Post by Calenture on Feb 28, 2009 7:57:15 GMT
The Little Country by Charles de Lint
First published 1991; Tor 1993.
For those who think fantasy not dark enough for consideration, there is a macabre factual anecdote embedded in this novel. One of the characters keeps the corpse of a tramp in his home. The novel was written by Canadian de Lint, with advice from Colin Wilson and set in Devon and Cornwall, and the anecdote undoubtedly refers to controversial Plymouth-based artist Robert Lenkiewicz who befriended a tramp known as Diogenes (real name Edwin McKenzie), who died in 1984 aged 72, having become a friend and model for the artist.
Diogenes is believed to have left his body to Lenkiewicz in his Will, asking that it should be embalmed and that the artist should make a work of art of it (Lenkiewicz told him that it would become a 'giant paperweight').
Lenkiewicz himself died in 2002. Other details of this fascinating story - and there are many anecdotes about Lenkiewicz - can be found at this link: Times Online - 'Artist Kept Tramp's Corpse in a Cupboard'
The artist's shop is not difficult to find. It was located on Plymouth's Barbican, and one of its walls had been covered in a gigantic mural by the artist.
'Diogenes' painted by Robert Lenkiewicz
Enough of Robert Lenkiewicz and Diogenes; on with Charles de Lint's excellent novel:
Janey Little loves music and books, but not necessarily in that order. Now a successful folk musician, she returns to her home in Mousehole, Cornwall, where she discovers a book by the late William Dunthorne in the attic of her grandfather's home. The book's presence there is no mystery, as Dunthorne and 'The Gaffer' had been best mates; but the book's printing in a "limited edition of just one copy" is very strange, as is Dunthorne's request that the Gaffer keep the book secret.
Certain people have been sniffing about, asking after the book and offering to buy it; and in response to a mysterious letter, Janey's ex-boyfriend Felix arrives just in time to foil an attempted burglary. The book is being sought by members of a secret cult known as the Order of the Grey Dove, headed by millionaire John Madden.
Madden sends his protégé - the psychotic Michael Bett - to Cornwall, where Bett reluctantly joins forces with Lena Grant - the unsuccessful burglar.
The novel becomes effectively a book-within-a-book.
The book in question, called The Little Country, is the story of Jodi, who becomes suspicious of the Widow Pender, rumoured to be a witch. One rumour tells that the Widow has a captive 'Small' in her cottage. Jodi falls foul of the witch, and ends up sharing the Small's prison - the first step of a journey which leads to encounters with fetchs and slochs, among other unpleasant creatures. Jodi is aided in her adventures by her inventor friend Henkie, his more mystical companion Denzil, and the debauched artist Taupin, who keeps a stuffed corpse in his cellar - not entirely unlike a certain Plymouth artist, although de Lint's book has the usual disclaimer about similarity to real people being entirely coincidental.
Although Colin Wilson has been said to have advised de Lint, there are some odd blunders; for instance, Plymouth is said to be in Cornwall (it's in Devon), and Aleister Crowley said to be Cornish. But de Lint does succeed in capturing the atmosphere of contemporary small Cornish fishing villages, and it's a good novel.