Today's book selection: "Moonheart" by Charles de Lint

Hi all! ^___^

May I first offer you a steaming cup of my absolute favourite? Genmaicha. Though usually I'm quite the purist where teas are concerned (the only flavoured tea that I like is Earl Grey), I love the combination of the taste of roasted rice with the strong green tea. I tend to drink it more in the afternoon or evening, when I'm winding down from a long day, or just simply relaxing. Black teas are my "working" teas - they're what I start my day with and what I keep at hand in the office. But green teas are for the quieter times.

Now that we're all settled with a nice cup of tea, I'll pull out one of my favourite books from my rather large collection and tell you all about it.

This, like all subsequent posts, will not be a 'review' in the proper sense. I'm not interested in adding to the vast store of book (or other) reviews out there. Instead, I'd like to tell you why *I* like the book, and why I keep re-reading it, whenever the urge hits me.

The copy of 'Moonheart' by Charles de Lint that I've pulled off the shelf is an old one (I bought a more recent edition, because my old one is starting to fall apart). It's actually the 1984 first printing of the ACE edition. Unfortunately, it's been so well used, or rather well read, that even if I wanted to, I couldn't sell it anymore. The spine is bent and cracked, both the front and back cover scratched, nicked, bent and torn in various places. I confess, these days I try to be more careful with my books, but back then I just wanted to *READ* the book, never mind what it would look like afterwards.

I think what first attracted me to the book was the cover. A man, dressed in something vaguely medieval (that billowing cloak! *swoon*) sitting on a large rock on a beach, playing a small Irish harp. Seated on the sand and looking up to him is a young woman in modern clothing. There's a big fire in front of both of them, blazing up and illuminating them both. Behind the couple, there's the sea and a *huge* full moon, just rising up from the horizon. On the back cover a near naked stag-man with glowing red eyes is covertly watching the two people on the beach. (Ah... I just found a picture of the cover online. You can see it here.)

And then the title! "Moonheart"! That sounded so... magical and fey. Back then I'd just started my personal spiritual journey and was very much into Celtic history, music, mythology and theology. So cover and title combined immediately spoke to me. So of *course* I picked it up. Back then a book cost $ 2.95! New. Can you imagine that? >.>  A 480 pages book! Amazing!

Unlike some other de Lint books, I fell into this one immediately. The first sentence alone did it for me:

"Sara Kendell once read somewhere that the tale of the world is like a tree."

And then the setting!

"The Merry Dancers Old Book and Antique Emporium was situated on Bank Street, between Third Avenue and Fourth in the area of Ottawa called the Glebe. [...] The Merry Dancers was cluttered, somewhat dusty, but not dirty. Leaning bookshelves stuffed with fat, leather-bound volumes took up two walls, while the bay windows in front held a curious sampling of items the store offered, set out in a confusing array that put off as many people as it attracted. There were treasures to be found, indeed, but not for the fastidious. Clutter swirled like autumn leaves around old chairs, dressers, sideboards, desks, rockers, wicker  tables and an umbrella stand overflowing with rolled-up maps, knobby-ended walking sticks and an African shaman's staff."

Now, this description alone was enough to send me into raptures. Books! Clutter! Treasure! And it all sounded *comfortable* - at least to me. I've always been a terrible magpie, collection pretty much everything shiny that catches my eyes, and a book-hoarder on top. So this sounded just like a small slice of heaven to me.

Within 7 pages that firmly seated me right in the middle of the story, Sara finds a *real* treasure: a painting and a pouch. The pouch turns out to be a Medicine pouch containing the usual: feathers, corn, a claw, a pebble. And something unusual: A flat disc of bone, inscribed on one side with Celtic ribbonwork, on the other a pair of stag's horns. And a silver ring, also engraved with ribbonwork.

And with these unusual objects, the story takes off! Mystery, horror, myths coming to life, Mafia henchmen, Indians, Folk musicians, various artists, the Ottawa police and more make an appearance in the course of the story and become woven together - often against their own wills.

It's a great adventure story, with lots of action and twists and turns, angst and drama, and of course love - though of the uneasy sort - this is not really a romance in the traditional sense. Love has to be won and deserved, not just accepted on a silver platter.

But what really pulled me through the book was Sara's personal journey.

Of course she's skeptical in the beginning. Though she's grown up with all sorts of strange things happening in the house where she lives - Tamson House - she's more or less put these experiences aside in favour of a more 'normal' life. And suddenly she finds herself confronted with her past and all those wierdnesses coming to life.

There are so many aspects of 'Moonheart' that just fascinated me. The Wierdin, for example. That's what that bone disc is - a part of a set of 61 bone discs used for oracular purposes. Since I'd started working with the Tarot and Runes, this was so totally cool! Here was another system, drawn directly from Celtic mythology, that could be used for charting one's personal spiritual path. I wanted to have one of these, right then and there! Unfortunately, they only exist in the story (so far...).

Then there was a lot of inner journey work spread throughout the book. For example, when Taliesin explains the 'taw' to Sara: "Have you ever felt as one with your instrument? That moment when nothing stood between you and what your heart bade you play? [...] That is what your taw is like. [...] But for me - the harmony between player and instrument - that was the key to unlocking the primary magic. Magic that stayed in my music and shaped my life. It is like touching the Moon's heart, Sra. There is no other feeling like it. Imagine that celestial ship rising above a forest. That first moment when she lifts from the trees, that moment filled with promise and potent magics ... that is what my life is, following the Way. That is what my taw holds for me."

*melt*

For me, looking for magic and inner peace, for spiritual growth and development, for a new path in my life, this was like a revelation. Finally I could understand what all those New Age books had talked about!

Of course it turns out that every journey is filled with dangers and unexpected twists and turns. So also is Sara's in "Moonheart". And though there's a happy end - more or less - it's not of the fluffy lovey kind. There are losses and gains, wounds and healing, questions answered and more questions left open.

Still, for me, "Moonheart" was certainly instrumental in helping me affirm my own path. It re-fired my love for all things Celtic, and for delving deeper into the Mysteries.

One more thing that I really loved about "Moonheart", and which shows up in a lot of de Lint's books, is that he weaves music throughout the stories. Almost always there are either bards or bands, or musicians involved in some way. There might be lyrics in the stories, or simply the experience of listening to a certain song or type of music. And since I, also, can't imagine life without music, this, too, spoke very deeply to me. While I'm not a musician myself (though I do play several instruments), I always have music around me.

So if I were asked whether "Moonheart" was instrumental in my own personal development, I would definitely answer with "yes".

And if you asked me whether the books was a ripping good story, I'd whole-heartedly shout "YES!".

Thus ends my tale for today. If you've enjoyed it, maybe you'll pick up the book for yourself. If not, maybe I have something else more interesting to you the next time.

You can leave your cups on the table, I'll take care of them later. ^___^

Welcome / Willkommen

Welcome to Silverwing's Book Emporium and Gallery.

The name is inspired by a short story I just read today: "Mr. Truepenny's Book Emporium and Gallery", which I found in Charles De Lint's delightfull collection "The Ivory And The Horn". I immediately wanted to throw all my previous occupations out the window and go into town to open up a wonderful book and art store like the one I read about in this story.

Alas, for the moment, that will have to remain idle fantasy.

Instead, I offer you this blog - a kind of virtual Book Emporium. Have a cup of coffee - or if you'd rather have tea, I have a wide selection of that, too - grab whatever seat you like and settle down wherever you feel comfortable.

Yes, there are hundreds, if not *thousands* of book review blogs out there. I know. And I don't want to be in competition with those, at all. What I want to do here is share whatever I'm currently reading or looking at or listening to or otherwise enjoying, with you. Some of it may be old, some may be new. Books may be fiction, or they may be fantasy, or they might be a handbook on marketing or jewelry making. Music might be Rock or Filk, Classic or Metal. Art might be fanart, photography, classical oilpainting or my daughter's scribbles. Whatever catches my senses at the moment.

I'll be writing in English and/or in German, depending on what I'm writing about. I'll try to translate, but I won't promise that every post will be bi-lingual. Some things just don't translate well. :)

Articulate comments are always welcome, flamers will be chained to my basement furnace in preparation for the winter.

That said.... enjoy!

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Willkommen in Silverwings Bibliothek und Gallerie.

Der englische Name für diesen Blog habe ich einer Kurzgeschichte von Charles De Lint entnommen: "Mr. Truepenny's Book Emporium and Gallery", aus seinem Kurzgeschichtenband "The Ivory And The Horn". Nachdem ich die Geschichte gelesen hatte, wollte ich sofort meine momentanen beruflichen Beschäftigungen aus dem Fenster werfen und im nächsten Ort solch einen wunderbaren Laden eröffnen.

Aber leider muss das im Moment eher eine Fantasie bleiben.

Statt dessen biete ich diesen Blog an - eine Art virtuelle Bibliothek und Laden. Tasse Kaffee gefällig? Ich habe auch Tee da, unendliche viele Sorten. Nimm Dir was immer Dir schmeckt, such Dir eine gemütliche Ecke, lümmel Dich auf das nächste Sofa oder Kissen und dann geht's los.

Natürlich gibt's schon hunderte, wenn nicht tausende von Blogs über Bücher. Ich will mich auch gar nicht mit denen messen. Sondern hier werde ich ganz einfach nur die Dinge teilen, die mir selber in irgendeiner Weise aufgefallen sind, mir gefallen, sich mir aufgedrängt haben. Bücher von Fantasy bis Roman, Science Fiction oder Sachbuch, oder ein Handbuch über Marketing. Musik von Rock bis Filk, Metall bis Klassisch. Kunst von Kinderzeichnung zu Photographie. Altes. Neues. Vielleicht auch ungewöhnliches. Je nachdem, wonach mir gerade ist.

Ich werde sowohl als auch in Englisch, bzw. Deutsch schreiben. Ob ich es immer schaffe, in beiden Sprachen zu posten kann ich nicht versprechen. Manche Sachen lassen sich einfach nicht übersetzen.

Nachdenkliche, interessante Kommentare sind immer willkommen. Flamers werden zum Anschüren meiner Heizung im Winter verwendet.

Und nun... geniesst!