Dreams Underfoot

In Charles de Lint's world, the skin between the mundane business of everyday life and the realm of magical mischief is always thin. Passing from one to the other is effortless and can take but a moment. Often, his characters are deep into the doings of the world beyond before they begin to notice or admit that anything unearthly is going on.

Some of de Lint's characters acknowledge and embrace the other realm that lies just on the other side of that thin and permeable barrier, while others clasp their skepticism close, denying the evidence of their senses for as long as they can.

But in the fictional North American city of Newford, there are always dreams underfoot. Whether one walks the streets of the ruined neighborhood known as the Tombs, strolls the waterfront in town or on Wolf Island, or steps into the convivial precincts of Kathryn's Cafe or Feeney's Kitchen or The Harp, one is bound to kick up something strange and wondrous.