Rating: 
Summary: Why?
Review: Every time I pick up a Charles De Lint novel, it is because I am seduced by what seems like a fascinating possibility for a story. Unfortunately, by the time I finish with each of Mr. De Lint's works, I am disappointed by his facile and unchallenging resolutions to what might have been excellent plots. De Lint has great characters, with interesting and believable relationships to each other, but they think and behave in ways that are at odds with the mood and description of the world in the story. A final point: if you are going to write a novel, and you feel that you will not disrupt the flow of narrative and dialogue, both internal and external, with passages in another language (which De Lint clumsily insists on doing here, primarily with Spanish, and also with Gaelic and Celtic) then for heaven's sake GET IT RIGHT!
Is it possible that he thought no native Spanish speakers would read the book? He repeatedly refers to hes as shes and mixes up tenses and cases. His disrespect is insulting. Please, novelists, have enough respect for any language to hire an editor who is familiar with it. Adding "o" to the end of an English word does not a Spanish word make!!
Rating: 
Summary: His people are alive, his surroundings vivid.
Review: Forests of the Heart, the latest from Charles de Lint, is a masterwork of dramatic fiction, a contemporary fantasy laced with horror, suspense and magic -- and characters so strikingly drawn they'll seem as real as the people you see every day on the street. Forests of the Heart begins slowly. There's not much action as de Lint spins the background needed for his tale and allows his characters time to grow. But don't assume that means it's a plodding introduction; the tale is enticing from the start. Once the plot begins to unravel and things begin to happen, you'll certainly find yourself riveted to the pages, bitterly resenting anything which yanks you away from reading (including work and sleep). Forget the fantasy -- de Lint makes even mundane moments seem magical simply by drawing the readers' attention to the little details and the hidden mysteries which are all around us, but usually go completely unnoticed. Coupled with the resonant imagery and emotions conjured here, I think you'll find Forests of the Heart to be an irresistable reading experience.
Rating:
Summary: Delicate and beautifully realized. I didn't want it to stop.
Review: I always love the ideas of Charles de Lint's novels, but this is really the first one where I was as satisfied with the execution as I was with the story setup. Often with De Lint, it almost feels like he spent all his time building the world that his characters are moving in and almost forgets about the plot. I suppose what I like best about Forests of the Heart is that the plot is very strong. I cared enormously what happened to the characters, and kept reading because I wanted to see what would happen further, but I was also terribly sorry to see the pages decreasing because I was just enjoying reading it so much. High recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Really different -- but similar
Review: I enjoyed this book a great deal. As I said in the title, it was different from all his other books, in that it included the Native American/Hispanic point of view a good deal, instead of his usual Celtic/European. It also was much darker than many of the previous books. The characters have wretched family lives, like many of his characters, and in some cases, in this book, they can't overcome that. Most of the time, they do. The darker overtones do not take away from the book; rather, they add a dimension that one never knew was missing. The characters are intriguing as usual: the multitude of petite female characters, usually with short hair; the owner of Gypsy Records, a place that has been described but infrequently entered; Musgrave Wood, a thoroughly enigmatic character (down to gender); and Ellie, another one of his artists. Being able to see his usual patterns does not make this any less of a book; no, rather it adds a dimension of familiarity to a story that is otherwise new. I enjoyed reading it a good deal, and would certainly recommend the book to any Charles de Lint fan. However, I do feel compelled to admit, this is not the best place to start. Read _Dreams Underfoot_ or _Memory and Dream_ first to get the feel of the theme before trying the variations.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, not his best...
Review: I enjoyed this book a lot but I agree with the reviewer who said it was formulaic. Although it is better than Trader.
I would recomend you find DeLint's older works before you read this.
Books like "Yarrow", "Moonheart", "Memory and Dream" and "The Little Country" are excellent begining books that are still in print.
WARNING! DeLint does tend to use graphic language and scenes in many of his books some books are worse than others. He has some fairly horrorific villians very dark and quite cruel so I wouldn't recommend these books for children without you reading it first! He even dabbled in horror for a couple of books written under suddonym. He is very good at writting the darker side of Celtic and Native American mythos and is a fantastic writer
Rating:
Summary: My first de Lint, what I start
Review: I had always held back from reading de Lints books because they are so expensive in Australia, but I finally bit the bullet and read Forests of the Heart. I was fantasic, the characters, the magic and the settings. I have never read any of the Newford stories before and had no problem with the characters. I particularly loved the fact that the characters were facing all these amazing situations yet they also had normal everyday city lives. I will definatley be reading more, and purchasing some of them from Amazon.
Rating:
Summary: My first de Lint, what I start
Review: I had always held back from reading de Lints books because they are so expensive in Australia, but I finally bit the bullet and read Forests of the Heart. I was fantasic, the characters, the magic and the settings. I have never read any of the Newford stories before and had no problem with the characters. I particularly loved the fact that the characters were facing all these amazing situations yet they also had normal everyday city lives. I will definatley be reading more, and purchasing some of them from Amazon.
Rating:
Summary: A fun read
Review: I have to admit that this book did not capture me like _Someplace to be Flying_ or _Trader_, but take that on an already heavily weighted gradiant. As always, Mr. DeLint has offered us a book that's as enjoyable to the new reader as the old fan. The way that he slowly weaves in the fantastic so that it remains credible is outstanding, gently suspending the reader's disbelief. As always, readers of his other Newford stories will see a few familiar faces in the background, but new readers won't notice because of the outstanding show taking place before them. No Crow Girls, I'm afraid, but you don't even notice that until the story is over. A good read, and as another reviewer said, the same as his other Newford stories, but really quite different. A welcome addition to the collection.
Rating:
Summary: I'M STILL IN THE MIDDLE
Review: I PICKED THIS BOOK UP FROM THE LIBRARY, YET PASSED ON IT BEFORE EVEN THINKING ON READING. I RECENTLY ORDERED IT FROM AMAZON SO I STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE AND WILL START OVER. I WAS IMPRESSED. THE STORY PULLS YOU RIGHT IN AND HARD TO PUT DOWN. THAT IS HOW DE LINT'S BOOKS WORK ON YOU AND YOU'RE NOT DISAPPOINTED.
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Summary: Ah Mr.De Lint to even get a glimpse into this world......
Review: I think if I could live anywhere real or imagined it would have to be in a Charles Delint book. In fact now that I'm living in Canada and in his neck of the world I might see if I can look it up.
I first heard of Charles De Lint when I puchased and read "the little Country" It was a bit confusing at first but after rereading it a second time it all clicked in with me. Now I can claim that I've read and/or reread most of his books. This one being the lastest I've had my hands on. All of his characters are clear and very well defined. As I read his books sometimes I think I can see or feel Jilly in the background or the Crow Girls laughing outside in the trees, or the Aunts shopping at the local farmers market. His melding of Native American Beliefs and Celtic Paganism/Druidism is remarkable!! There are such simularaties between the two. Now I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of The Onion Girl:) Cant wait to "devour" it!!
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