Rating: 
Summary: It has some merits...
Review: A poor book by a renowned author. It struck me as a well written but shallow book, full of sometimes self-mocking but otherwise ever-present snobbery of the sort one would expect a hundred years ago. I read it to the end in hopes of some novel twist or revelation, but was dissapointed when I finished it, put it down and forgot about it- something I did not do with even an awful book like smiley's 'A Thousand Acres' (which at least left a taste in the mouth, albeit an acrid one). This book can be recommended to english majors, as it is chock full of literary allusions from Western literature, and many times over impresses Davies beliefs of the value of a education steeped in literature.
Rating: 
Summary: sheer wondrous curiosity about mankind
Review: A quirky MD who has developed his own brand of holistic medicine looks back on his life and the lives of those who have influenced his world and the culture of his city. The book is an engrossing read but the tale is simply not as captivating as his more popular books. You will not regret the time you spend with this book but you may not be as wholly satisfied with this author as you've been in the past. The book is tough going in parts if you are not extremely well read as he demonstrated his erudition through numerous references to other works. It is also a somewhat depressing if realistic look at ageing as we see a number of his friends die off. As always Davies has nudged my world view and few authors have that ability to create a lasting impression.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: As a long-time Robertson Davies fan, I was disappointed with his last novel. To be sure, his understanding of human nature remained exceptional to the end. However, the plot meandered and digressed far too often, and Mr. Davies seemed determined to pack in every pithy aphorism and witticism he could, even if it didn't seem necessary for the narrative. This would not be my first choice for an introduction to the warm and wise world of Robertson Davies.
Rating: 
Summary: a precise definite tour de force from start to finish
Review: Davies creates the types of Characters who have a firm head on their shoulders but still belong somewhere on the throne of Olympus. his "supermen" are just something else. it is the type of life a doctor would like to live forever.mystical,practical and coyful. the book is a dream to be decrypted by the reader.
Rating:
Summary: If ever I heard a better farewell to the world....
Review: Davies is Dr. Jonathon Hullah. He cannot disguise this fact. I never formed an image of Hullah; Mr. Davies was the main character and fittingly so. Afterall this was his memoir. Perhaps his life unraveled a little differently but all his beliefs are here in "The Cunning Man". I don't believe I have taken anyones' words with such reverence as I have Robertson Davies. He speaks to me beyond the grave - however indirectly - and has comforted me whenever I ended my day with one of his books in my hands. "The Cunning Man" was great for me in summing up my relations with him. After already reading 3 of his novels I felt his last novel would be a fitting conclusion. I was thrilled how perfect the reading experience of this book was. It truely touched my heart because I believe I was part of Robertson Davies' farewell address, which I also believe is all Mr. Davies wanted to do with this book.
Rating:
Summary: If ever I heard a better farewell to the world....
Review: Davies is Dr. Jonathon Hullah. He cannot disguise this fact. I never formed an image of Hullah; Mr. Davies was the main character and fittingly so. Afterall this was his memoir. Perhaps his life unraveled a little differently but all his beliefs are here in "The Cunning Man". I don't believe I have taken anyones' words with such reverence as I have Robertson Davies. He speaks to me beyond the grave - however indirectly - and has comforted me whenever I ended my day with one of his books in my hands. "The Cunning Man" was great for me in summing up my relations with him. After already reading 3 of his novels I felt his last novel would be a fitting conclusion. I was thrilled how perfect the reading experience of this book was. It truely touched my heart because I believe I was part of Robertson Davies' farewell address, which I also believe is all Mr. Davies wanted to do with this book.
Rating:
Summary: good for what ails you.
Review: Davies once commented that he knew "nothing about medicine" but had the highest degree of "hypochondriachal curiosity about it that is characteristic of authors." (source: his 1984 lecture entitled Can A Doctor Be A Humanist?). Here in his final novel, Davies seems to have given vent to his curiosity in the creation of the character Jonathan Hullah... an unconventional physician who gains a reputation through his intuitive (albeit successful) diagnostic techniques. For the eccentric Hullah, observation of, conversation with, and even "sniffing" of the patient brings him closer to an accurate prognosis than ever would an impersonal reading of a medical chart. Central to this holistic approach to medicine is Hullah's appreciation of not only the physical/biological aspects of man's nature, but also the mental and spiritual, and because of this understanding, he becomes known as the Cunning Man. It is a term borrowed from Robert Burton's "The Anatomy Of Melancholy" in a passage that appears on Davies' title page: "Cunning men, wizards, and white witches, as they call them, in every village, which, if they be sought unto, will help almost all infirmities of body and mind... The body's mischiefs, as Plato proves, proceed from the soul: and if the mind be not first satisfied, the body can never be cured." Through all of the great doctor's associations (as all the while, it applies also to himself) we find this theme played out... that to be truly healthy one must pay attention to MORE than merely the physical machine. I enjoyed this story, but I agree with several other reviewers that this is not Davies' finest book. It does not have quite the plot-strength of any of his other ten novels, but true Davies devotees will not dismantle their bearded statues over this. To the not-already worshipful, I encourage you that reading ANY Davies is better than to have not read him at all.
Rating:
Summary: Cunning and wise novel
Review: I have read all Robertson Davies' novels, including this his last and pity everyone who hasn't discovered him yet. He redefines how much a novel can give, and no one else can touch him. In this novel, we meet a doctor (Hullah) who has some of Davies' own breadth of knowledge and wisdom. Unlike Davies his approach to life is not readily discernible to his circle of friends and patients. This casebook and confessional diary and notebook bares his soul for the reader and along the way illuminates the possibilities of an holistic medicine. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The ONLY contemporary novelist not to be missed
Review: I just recently and quite by accident stumbled on the marvelous Robertson Davies and have just rushed through two of his trilogies and The Cunning Man and am halfway through the Salterton Trilogy. If you are looking for a novelist who satisfies like a four course meal with wonderful conversation and the best wine after a steady diet of celery sticks and thin social chatter, this is the novelist for you! He is funny, wise, full of interesting ideas, profound knowledge about all kinds of things, ranging freely from philosophy to psychology to gripping story-telling and all in one neat, funny, compulsively readable package. The Cunning Man is about a medical doctor with unorthodox diagnostic methods and the people who surround him as both friends and patients. This novel is a companion to Murther and Walking Spirits and probably would have become another trilogy if Davies had lived long enough to complete it. His take on medicine and illness and how it dovetails with personality is always provocative and interesting (this book should be obligatory reading for M.D.s) and I could never get enough. Dr. Hullah's big project is to write a diagnostic critique of fiction through the ages, investigating the probably illnesses of fictional characters like Jane Austen's heroines or Madame Bovary, and there are many interesting asides about the impact diseases have had on prominent historical personages and their fates (as for instance, Napoleon's piles at the Battle of Waterloo -- so painful he traveled to the battlefield with his doctor in a carriage and had to frequently lie down for relief.)
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing Read from My Favorite Author
Review: I've read everything Robertson Davies ever wrote. He's my favorite author and I especially love his trilogies. However, this one was slow and boring. I didn't even finish it. The story wasn't engaging at all.
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