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Summary: Davies' Deptford Trilogy - A MUST-read
Review: The only bad thing about Robertson Davies' Deptford Trilogy (FIFTH BUSINESS, THE MANTICORE, WORLD OF WONDERS) is that it had to end! Sparklingly clever, bawdy, poignant, erudite, and laugh-out-loud funny, Davies entertains in a wonderfully rich, old-world style.A friend of mine (who recommended the books, and to whom I will be forever grateful) put it this way: "Reading Robertson Davies is like sitting in a plush, wood-paneled library--in a large leather chair with a glass of excellent brandy and a crackling fire--and being captivated with a fabulous tale spun by a wonderful raconteur."
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Summary: WOW!!
Review: This book is definitely one of the best I've ever read. The plot is stunning, mature, unique, and sophisticated. I couldn't put the book down!! The characters were wonderfully contrived, and the way Davies wove them into one plot was beautifully done. It was amusing at times too, and interesting to see how Dunstan Ramsay and his friends matured.
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Summary: Thank saints there are 2 more in the series
Review: In this mature and subtle book, Davies sets out to expore the crisis that takes grip when one must justify a life lived. But like the plot itself, the reader is left with perhaps more questions than anwers. Why do we value acheivement more than deapth of spirit? Is the life of one dragged by events any less valuable that that of the successful showman, businessman or politician? Isn't success just an illusion that covers the emptiness of spirit that is its inevitable companion? Along the way, the reader meets colorful characters - priests and sinners - the enliven the story. A book that is therapy bound by leather.
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Summary: Damn good reading
Review: I usually hate school books, but this one was worth the read. It is unlike anything I have ever read, in its content, theme, structure, and style; rarely do I read something this fresh to the mind, and this enlightening. It's brilliant, and subtle. Davies should be better known, but I can understand why he has remained largely obscure outside of Canada, as many of his acute and literate references are often lost on readers (myself included, though it doesn't change my opinion). One of the best books I've ever read.
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Summary: Fifth Business, while not literature's best, is a good book
Review: The complaints do have some force - this book is slow in development, and the plot lacks excitement or even high suspense. But anyone looking for a thriller should read Tom Clancy. This book grips you in a different way. It gives you a respect for life and forces you to review your own life; and in a totally different way than say, As I Lay Dying. The book works on your subconscious, it achieves its effect without demanding scrutinous analysis. This book does what every good book should do. It changes your life
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Summary: A fantastic novel that grips the intellectual mind
Review: I found this book amazing once i got into it. Davies has a fabulous use of words and you are pulled into the life of Dunstan Ramsey as he journey's to adulthood. Definitly one of the most interesting coming of age novels ever written by a canadian author.
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Summary: Greatness is here if you have the equipment to find it
Review: This magnificent novel exemplifies all of Davies's work with which I am familiar (over ten books, mostly novels). If you are interested in subtlety, humor (high and low), and depth of character, you will probably not read a better book (except for maybe his "World of Wonders"). However, unless you have achieved a certain maturity of intellect, you will not get into it. Davies himself says the best time to read a novel is when you are the age of the author when he wrote it; he was in his late fifties when this was first published. Robertson Davies is the greatest novelist of the twentieth century, and "Fifth Business" is nearly his best novel.
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Summary: Literate but basically boring
Review: I was really excited about starting this trilogy, having read some of the reviews. Somewhere I had read of alleged similarities (fatal snowball, fatal baseball, Canadian connections) between this book and A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY, my all-time favorite novel over 40-plus years of reading. Was I ever disappointed!!! It started out ok but once the narrrator's childhood was over, the book got much less interesting. It was an odd combination of many elements, but I got royally bored with some of the pompous characters and the endless discourses on magic shows. Although I can recognize Davies as a highly literate writer, the plot just wasn't for me and needless to say, I am stopping two short of completing the trilogy. Read OWEN MEANY instead.
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Summary: This book is garbage!
Review: I've read this book once, but only because I had to. I thought the book was completely garbage. I don't recommend for anyone to read it unless they have to.
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Summary: It is a story of Dunstan Ramsay and his search for self.
Review: Fifth business is rather a story with a confusing plot. Its not a very enjoyable book.While reading it I really felt like sleeping. To better understand it a person needs to focus on the depth of the plot. A person cannot really relax and read it. Tehseen
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