Book Review – The Ivory and the Horn
Author: Charles de Lint
Cover Artist: John Jude Palencar
Publisher: Orb
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date:1995
Charles de Lint’s collection The Ivory and the Horn gathers together 15 of his tales set in the city of Newford – revealing not only the darkness but the beauty that always lies beneath the surface of life. I read the collection over the past few days and this being my first experience with de Lint, I came away with a high opinion of his work.
Whether it’s an insightful look at human nature, an intriguing twist on folklore or a glimpse into the faerie lands that haunt his character’s dreams – de Lint has woven it all into a fantastical tapestry. In particular, I enjoyed The Bone Woman – which draws on Native American legends for a tale of a homeless woman who strives to keep the wonders of the world from being totally forgotten and A Tempest In Her Eyes – a take on the Shakespeare play A Midsummer Nights’s Dream, which ended up being one of my personal favorites out of the collection. There are a number of other great stories in the collection as well, like The Forest Is Crying and Bird Bones and Ash.
However, in my experience short story collections tend to be hit and miss, and to be sure, The Ivory and the Horn does have its lesser moments. I felt that some of the longer stories (The Wishing Well, for instance), while certainly good – could have been trimmed down a bit as they don’t seem to pack the same punch that the shorter stories did. If anything – the brief snatches of Newford’s other side that we see in the other stories are all the more effective for being short – giving the reader much to ponder after the story has ended, rather than drawing out the story and losing some of the magic in the process.
That’s not to say that any of the stories isn’t worth reading. De Lint has a lot to offer even with the weaker stories – which isn’t always the case. I’ve always enjoyed reading authors who truly have the gift for insight into human nature and de Lint certainly is one of them. The inclusion of folklore (the Russian legends of rusalki, etc.) as the basis for many of the stories helps to keep things interesting as well. I may not have been totally enamored of every story in the collection but de Lint’s creativity and writing ability can’t be faulted otherwise.
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