Call number
Genres
Publication
New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1996.
Pages
294
Description
Leaving behind her fashionable West Coast life, Maggie Black comes to the Southwestern desert to pursue her passion and her dream. Her mentor, the acclaimed poet Davis Cooper, has mysteriously died in the canyons east of Tucson, bequeathing her his estate and the mystery of his life--and death.Maggie is astonish by the power of this harsh but beautiful land and captivated by the uncommon people who call it home--especially Fox, a man unlike any she has ever known, who understands the desert's special power.As she reads Cooper's letters and learns the secrets of his life, Maggie comes face-to-face withe the wild, ancient spirits of the desert--and discovers the hidden power at its heart, a power that will take her on a journey like no other.
Awards
Mythopoeic Awards (Finalist — Adult Literature — 1997)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1996
Physical description
294 p.; 7.2 inches
ISBN
0812549295 / 9780812549294
Similar in this library
User reviews
LibraryThing member TadAD
I had remembered really liking this book from when I read it about 12 years ago. I had forgotten how much I liked it, enough that I'm nudging it into my Favorites list for this particular genre.
Windling takes the same basic American folklore stock as Charles de Lint and others have used and, like
Windling lives in Arizona much of the year and her story evokes the beauty of the southwest, particularly the Rincon Mountains, rendering it seductive even to the non-native. By preference, I'm a creature of the northeast, cool, well-forested, and abundantly watered. Yet, I couldn't help but be seduced by her words and want to go and experience the austere landscapes she portrayed.
The story she told and the setting would have been enough for me to enjoy this book, but I also appreciated in her distinctive vision of the spirits. If you imagine a continuum—someone like Jane Lindskold on the left with her mythical figures all too human, squabbling like the immature Gods of Olympus, through Charles de Lint in the center with his spirits otherworldly but still capable of emotions we recognize, then Windling's creations sit over on the right. They are un-human in their concerns and motivations, neither good nor evil but amoral in the strictest sense. It felt chilling and right.
I really wish she'd stop painting, stop editing, stop writing children's books, stop whatever else she's doing now and give us another novel such as this one.
Windling takes the same basic American folklore stock as Charles de Lint and others have used and, like
Show More
them, crafts it into a contemporary story where our world touches those myths. Coyote, Crow and other spirits walk just on the edge of our perception, seen only by a few. As is often true in folklore, Windling populates her story with artists, their creative side drawing them closer to that other world and the works of Neruda, Borges and Rilke are woven into the tale, along with a bit of Windling's own poetry, which I rather enjoyed, as well as references to Kahlo, Miller and Nin.Windling lives in Arizona much of the year and her story evokes the beauty of the southwest, particularly the Rincon Mountains, rendering it seductive even to the non-native. By preference, I'm a creature of the northeast, cool, well-forested, and abundantly watered. Yet, I couldn't help but be seduced by her words and want to go and experience the austere landscapes she portrayed.
The story she told and the setting would have been enough for me to enjoy this book, but I also appreciated in her distinctive vision of the spirits. If you imagine a continuum—someone like Jane Lindskold on the left with her mythical figures all too human, squabbling like the immature Gods of Olympus, through Charles de Lint in the center with his spirits otherworldly but still capable of emotions we recognize, then Windling's creations sit over on the right. They are un-human in their concerns and motivations, neither good nor evil but amoral in the strictest sense. It felt chilling and right.
I really wish she'd stop painting, stop editing, stop writing children's books, stop whatever else she's doing now and give us another novel such as this one.
Show Less
LibraryThing member MusicMom41
I have wanted to read this book ever since I read a review on LT describing it as a book that is about Southwestern myth, folklore and culture, an area in which I have great interest. That description, although not untrue, is only a tip of the iceberg and I was really unprepared for the experience
Here are some of the impressions I have about Windling’s novel. I would describe it as a collision of “real life” with the myth and folklore of the American Southwest. In addition to the folklore the story handles well several other passions of mine, including music, poetry, and art. Both the “real” characters and the mythical characters are well developed, interesting and sometimes difficult to tell apart. The descriptions of the landscape are so vivid that the reader is pulled into the “place” as well as into the story. I may never use the expression “Words cannot describe…” again. Teri Windling has proven that, indeed, words can definitely describe so vividly that the reader can actually see it all.
Bottom line: I loved this incredibly fascinating book. It was an almost overwhelming reading experience that will stand up to several rereads because there is so much to explore and revel in. Highly recommended
BTW If you read it you will also learn why this is a great “Halloween read!” :-)
Show More
of the book. I am not able to write a “review” of the book because in many ways I am still processing it and will have to reread it. For a great review I suggest you go to TadAD’s review . Here are some of the impressions I have about Windling’s novel. I would describe it as a collision of “real life” with the myth and folklore of the American Southwest. In addition to the folklore the story handles well several other passions of mine, including music, poetry, and art. Both the “real” characters and the mythical characters are well developed, interesting and sometimes difficult to tell apart. The descriptions of the landscape are so vivid that the reader is pulled into the “place” as well as into the story. I may never use the expression “Words cannot describe…” again. Teri Windling has proven that, indeed, words can definitely describe so vividly that the reader can actually see it all.
Bottom line: I loved this incredibly fascinating book. It was an almost overwhelming reading experience that will stand up to several rereads because there is so much to explore and revel in. Highly recommended
BTW If you read it you will also learn why this is a great “Halloween read!” :-)
Show Less
LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
Winner of the Mythopoeic Award.
I really wish I hadn't read this so close to Charles DeLint's 'Memory and Dream'. It was written two years later (in 1996), and DeLint did a blurb for it, so I suppose he deserves credit - but the theme of this story is extremely similar. Both novels deal with the
However, I liked this book a lot better - I am really a huge fan of Terri Windling in general, and I liked the characters, the setting, and just felt that it flowed really well...
Maggie Black, a sophisticated, successful writer, is unexpectedly named in the will of a famous poet that she had enjoyed a long correspondence with, but never met. Having inherited his house and papers, although this is rendered bittersweet by the fact that the poet appears to have been murdered under mysterious circumstances, she goes to her new property in rural Arizona with the hopes of writing a biography of the man.
In the Sonoran desert, she finds more than she bargained for, not only in the culture shock of the Southwest and the unexpected attraction of a young man she meets there... but going through the poet's papers, she discovers fascinating information about the poet's late wife, the mystical painter Anna Naverra, and begins to uncover a web of secrets. But more than family drama may be involved, as strange visitations and unexplainable phenomena begin to occur...
Originally written as part of a project in tribute to Brian Froud, one might feel that his artwork is mentioned a few too many times... but that's a very minor point in a very enjoyable story...
I really wish I hadn't read this so close to Charles DeLint's 'Memory and Dream'. It was written two years later (in 1996), and DeLint did a blurb for it, so I suppose he deserves credit - but the theme of this story is extremely similar. Both novels deal with the
Show More
concept of creatures/spirits of myth and legend being given physical form through the work of contemporary artists - and the emotional angst and physical danger that this power can lead to.However, I liked this book a lot better - I am really a huge fan of Terri Windling in general, and I liked the characters, the setting, and just felt that it flowed really well...
Maggie Black, a sophisticated, successful writer, is unexpectedly named in the will of a famous poet that she had enjoyed a long correspondence with, but never met. Having inherited his house and papers, although this is rendered bittersweet by the fact that the poet appears to have been murdered under mysterious circumstances, she goes to her new property in rural Arizona with the hopes of writing a biography of the man.
In the Sonoran desert, she finds more than she bargained for, not only in the culture shock of the Southwest and the unexpected attraction of a young man she meets there... but going through the poet's papers, she discovers fascinating information about the poet's late wife, the mystical painter Anna Naverra, and begins to uncover a web of secrets. But more than family drama may be involved, as strange visitations and unexplainable phenomena begin to occur...
Originally written as part of a project in tribute to Brian Froud, one might feel that his artwork is mentioned a few too many times... but that's a very minor point in a very enjoyable story...
Show Less
LibraryThing member thioviolight
The Wood Wife is an enchanting modern fantasy by Terri Windling, filled with wood spirits, wonderful imagery, surreal magic, art and poetry. Even though I consider myself a city girl at heart, I found the desert setting and wildlife compelling, almost as Black Maggie did. The story is peopled with
Show More
interesting characters against a fascinating backdrop. I'd really love to revisit this desert and the characters I've grown to love! Show Less
LibraryThing member kmaziarz
Journalist and former poet Marguerita Black—Maggie to her friends—has inherited the estate of eccentric, drunken, and irascible poet Davis Cooper. She had corresponded with Cooper for many years after he rejected her request to write his biography, but the two never met in person before
Poetic, rich, and evocative, Windling’s award-winning first novel is insightful and captivating. A delightful blend of magic, nature, and art.
Show More
Cooper’s mysterious death by drowning—in the desert. She heads from her home in cosmpolitan, glittering LA to Cooper’s remote rural home outside of Tucson, intending both to put his things to rights and to do research for her long-delayed biography of the famed poet. What she finds in the arid land, so different from either LA or her childhood home in the Appalachian mountains, is far from what she could have expected. Magic and creatures out of myth and folklore haunt the desert around her, playing with the lives of the other artists and writers living on or near Cooper’s land. Somehow, a true artist—like Cooper, or his long-dead wife, the mad painter Anna Naverra—can influence and shape those spirits. But nothing can control them, and, though many of them are picturesque and even lovely, none of them share anything resembling a human sense of morality. Maggie herself must find her own long-denied creative side and learn to walk the spiral path in order to save herself and her new friends from the spirits’ games and machinations.Poetic, rich, and evocative, Windling’s award-winning first novel is insightful and captivating. A delightful blend of magic, nature, and art.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Blyton
Very enjoyable, inventive novel. Although, I hated the fact that the bunny-like creature died, it should have been that awful self-centered man who abused his wife. Wish she wrote more novels.
LibraryThing member Ammonite
I greatly enjoyed this on first reading, and have re-read it several times since. Windling gently interweaves the strands of the plot, describing a woman's escape from a subtly abusive 'ordinary' relationship into other, intriguing relationships with her art, the landscape of the southwest, a
Written from memory about 6 months after last reading.
Show More
culture, and the people who live -- or lived -- there. Written from memory about 6 months after last reading.
Show Less
LibraryThing member rudyleon
I had very low expectations of this book (chosen by a book group) but I loved it.
LibraryThing member selfmanic
Cannot wait till the sequel for this novel. One of my all time favorite books, that is amazing even when read over and over, it only gets better.
LibraryThing member tloeffler
Maggie Black inherits a house in the outskirts of Tucson from Davis Cooper, a poet whom she has never met, but has corresponded with for years. Strange things start happening as she begins to sort through his belongings, the poems he wrote and the paintings his wife made before she died. Before
Show More
long, fantastical creatures begin appearing in the woods, and these creatures seem to be the key to Davis Cooper. The beginning is slow, and the romance scenes don't always ring true, but once the fantasy starts, it DOES ring true, and makes a compelling and satisfying story. Show Less
LibraryThing member kraaivrouw
Terri Windling is one of the editors of the very cool Fairy Tale series of books and of the Bordertown series. I really like all of those books and when I saw she had a full-length novel I grabbed it up. I love this kind of fantastical reworking of old stories.
For me this book was just okay.
I really like the desert setting, although I'm partial to New Mexico over Arizona, and Windling gives you a good sense of the feel of the place. Where I have quibbles are with the characters - they're all just a little bit too perfectly groovy for me to care and seem sort of surface magazine cover glossy with not much underneath. Even the fairies or pixies or spirits of the land or whatnot are sort of all surface shine, but not a lot of there there.
An okay read, just not the best ever.
For me this book was just okay.
Show More
Honestly, I think Charles de Lint has done a much better job with this kind of story (Forests of the Heart, for instance, and big chunks of Someplace to Be Flying). Ultimately he's a better writer than Windling.I really like the desert setting, although I'm partial to New Mexico over Arizona, and Windling gives you a good sense of the feel of the place. Where I have quibbles are with the characters - they're all just a little bit too perfectly groovy for me to care and seem sort of surface magazine cover glossy with not much underneath. Even the fairies or pixies or spirits of the land or whatnot are sort of all surface shine, but not a lot of there there.
An okay read, just not the best ever.
Show Less
LibraryThing member pandoragreen
Wonderful, brilliant book. I love everything Windling has written. I really wish she would produce more book length works. Or even a printed collection of her non-fiction essays. I find this novel very reminiscent of Charles de Lint.
LibraryThing member jen.e.moore
Incredible. There needs to be a name for the genre that is this book and War for the Oaks, because I think they're pretty much the same thing. Humans And Faeries Together They Don't Understand Each Other Very Well But It's Still Pretty Awesome? Something like that.
LibraryThing member isabelx
When the girl uncurled, she had been transformed, or else had transformed herself, into a grey hare, a desert jackrabbit, covered in a layer of dust.
When poet Davis Cooper is found dead in suspicious circumstances, Maggie Black, who had corresponded with Cooper for years but never met him, inherits
I had trouble getting into this book, but by the time I was half-way through I had been ensnared by the magic of the desert and its inhabitants, whether human, animal, or something in between. The way that Anna & Cooper's imagination had given forms to the earth spirits that had always been there reminded me of "Mythago Wood", whose mythic inhabitants come from the deepest recesses of the collective unconscious and can also be formed by people who get too involved with the wood.
I know the author was inspired by Brian Froud's paintings, but did she have to mention his name quite so often? I found it a bit irritating and for me it broke the spell of the story every time it happened.
When poet Davis Cooper is found dead in suspicious circumstances, Maggie Black, who had corresponded with Cooper for years but never met him, inherits
Show More
his house in the Arizona desert near Tucson. She decides to live in the house for a while and write his biography. She gradually realises that the earth spirits of Cooper's poetry and his long-dead lover's paintings may not be imaginary and that some of the locals are more than they seem.I had trouble getting into this book, but by the time I was half-way through I had been ensnared by the magic of the desert and its inhabitants, whether human, animal, or something in between. The way that Anna & Cooper's imagination had given forms to the earth spirits that had always been there reminded me of "Mythago Wood", whose mythic inhabitants come from the deepest recesses of the collective unconscious and can also be formed by people who get too involved with the wood.
I know the author was inspired by Brian Froud's paintings, but did she have to mention his name quite so often? I found it a bit irritating and for me it broke the spell of the story every time it happened.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JSmith5528
This is a very interesting and lush novel. “Lush” seems out of place as I write this, because the novel is set in the desert outside of Tucson, and the environment is definitely a major character. Maggie inherits the poet Jake Cooper’s property in the Rincon mountains, even though she’s
Show More
never met him. Maggie moves out to the property and meets her natural and supernatural neighbors. Windling’s writing makes the desert come alive and seem magical, especially at night (which is when most of the interesting stuff happens). Reading this book made me want to go out the desert some night and explore, even though I hate the desert. Maggie moves out to the property to write a biography on Cooper. In the background is the nagging question of how Cooper died – how does one drown in the middle of the desert? Maggie quickly comes into contact with the supernatural inhabitants of the land. The supernatural characters aren’t malignant or benevolent – they’re indifferent. They don’t wear blatant signs that say “good guy” or “bad guy.” I liked that aspect of the novel – the interaction between the natural and the supernatural. One of the main characters is the trickster character, who takes a deep interest in Maggie. Windling’s writing is rather poetic, and poetry is a significant factor in this story. All in all, an excellent “urban fantasy” novel which shows that even the most barren of places can be magical and interesting. Show Less
LibraryThing member juniperSun
I loved this book, a gift from my daughter, full of the magical realism we both enjoy.
LibraryThing member RealLifeReading
I have to admit that around the first couple of chapters, I was wondering if I should adhere to my first 50 pages rule and give up as it was nearing 50 and I was a little uninterested in her writing. But I was on a long-ish bus journey and needed something to drown out the TV Mobile (yes we have
Show More
TVs on the buses in Singapore). So I persisted and I'm glad I did. It's quite a fascinating plot and somehow it made me think of Murakami's Kafka on the Shore a little (of Nakata and the cats). But I wasn't totally enamoured with the writing, which I think tended to tell more than show. I felt disconnected from the characters. And that, as well as the plot, made me race through the book rather quickly. Show Less
LibraryThing member kukulaj
It's rare that I read a fantasy novel. I just moved to Utah from New York and I was hoping this book would help give me a feel for the desert. Bingo! Perfect! The unfolding of the story works very nicely, pulling the reader gradually into a world of spirits and spiral time etc. Lots of coyotes!
Show More
With poets and painters! Show Less
LibraryThing member hopeevey
I'm not sure I can really review this book. I mentioned in an update that I want to crawl in and live in this story - that pretty much is all I know how to say about it. I need to own a copy of this book, and it will become a frequent re-read.
LibraryThing member whatsmacksaid
ETA on 5/20/2019: it's even better the second time around. It's not a quick read by any means, but I love it. I don't reread many books these days, but I will probably read The Wood Wife a third time.
***
This was SO GOOD. I loooooved it, it's going on my reread list.
There was one off-colored joke
I highly recommend The Wood Wife.
***
This was SO GOOD. I loooooved it, it's going on my reread list.
There was one off-colored joke
Show More
about a character's ex-boyfriend wanting to wear her bras, though. That was unfortunate. The rest is just amazing. I loved how Windling wove Davis and Naverra through the modern art history scene, and also how she incorporated painting, sculpture, music, and poetry all throughout the novel. Absolutely breathtaking. I highly recommend The Wood Wife.
Show Less
LibraryThing member allyshaw
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and its vivid sense of place. I usually dislike books that talk of poets as heroic characters but for some reason this was done so seamlessly I didn't bother me.
LibraryThing member turbojenn
this book was the first to make me want to explore the American Southwest.
LibraryThing member kcollett
Maggie gradually discovers the secrets of the desert mountains and her dead poet mentor. Not lots of action, but wonderful vision. Combination of English folk-tale creatures and South-western mythology.