to plod through the slow pacing and long, dull conversations (some of which are thinly veiled de Lint sermons on how badly women are treated) ? The characters aren't interesting although they could have been. I didn't care about their problems. I couldn't even get interested in the one supernatural character that showed up early in the narrative. And, to top it off, the narrator was bad. Kate Reading made her female voices too high and her male voices too low. Irritating. I am sorry I paid for this book. This was my first de Lint and my last.

Fantasy or soap opera?

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I have a tendency to react strongly to an author's style, and it was style that I objected to here. The fantasy premise was interesting, but the author has a tendency to allow his characters to wallow around in their contrived and sometimes implausible feelings in a way that seems more suited to daytime television. Not only does this habit make the characters less plausible, but it slows the pace of the novel, and simply dragging things out is not the same thing as building suspense. This objection might not be a consideration for readers who pay less attention to style and can focus on the plot in spite of the author, and presumably wouldn't worry any of de Lint's many fans.

What about Kate Reading’s performance did you like?

I've enjoyed many of Kate Reading's performances, but she can't fix the material all by herself. She does a good job here, and the book certainly would not have been improved had it been read by anyone else.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Memory and Dream?

Most of the wallowing, and every single sentence that took the form, "Surely So-and-so didn't ________--or did he?" I kept expecting to hear the reader say, "Stay tuned for the next exciting episode!"