The Painted Boy [Englisch] [Gebundene Ausgabe]

As a longtime fan, and reader of just about everything Charles de Lint has ever written, I was saddened when he moved way from Newford and into the desert southwest with the Memory of Grace. This new story of the Yellow Dragon Clan makes the entire journey more than worthwhile. De Lint has written his most powerful book in a very very long time. Seriously hard to put down, you'll probably end up reading it straight through and giving up most of a night of sleep!

Charles de Lint is one of a number of adult fantasy writers who are now writing for teens. You should know that Canadian writer de Lint is a very big name in fantasy, having almost single-handedly invented the subgenre of urban fantasy with his Newford stories, in which the world of Faerie overlaps--ruthlessly, if not chillingly--with the humans in a modern city based on Ottawa. (Actually, if he's the father of urban fantasy, then Terri Windling would be the mother!) A talented Celtic folk musician, de Lint often incorporates music and musicians into his work.

I've found that De Lint's books and stories for adult fantasy readers are sometimes slow going, but they are also thoughtful and beautifully written. His new book, The Painted Boy, sends a Chinese American teen with a secret dragon heritage from Chicago to the Southwest. He winds up in an Arizona border town called Santo del Vado Viejo. As a member of the Yellow Dragon Clan, James Li has special powers, but his tough little grandmother didn't teach him how to use them. Instead she taught him focusing exercises which do not seem especially helpful to James when he begins to run into trouble.

James has barely hit town before he is shadowed by gangbangers, and he finds shelter at a small restaurant named La Maravilla with a little help from a girl named Rosalie. She turns out to be friends with a girl named Anna who's the lead singer in a band called Malo Malo--and James is attracted to Anna. But before he can settle in, getting a job at La Maravilla, he has to deal with the adult leader of the Presidio Kings, El Tigre. That huge dragon art on James's back isn't a tattoo at all; instead it reflects his nature as a son of the Yellow Dragon Clan, and his very presence in town is a challenge to El Tigre. James establishes a temporary truce with the man, but eventually things fall apart and James has to take action.

In the meantime, James is learning more about his dragon self. For example, he practices walking in the magical desert world that lies just next to his own, led by a giddy little shapeshifter who's a jackalope girl. He meets a rattlesnake woman with uncertain loyalties and another old woman who used to run the whole region until El Tigre came along and messed things up, among other supernatural people. So what is James's role in all this, and to what extent should he get involved?

I was pleased to note that almost the entire cast of this book is Latino or Asian, though de Lint doesn't make a fuss about that. It's just such a boon to librarians and parents looking for fantasy that shows a broader world! And even though some of the characters are gang members, many more are not. De Lint has a gift for creating likable teen characters, let alone colorful secondary characters. In addition, the desert setting is striking and well used, as is the music of Malo Malo. In fact, Malo Malo's music, along with James and Anna as a couple, evoke the growing mix of cultures that is life in so many cities these days. (I live in L.A., and I used to work near a restaurant that featured both soul food and Chinese food.)

Message-wise, The Painted Boy ends up being very anti-gang. But its preachy moments aren't especially distracting; you'll be too busy cheering for James to figure out how to use his powers so he can protect his new friends from the bad guys. This is basically his coming-of-age story. And if the narrative has an occasional slow spot, overall it flows just fine. Because after 60+ books and a whole lot of music and imagination, Charles de Lint really knows how to tell a tale.

Before picking this book up, I had heard of Charles de Lint, but had never gotten around to giving any of his books a try yet. Well, I will now. I loved this book from the first couple of pages and it never lost my interest. The story is original, the characters likable and the plot well-paced. Charles de Lint, if this book is representative, is a master storyteller and I cannot wait to read more of his books. I may have just found a new favorite!

The only thing that I disliked about this book was some unevenness in the point of view, which may have been sorted out in the finalized copy of the book. Most of the story is told in third person and follows various characters. Occasionally though, a section will be given the heading "Jay" and will be told from Jay's perspective. While this is clear, it does feel a bit like cheating. Either do the whole book from Jay's perspective or do it all in third person. This might not have bothered me had it felt like there was any reason for these four or so sections to be from his point of view; I really do not think that these windows to his thoughts added anything that could not have been done with the third person narration.

Jay has a major task to accomplish and a bad guy to take down, which is typical for a fantasy novel, but that is not the real focus of the novel. The Painted Boy is first and foremost a Bildungsroman, a coming of age story for Jay. The focus is placed on his inner development and not on the external struggle. Do not think that this means the book lacks plot or excitement because of this.

Highly recommended!