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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780765303813
ISBN number: 0765303817
Label: Tor Books
Manufacturer: Tor Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 512
Printing Date: August 03, 2002
Publishing house: Tor Books
Sale Popularity Level: 63991
Studio: Tor Books
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Product Description:
Now in softcover, Charles de Lints stunning new novel of magic and danger in the modern worldIn novel after novel, and story after story, Charles de Lint has brought an entire imaginary North American city to vivid life. Newford: where magic lights dark streets; where myths walk clothed in modern shapes; where a broad cast of extraordinary and affecting people work to keep the whole world turning.At the center of all the entwined lives of Newford stands a young artist named Jilly Coppercorn, with her tangled hair, her paint-splattered jeans, a smile perpetually on her lipsJilly, whose paintings capture the hidden beings that dwell in the citys shadows. Now, at last, de Lint tells Jillys own story . . . for behind the painters fey charm lies a dark secret and a past shes labored to forget. And that past is coming to claim her now. Im the onion girl, Jilly Coppercorn says. Pull back the layers of my life, and you wont find anything at the core. Just a broken child. A hollow girl. Shes very, very good at running. But life has just forced Jilly to stop.
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Rated by buyers 
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The Onion Girl (Newford)
A quote from this really thought provoking book written by Charles De Lint,
"People who've never read fairy tales, the professor said, have a harder time coping in life that the people who have. They don't have acess to all the lessons that can be learned from the journeys through the dark woods and the kindness of strangers treated decently, the knowledge that can be gained from that company and example of Donkeyskins and cats wearing boots and steadfast tin soldiers. I'm not talking about in-your-face lessons, but more subtle ones. The kind that seep up from your subconscious and give you moral and humane structures for your life. That teach you how to prevail, and trust. And maybe even love. The people who have missed out on them have to be re-storied in their adult lives." pg 30HB edition
This tale is a whirlwind mixture of contemporary life in Canada and life in the Faerie Realm that many of these contemporary characters step in and out of during the course of this adventure. A deep exploration of personal gnosis and magickal transformation, this story leads you into yourself and shows a new pathway to Faerie.
enjoy!
J'té
from my blog
http://wytchwoodbookreviews.blogspot.com/2008/06/onion-girl.html#links
Rated by buyers 
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Another reviewer stated:
"DeLint's earlier books had a sense of wonder and delicacy both in his writing and in his portrayals of characters and Dreamlands/Otherlands. As you read, it felt as if the magical place he was talking about was not only real but that it could be fragile as well; it *was* real but only as long as you believed and DeLint was very good at making us believe. With this book, however, I didn't feel drawn in - more like bludgeoned."
In many ways, that is true. In this book deLint gives you a lot of pages (some of his books are rather slender), he writes about one of his core characters, but he seems intent on proving that his world is solid, that the bad side of things is real and can be encountered.
/Sigh
I've been an ad litem for Child Protective Services. I've served on the board of a rape crisis center. I know that there is ugliness in the world. Heck, I've worked around cess pools, I know that at times the world is not only ugly, it can stink.
But that isn't why I read deLint. It isn't why I read at all.
I consider this book as tainted by the trends of the 80s and 90s, though not broken by them. deLint has grown out of them (though consider The Little Country with its complete mainstream, down to the fan service bizarre sex scene -- like Gaimon, he couldn't avoid the trends).
I own a copy, I didn't throw it away or sell it back. But I'd read other deLints very first -- perhaps "Promises to keep" or a similar book.
Rated by buyers -
I have many books by Charles DeLint - this one is longer than most but enjoyable all the way through. As with all his books, there is action and adventure, but also psychology - insight into the characters thoughts and mind. Plus of course a good dollop of the spiritual and magical. One of few hard covers that has survived my last house move (when I had to halve my library) and I am unlikely to ever part with it.
Rated by buyers -
A friend once remarked that it was a fairly bad idea to read too many Charles de Lint books in a short period of time. This is true. However, it had been quite a while since my last book by de Lint, so I generally enjoyed The Onion Girl.
It is not my favorite book by de Lint, despite the general enjoyment factor. Some of the book was just a little too much of the same old same old urban fae routine. I think that this is a general issue with the Newford books and it goes to the point of not reading too many de Lint books in a short period of time.
In contrast, other elements of the book felt a little too far out of his comfort zone. Vacchs does the "children of the secret" much more believably than The Onion Girl ever manages. It may be that hard boiled detective novels are simply a better vehicle for this kind of subject matter. For me, the best de Lint characters are more worn down by life than really wounded like Jilly and Raylene. Not because the wounded aren't interesting, but because these particular characters do not ring quite as true as de Lint characters often can.
Jilly in particular lacks spark. It is difficult to read either how she engages so well with some people or how she is unable to engage with others. Raylene is ultimately quite a bit more complex, and I generally found her story to be the most compelling.
All in all, I am not sorry that I read The Onion Girl. For people who like de Lint already, it should be a good (if not great) entry in the Newford group. Enjoyable, even if nothing really special. If you do not have a strong stomach for urban fae, this will probably not be your cup of tea. Three-and-a-half stars.
Rated by buyers -
Let me just start by saying that I LOVE this author; he is one of very few that I read simply because he wrote it.
Saying that, although this is not my absolute favorite book of his I have ever read, it is one that I will recommend to every one who likes De Lint.
This book is entirely about Jilly who has to be one of the most likable characters ever created. Almost from the very first page you are thrust into a heart breaking story that even threw it's moments of predictability is extremely entertaining none the less.
Even the best books aren't with out their problems;
The story jumps through various times through history which can get very confusing if you aren't paying attention and you could easily find yourself going back to the beginning of the chapter to find out who you are talking to and what year it is.
And I don't like the timing in the book, there are places where I don't want to wait two or three chapters to find out what happens and I had a really hard time not skipping ahead and missing some of the book.
Please don't let me stop you from buying it, this book really was wonderful, he has a way of telling stories that really makes you want to be a part of them. I promise you, this book is worth your money.
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