Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Little Country

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 · rating details · 2,340 ratings · 88 reviews

When folk musician Janey Little finds a mysterious manuscript in an old trunk in her grandfather's cottage, she is swept into a dangerous realm both strange and familiar. But true magic lurks within the pages of The Little Country, drawing genuine danger from across the oceans into Janey's life, impelling her--armed only with her music--toward a terrifying confrontation.

Co...more

Paperback, 544 pages

Published April 7th 2001 by Orb Books (first published 1991)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Best of Charles de Lint

1st out of 55 books — 17 voters

Books about Faery

155th out of 612 books — 1,318 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Sep 12, 2010 Mariel rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: horse heads

Recommended to Mariel by: Uma's track suit

The Little Country contains two stories, a modern day world of seemingly inaccessible magic (wake up and smell the roses kinds), and the story within a story of a sinister fairy world that may not be entirely fictional after all. The magic of books and music! de Lint's got me there. (Add food to the equation and there really is nothing better.)
Charles de Lint writes well enough about what drives the normal old little people (er not the fairy kind of little people, the kind that get stepped on by...more The Little Country contains two stories, a modern day world of seemingly inaccessible magic (wake up and smell the roses kinds), and the story within a story of a sinister fairy world that may not be entirely fictional after all. The magic of books and music! de Lint's got me there. (Add food to the equation and there really is nothing better.)
Charles de Lint writes well enough about what drives the normal old little people (er not the fairy kind of little people, the kind that get stepped on by the man. er not 'cause they are tiny and the man has big shoes), only it wasn't anything special to drive me on reading about them. I was tempted to rush through to get to the story within a story (um skimming is wrong and I never, ever do that. Because it is WRONG).
BOOMING VOICE: Read no further, for the path you take will lead to certain spoilage (not really, but surprises are nice). (Unless you've read others of de Lint's works, because there are distinct similarities.)
Semi-famous (amongst the rarefied folky circles, anyway) musician Janey ran away to be a musician admired by more people than those in their small Cornish town. Now she's back home 'cause she was sleeping with her guitar player (again). Her ex-love is still in town, still pining for what they once had. The self-satisfied side of Janey (that admittedly turned me off her) dumped Felix because he wouldn't play for audiences with her (she's callously mocked her friends for musical imperfections. I didn't blame him for fearing that gaze would turn on him next). I kinda felt that de Lint was in love with Janey more than I could be. He is a folk musician aside from being a writer, and I'm sure there were ideas of Janey in his mind that couldn't possibly happen in mine (also, if there are numerous descriptions of their ugly outfits from the get-go, you know you're in author infatuation land. I mean, they were yellow! Hideous yellow pants. Pants! Not Kill Bill pants either). It'd be nice if allowed to grow your own affection first, s'all I'm saying. Felix and Janey grow back together again like it was this inevitable thing that had to happen. Because Janey is sooooo great that loving anyone else is impossible. Don't agree. To me it was like the bratty kid deciding she wanted her favorite toy back.
Janey's best friend Cleo has been secretly in love with Felix for a long time. He never even realized, the dolt (maybe he was perfect for Janey after all). I liked better Cleo's new friendship with the town sad sack, as it wasn't based on presumptions the reader is meant to share. Their scenes were sweet little windows into what had to be a sad as heck life for the guy.
Janey was raised by her grandfather (her mother abandoned her to be a porn star. Guess bright lights beckon this family). The affection between the two was something realer to me than transient twenty-something relationships (hardly cared when in my twenties). Her grandfather's best friend happens to have a long lost (or is it really lost? duh duh! that was supposed to be an eerie drum roll. Told you I'm no musician) manuscript from her favorite author. If you have read de Lint's Newford short stories, this is pretty much that again. The "This book only belongs to me and I wanna keep it a secret!" feeling story again. (Why are people possessive of hidden favorite bands? Why not share and make your OWN SECRETS to put a secret smile on your face. If Mona Lisa could do it...). Dark forces want this manuscript. Yeah, yet another fantasy story about the pursuit of fill_in_the_blank object. These dark forces are organized, power-hungry THE MAN. The MAN'S daughter (THE MAN jr.?) was a pitiful character. I almost felt sorry for the baddies. Maybe something is wrong with me. I disliked the heroine and pitied the villainess.
I'm sounding harsher than I mean to. On to the good parts...
I enjoyed the story within a story very much (maybe that's why "they" want the book so much. Because they don't wanna read about Janey! Stop. beating. the. horse. Mariel).

But... it might yield candy if I hit it hard enough!
I loved reading about Jodi working in Deezil's strange animal shop. Her family are prostitutes and (imagine!) she dreams of something more than that. The adventures with the street kids she's too old to hang around with anymore were hilarious. The sinister dark forces were deliciously creepy. I loved the witch and her little people friends. This part was like reading the great short stories in de Lint's volumes (short story collections are a box of chocolate risks. Reading is risk, as all things).
Music being its own magic between worlds was a really good idea that you don't see every day. (Sheet music is included for those who can play the songs) Believe that I'm a believer about music. I've always wished that dream songs could be real (never remember them later). I imagined my own music. Celtic folk music isn't really my bag (pipes! haha I crack myself up). As Janey's role model (I'm catty today) Scarlett would say, fiddle-dee-dee(even I didn't laugh that time). (less)

1 like · like · see review

Mar 28, 2009 Karen Field rated it 3 of 5 stars

It started out really well, very interesting. There are two stories running parallel with each other. At first, I enjoyed one story more than the other but I was eventually taken over into the other story. However, the middle seemed to drag on a bit. By the end it all made sense but I sort of lost a bit of interest.

The pros for the book was that the author used his imagination and touched on things that I’ve thought about but never said out loud. You’ll have to read the book to know what I’m tal...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 27, 2012 Donovan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Like another of de Lint's novels, Moonheart, I read this in the early 90's and something within it struck me and I know I liked it. Unfortunately the novel reads like a dream...And as with a dream it quickly becomes forgotten. I will re-read it as this dream-like quality is typical of Charles de Lint's work. That does NOT mean it's terribly written. On the contrary, it is elegant in many ways.
The pace is slow though, so some may find it boring. There are a lot of subtleties that have to do with...more Like another of de Lint's novels, Moonheart, I read this in the early 90's and something within it struck me and I know I liked it. Unfortunately the novel reads like a dream...And as with a dream it quickly becomes forgotten. I will re-read it as this dream-like quality is typical of Charles de Lint's work. That does NOT mean it's terribly written. On the contrary, it is elegant in many ways.
The pace is slow though, so some may find it boring. There are a lot of subtleties that have to do with the pagan influence and many of these could be lost on the average reader - which is a shame as there has been a lot of research undertaken.
I recommend The Little Countryfor any dreamy reader who find themselves stuck in the real world and fantasises over the romantic tales of the Fey.

Plot ***Spoilers***
The story begins with a professional "small pipe" player, Janey Little. In her grandfather's attic, Janey finds hidden a book written by her grandfather's old friend, author William Dunthorn. When she looks more closely at the book, entitled The Little Country, she notices that it has been published in an edition of only one copy. As Janey begins to unravel the mystery behind this secret book, strange things start to happen in her life and the lives of her family and friends in the small Cornish town of Mousehole. Why does someone break into the house in an attempt to steal the book? And why are the book's contents different for each person who opens its covers? Dunthorn believed that music holds a key to hidden realms and states of mind. Could he have secreted that key somehow within the pages of his last book? Does that secret have something to do with the elusive tune that Janey begins to hear around corners and in her dreams?

Weaving in and out of Janey's story is the story of Jodi Shepherd, the protagonist of William Dunthorn's secret book - at least in the version of the book that Janey is reading. Jodi must defeat the malignant Widow Pender and uncover the secret of a legendary race of tiny people, the Smalls, in order to preserve the memory and sense of magic in our increasingly rational and mechanized world. Janey's and Jodi's lives grow more and more intertwined, even though they never actually meet each other. In the end, each helps to save Life's mystery, its "first music." (less)

like · see review

May 13, 2013 Marsha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, literature-fiction

Mr. de Lint uses the curious device of two separate stories that twine around each other like the two snakes of a caduceus. They don’t touch or meet but wind up facing each other in eerie parallel. You wonder, briefly, which is the tale being told and which is the one being read. It’s neatly done yet wins the reader with its utter charm that is greater than a mere clever plot device.

The accents, colloquialisms and local talk pepper this story. The accents are never played for laughs (although t...more

like · see review

Aug 11, 2012 Deborah Ideiosepius rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a great story. The different characters were vibrant and real, the situations they found themselves in had a good emotional loading and you found yourself really uncertain what the end would be. The different storylines complemented each other well and left a good satisfying feel at the conclusion of the book.

One way this book really scored was the character development of the ‘bad guys’. A book I had recently finished had totally left out any character development for the bad guys but...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 29, 2012 Mieneke rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, fantasy

This one was recommended by Amanda, though Liz vociferously agreed I should read it, especially when they learned I'd never read anything by Charles de Lint. I do think I scandalised them somewhat with that confession. So I dutifully added it to my basket and read it last Summer during my holiday and due to morning/24-7 sickness it ended up on the backlogged reviews pile. So as such this review will probably not be as in-depth as my usual reviews, but it will be heartfelt, as if I remember it wi...more This one was recommended by Amanda, though Liz vociferously agreed I should read it, especially when they learned I'd never read anything by Charles de Lint. I do think I scandalised them somewhat with that confession. So I dutifully added it to my basket and read it last Summer during my holiday and due to morning/24-7 sickness it ended up on the backlogged reviews pile. So as such this review will probably not be as in-depth as my usual reviews, but it will be heartfelt, as if I remember it with my pregnancy-addled brain, it really must have made an impression on me! So here goes...

The Little Country was first published in 1991, but has the feeling of harkening back to an earlier era, both in the 'contemporary' setting of Janey's story and in the story told in the manuscript of The Little Country. Janey's story seems to be set in the late seventies to early eighties, while the manuscript is set even earlier. As such to me, the book had a quaint and old-fashioned feeling, which I really rather liked. It took me a few chapters to get into the flow of the book, but once I did I was wholly immersed in De Lint's world.

The book is essentially the interweaving of two stories, the main one being Janey's story, in which she discovers the manuscript of The Little Country and not only finds out there is something magical about it beyond the charming story told within, but also needs to protect the story and its secrets from corporate sharks who want to get their hands on it for nefarious purposes. The other part is the actual story told in the manuscript, which like the book is called The Little Country. This latter story is about Jodi and her adventures when she is turned into a tiny, little person, no larger than a fairy by the village witch. She is saved by the village children and some of the eccentric adults who live there. Both stories are set in Cornwall, which lends an atmospheric and magical feel to both of them.

Of the two, I enjoyed Jodi's story the most, as it resembles a fairytale and has many folkloric elements to it. Her meeting Edern, another traveller who's been turned into a little person by the Widow, is the catalyst for the rest of her adventures and I liked that there was both a hint of romance to their meeting and more importantly a friendship formed that would connect the mortal world with the Barrow World, the world on the other side of the veil, where magic is real and music is its voice.

Janey's story centres on music as well, as she's a well-known, even famous, fiddle-player and music is her life. While Jodi's narrative was my favourite, I did like the more gritty and mystery-like atmosphere of Janey's narrative. She runs into some pretty nasty characters and has to do some serious investigating to keep the manuscript safe. And in Janey's part we do get a full-blown romance, when her ex-boyfriend Felix makes an appearance because he received a letter that Janey needed him, a letter Janey didn't send. I really enjoyed this aspect as well, as Janey and Felix have to learn to trust each other again in the midst of turmoil and plots and chases by the bad guys.

Overall, I really enjoyed my first experience reading Charles de Lint and I look forward to exploring more of his work. Seeing as he is quite a prolific author, there is a lot to choose from! If you're like I was and have never read any of his work, please pick up The Little Country; it will sweep you away to a magical place and show you what classic urban fantasy looks like, with tramp stamps or vampires anywhere in sight. So thank you Amanda and Liz, for giving me another author I need to catch up on, as ever your recommendation was spot on!(less)

like · see review

Apr 28, 2011 Danielle rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this book for one of my book clubs. It is definitely not something I would have picked up on my own as it is a fantasy book, which is not a genre I typically read. I was a little frightened when I found out it was over 600 pages as I feared I would wind up having to suffer through something that long, but as it turns out I actually quite enjoyed the book. I did find that it kind of dragged at the end for me a bit, probably due to it's length. Other than that I found it a pleasurable read....more

like · see review

Mar 25, 2011 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm not actually a Charles de Lint fan. Since I read this book some years ago I've read a few books by the author that I really didn't care for, some I found okay, but none I like as well.

Sometimes it happens like that, you find the first book you stumble on by an author turns out to be the best you ever run across. The story caught my interest from the moment Janey (Little) finds the curious book in her grandfather's attic. The folk music angle...the magic permeating the story has all kinds of...more

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 18, 2008 Rachel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

I didn't like this one nearly as much as de Lint's other books, possibly because it was an early novel. The characters feel very caricature-like, and changes are generally discrete jumps in specific areas. It was closer to horror than fantasy in places, and the narrative was broken by long rants about neo-pagan and magickal theory, quoting Crowley and other famous believers in magick. And it featured a serial killer, who was as one-dimensional as everyone else, and who I really just wanted to ge...more

like · see review

Jul 16, 2008 Bill rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: to-reread

This is probably my favorite book by one of my favorite fantasy authors. De Lint's genre is usually referred to as urban fantasy because many of his stories take place in the somewhat gritty urban setting of Newford, a town where, for many citizens, the realm of faerie coexists with our own "reality." This one, however, is set primarily in Cornwall, England, where a young musician (Janey Little) finds a book hidden in her grandfather's house. As she begins to read the fascinating story, a powerf...more

like · see review

Jan 21, 2011 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars

I first read this book about 20 years ago. I was totally surprised on re-reading it that it is NOTHING like I remembered! Typically Charles de Lint, it has some crude and gruesome scenes mixed in with all the wonderful, magical, amazing scenes. But it also has a LOT of philosophising which is interesting in and of itself, but kind of boring along the flow of the story. I only remembered the book as being magical and sweet with lots of references to old Irish music...it is much more than that.

like · see review

Sep 12, 2012 Oana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: cornwall

My husband recommended this book as research for a trip to Cornwall and I rather enjoyed it as a travelogue.

I also enjoyed the story, finding that it flowed quite well, though, like other readers, I got lost in the philosophical meanderings about magic, etc. Mind you, it wasn't as bad as some reviewers here make it out. I am pretty certain most of us are just not good as sinking into a book so thoroughly so that's why the thinky bits were a bit of a muddle.

There was just something about the st...more

like · see review

Mar 25, 2011 Karly Abreu rated it 4 of 5 stars

Having only previously read de Lint's short story collections of mostly urban fantasy, this book came as a pleasant shock to me. Set in the highly detailed Cornwall England, this book, with its story within a story, came exciting and enthralling, totally unique and magnificently crafted, with amazingly drawn characters and a fastpaced style that is sure to please any reader.

like · see review

Nov 29, 2012 David rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the first Charles de Lint tale I read, and what a giddy ride!! "The Little Country" somehow feels like it's one of my own memories, it's so vivid! Perhaps something of a nightmare that I've woken from & been assured is okay, that it's not real.
But I still wake at times, jaw anxiety-tight...
Yes, the Little's leave a big impression... :)

1 like · like · see review

Sep 14, 2011 Cupcakencorset rated it 5 of 5 stars

Magic, music, mysticism and mythology all play their parts in shaping the world and lives of de Lint's characters in The Little Country. Set in the 1980s, these elements come up hard against the modern world and its corruptions and complications. In this book, de Lint shows once again that he is a master of painting the ineffable with words and images that touched my heart and spirit. Very highly recommended.

1 like · like · see review

Jan 27, 2011 Lize rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2003

My favorite DeLint. It's about Janey Little, a musician who finds a secret book hidden in her grandfathers house; a book that is different for everyone who reads it and full of great power. It's being sought by the Order of the Grey Dove, a Crowleyan group of scary powerful wierdos.

like · see review

Apr 24, 2012 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wonderful! I can't believe it took me until now to read this book and to discover Charles de Lint. He had me from the first page and didn't let me go until the last. Superb storytelling. My only criticism might be that the ending was a tad too long, but the last 2 pages pretty well made up for that!

like · see review

Apr 06, 2013 Mary Carleton rated it 4 of 5 stars

I like de Lint because he deals with the subjects that interest me most: mythology, music, and magic. This one is a tour de force, two novels in one, with a profound spiritual meaning at its center. My only wish, if any, is that the characters were a little more complex.

like · see review

Feb 10, 2013 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: bought-copy

Only my second read of this beautiful book. The first read was when I was sixteen - and it was my first taste of Charles de Lint. I love the intertwined stories. I love the way that music and magic are considered one and the same. Great writing, entertaining story, fantastic folklore.

like · see review

Nov 09, 2009 Sandy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: reading-group-picks, fantasy-sci-fi, england

Well, this was kind of a strange book.... I don't think I would have read it if not for it being a reading group pick. Almost stopped a few chapters in... but as it happened, the story line paralleled another book I am reading at the same time - The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Bronte - ...... Good guys, Bad guys, mystery in a book (in the hands of the good guys, wanted by the bad guys), murder, evil possibilities if the bad guys win.... the usual in many ways but entertaining in the parallels...more

like · see review

Dec 11, 2012 Rod rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: cyberpunk, urban-fantasy, sci-fi

This is one of my favorite books!!! A story within a story that is truly amazing. The two stories are engaging and creative. That's all I can say. I used to read the "story within the story" to my 8th-graders.

like · see review

Jan 10, 2011 Mary rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of my all time favorite books. I love the character development, the magical qualities and the music that plays through all the intertwining stories. This book made me love reading again.

like · see review

Jun 10, 2011 Claire rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book because of the "story within a story" idea. I've read ones like this where I was really only interested in one story or the other, but this one was terrific.

like · see review

Oct 27, 2012 Kellyann rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

One of my favorite de Lint's to date. There's a story within a story, and the inner story has a rather Diana Wynne Jones-esque flavor to it. A good book to read while listening to traditional Celtic music.

like · see review

Dec 19, 2011 Jodi Lamm rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have to give this book five stars because it haunted my memories all while I grew up, and I didn't even know what it was called or who had written it.

like · see review

Dec 23, 2012 Erren Wolf rated it 5 of 5 stars

Charles deLint is one of my favourite authors. His writing really brings his books to life. This book is very well described.

like · see review

Apr 13, 2012 Janette rated it 2 of 5 stars

It was fast paced, but I wanted more out of it. While I did enjoy the read, I wasn't a huge fan of the style.

like · see review

Aug 06, 2011 Anne added it

I remember after I finished this, I knew I would want to read it again

like · see review

May 16, 2012 Suz Cate rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sort of a Dark is Rising for grownups. Highly enjoyable.

like · see review

May 06, 2013 Cathy Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love Charles de Lint's books. His imagination is fantastic. I wish the character's were real, what great friends they would make.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (7)

More editions...

Genres

Fantasy > Urban Fantasy

55 users

Fantasy

21 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

14 users

Science Fiction

6 users

Music

6 users

Cultural > Canada

5 users

Adult

4 users

Speculative Fiction

3 users

Fantasy > Magic

3 users

Fantasy > Mythology

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

One Lonely Night
by Mickey Spillane
The Wood Wife
by Terri Windling
Fear
by L. Ron Hubbard
Trustee from the Toolroom
by Nevil Shute
Finder
by Emma Bull

About Charles de Lint

Charles de Lint (born December 22, 1951) is a World Fantasy Award winning author. In 1974 he met MaryAnn Harris, and married her in 1980.

Along with writers like Terri Windling and John Crowley, de Lint popularized in the 1980s the genre of urban fantasy, most notably through the Bordeland series of books. His fantasy fiction is described under the fantasy sub-genres Urban Fantasy, contemporary M...more

More about Charles de Lint...

Books by Charles de Lint

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Little Country

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from The Little Country

“Myslela jsem si, že se to stává, když je člověk starý."
Denzil se zakuckal. "A ty jsi poměrně stará, myslím. Sedmnáct, není-liž pravda?"
"Osmnáct. A cítím se jako stařena.” — 1 person liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Little Country
avg rating	preview: The Little Country Goodreads rating: 4.03 (2340 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186445.The_Little_Country?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312055409l/186445.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186445.The_Little_Country?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Little Country by Charles de Lint[/url]

The Little Country

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website