Fifth Business (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Robertson Davies
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
folks from small towns, history buffs, fans of magic and mythology
My current comfort reading is The Deptford Trilogy. Unlike many of the books I reread nearly annually, I haven't read any Robertson Davies in quite some time, though he was one of my favorite authors when I was in my late teens and early twenties.
While I was less engrossed in The Fifth Business than I have been on previous reads, I do still very much enjoy Davies. His world view is an interesting--and sometimes politically incorrect--combination of old world and new: born in 1913, raised i...more
While I was less engrossed in The Fifth Business than I have been on previous reads, I do still very much enjoy Davies. His world view is an interesting--and sometimes politically incorrect--combination of old world and new: born in 1913, raised i...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
those who want an arts education without the expense
Robertson Davies is one of the most well-read writers I've ever read. His knowledge of the classic canon of English lit is unreal. (Having spent a stint at the Old Vic Theatre in London and a while as a journalist, editor of Saturday Night magazine, Master of Massey College at U of T, etc. I'm sure didn't hurt.) So, part of the thrill of reading his books is picking up little tidbits of knowledge that he absorbed along the way. For example, in the Psalms somewhere there is a line about how "...more
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Read in February, 2008
I seem to have fallen behind a bit on my reviews, so I now find myself casting my mind back to Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, which I read one month ago, or six books ago. I seem to have given it four stars, and now I feel I should back that up. Hmm. I remember what the book was about - the life and times of a Canadian schoolteacher stretching from the early to the later 20th century. I remember that it was very well written and that parts of it were funny (like the narrator's reminisce...more
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Read in March, 2008
I discovered Fifth Business in a pile of books at my parents house and it had an interesting cover so I picked it up. What a find! Apparently, Robertson Davies was an important Canadian writer I haven't heard of until a few days ago. If you don't know about him, you should. Put this on your list and read it. You won't be disappointed. I can't really say much about the plot or characters without giving too much away, but it follows the narrator over a span of fifty years along with some other cha...more
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Read in January, 2007
Anal-retentive? Well... Dunstable grew up in a small Canadian town in the early 1900s with stiff Scottish presbytian parents. In the pivotal moment, Dunstable will live with the guilt of his eight-yr-old slyness after dodging a snowball thrown by his best friend and arch nemesis, Percy Boyd Staunton . The rock-laden snowball hits the Baptist minister's wife instead, inducing labor to a pre-mature Paul who survives because of the iron will of Dunstable's Scottish mother's. The Baptist minister's ...more
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Read in May, 2004
recommends it for:
everyone
I don't have a word for this book. I read this senior year in high school as one of the books that we were required to read in AP English. It was one of my favorites, it's one of those books that makes you wonder as well. Have you ever done anything that changed your life, but you don't really know what really happened? That's what this book is mostly about ....how doing one thing can cause a chain reaction towards everyone around you and change everyone's lives.
This book made me wonder ...more
This book made me wonder ...more
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recommends it for:
abbiereads, megan
Synopsis:
Schoolteacher Dunstan Ramsay looks back over his life, intertwined with that of a childhood friend and inextricably linked with a madwoman he desperately wants to believe is a saint.
Review:
I had no idea what I was in for when I began Fifth Business, the first book in Canadian novelist Robertson Davies’s Deptford trilogy. I have an older paperback and the copy on the back just says, “the story of a rational man who discovers that the marvelous is only another aspect of the re...more
Schoolteacher Dunstan Ramsay looks back over his life, intertwined with that of a childhood friend and inextricably linked with a madwoman he desperately wants to believe is a saint.
Review:
I had no idea what I was in for when I began Fifth Business, the first book in Canadian novelist Robertson Davies’s Deptford trilogy. I have an older paperback and the copy on the back just says, “the story of a rational man who discovers that the marvelous is only another aspect of the re...more
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Read in May, 2008
I've heard of Davies since a long time ago, but never took the effort to find and read his books. I found this one in a second hand book counter in some street festival. Should be an interesting one.
The whole book was dedicated to the life of Dunstan Ramsay (Dunny), who grew up in a small town in Canada, became so fond of saints, magic and Mary Dempster. Dunny grew up to be a soldier in World War 1 and authors of several serious articles and books on "hagiology"..
As a result.. ...more
The whole book was dedicated to the life of Dunstan Ramsay (Dunny), who grew up in a small town in Canada, became so fond of saints, magic and Mary Dempster. Dunny grew up to be a soldier in World War 1 and authors of several serious articles and books on "hagiology"..
As a result.. ...more
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A marvelous examination of the things that matter in a life, with some mystery/magic thrown in at the end just to keep it juicy. I first read this book in college, then again in my 30's and a third time a few years ago, and it always both warms me and gets me thinking. An interesting view of transcendental themes from an academic clearly rooted in logical western thought -- but open to other ways of approaching life.
Robertson Davies is muc...more
Robertson Davies is muc...more
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This is an absolutely fabulous book.
It was incredibly well written. There were some lines that just knocked me over the head because they were the perfect balance of being completely real and astonishingly intelligent. Robertson Davies has created a remarkable character in Dunstan Ramsay, who witnesses all sorts of evils and miracles in his lifetime, while playing out his own somewhat small but extremely significant part in connection to these events.
This is quite honestly one of the best ...more
It was incredibly well written. There were some lines that just knocked me over the head because they were the perfect balance of being completely real and astonishingly intelligent. Robertson Davies has created a remarkable character in Dunstan Ramsay, who witnesses all sorts of evils and miracles in his lifetime, while playing out his own somewhat small but extremely significant part in connection to these events.
This is quite honestly one of the best ...more
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Read in December, 2007
At the time of reading Fifth Business, I had never read Davies before. I'm glad to say I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. The characters were richly developed; Davies artfully captures the intricacies of the human spirit and probes emotions that often seem difficult to write or talk about.
I personally enjoyed the concpet - the idea of the term 'fifth business' - more than anything. I look forward to reading the others two books in the trilogy.
I personally enjoyed the concpet - the idea of the term 'fifth business' - more than anything. I look forward to reading the others two books in the trilogy.
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This is one of my favorite books, period, and Robertson Davies is one of my favorite authors, period. There's not only deep humor and psychological truth in what he writes, but he's so erudite that each reading uncovers some new layer of meaning.
I also love the fact that he made up the term "Fifth Business" and then crafted a fake reference source for it when his publisher questioned it. Insightful, subversive, delightful.
I also love the fact that he made up the term "Fifth Business" and then crafted a fake reference source for it when his publisher questioned it. Insightful, subversive, delightful.
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Robertson Davies is my all time favorite author. There is NOTHING he has written that I don't love. I've read his books over and over again, and every time I'm astonished to find more subtle clues, and more interesting things to learn about literature, magic, art, music, theatre, art forgery, Jungian analysis, etc. Davies was a brilliant professor at U of Toronto, and his depth of knowledge is obvious in his books.
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Read in January, 2008
Just started this yesterday, so far I'm liking it. It seems to be a story of a mans life in a small town in canada in the early 1900's. I'll probably finish it tonight, so I will add more later.
So i finished it and i actually ended up really liking it. It's kinda random, but this man has some stories to tell and a surprise ending! Good story, I'll have to go get the other three in the trilogy now.
So i finished it and i actually ended up really liking it. It's kinda random, but this man has some stories to tell and a surprise ending! Good story, I'll have to go get the other three in the trilogy now.
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Read in March, 2008
This is the first book in what is known as Robertson Davies's Deptford Trilogy. I admit I had never heard of this author before I picked up the second and third parts of the trilogy at my local used bookstore a while back, and was forced to buy this one at Barnes and Noble since I wanted the full experience of the trilogy. Though it's hard to pinpoint what I liked about it, I was not disappointed.
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Read in July, 2008
"...the fifteen hundred years of Christianity that has made our world is in their bones, and they want to show they can be Christians without Christ. Those are the worst; they have the cruelty of doctrine without the poetic grace of myth."
"He had another delusion of the political novice: he was going to apply "sound business principles" to government and thereby give it a fine new gloss."
"He had another delusion of the political novice: he was going to apply "sound business principles" to government and thereby give it a fine new gloss."
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Read in January, 2008
It's a plodding, simple narrative of a very exciting life. At first I was thrilled by the stark Canadian aesthetic and then I started to see it as evidence of a too apparent outline. By the end though, thrill, passion and mysticism swoop in with the same matter of fact tone. It's quite stunning to behold, actually. That and his descriptions of Liesl.
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Fifth business is an opera term referring to the individuals who play a supporting role to the other singers. In this one, the protagonist plays a supporting role to others his entire life but is still able to find meaning and purpose for himself. I enjoyed this one considerably and pleased to find out it's one of a trilogy.
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This guy is tough sledding at times, but he writes about strange, cool settings, like English departments, news rooms and theater sets. His prose is thick and his sentences can be a bit overlong, but he teaches you about strange topics -- gypsies, circuses, Canadians -- in a non-pedantic manner. I've read all 3 of his trilogies.
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Read in January, 2003
recommended to Richelle by:
A
A surprisingly good book -- although I wasn't sure how to take it that Mandie recommended the book because the main character reminded her of me. It's not an entirely flattering comparision, though I do think I understand what she meant. This book is counted among those that had a very deep impact on my life and my journey.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.18 (623 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 4.22 (467 ratings) number of reviews: 68popular shelves
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quote
"My lifelong involvement with Mrs Dempster began at 5:58 o'clock p.m. on 27 December 1908, at which time I was ten years and seven months old."
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