Memory and Dream

Memory and Dream, Charles de Lint, Tor, 1994

Set in the Canadian seacoast town of Newford, this contemporary fantasy is about Isabelle Copley, a young artist studying at the local university. One day, while idly sketching in the park, she is accosted by this ugly, unkempt troll of a man, and told to report to his studio the next morning. He really is Vincent Rushkin, a world-famous, and very solitary, artist. He takes Isabelle under his wing, and she learns a lot from him; that is, when she isn't suffering through one of his towering rages.

As time goes on, Isabelle finds that she has the ability to put a person in a painting, and have that person come to life. For a while, she falls in love with one of her creations, called numena, a Native American named John Sweetgrass. Isabelle also discovers that, not only is Rushkin a world-class SOB, he also feeds off the life force of the numena. One time, he forces her to set her own house on fire, where hundreds of numena paintings are stored, thereby killing all of them. Another time, he kidnaps Isabelle and forces her to bring more numena to life.

Is "classic" too strong a word? Not in this case. De Lint does a wonderful job hinting at weird things happening, instead of plastering them all over the page. This is a long novel, but very much worth it.