Full Fadom Five

by David C.C. Bourgeois

It is 1997 and Noah Lamarck's life is a mess. Laid off work as a librarian, with his estranged wife and child in need of money, and the trauma of his father's mysterious suicide unresolved, he struggles to find a way forward. A persevering man, but running out of options, Noah is thrown an unexpected when long lost evidence of Shakespeare's life is uncovered, an eccentric bibliophile hires Noah and his friend, graduate student Cecelia Lines, to investigate. But the more they delve into the playwright's life, the more they are drawn into each other's; and despite their growing feelings for one another, their divided loyalties leave them increasingly at odds, and vulnerable to the manipulations of their employer. So unfolds a drama of love, sex, family tensions, financial burdens, obsessions, and devious manipulations which Noah and Cecelia, like players in a Shakespearean romance of star-crossed lovers, must navigate to save not only themselves, but Noah's family from ruin. Set in places as varied as the seacoast of Cape Breton, the streets of Toronto, and Shakespeare's London, in Full Fadom Five the past is always present, and the characters always at the mercy of their those they carry forward, and those they try to leave behind.

480 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2023

Reviews

[Lucy Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full Fadom Five by David C.C. Bourgeois is peopled with engaging characters and is written with a powerful and accomplished use of language, as well as a solid grasp of English literature. When the story begins, we learn that Noah has lost his job at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in the University of Toronto. Soon after, he accepts a contract from a wealthy businessman who has purchased a document allegedly connected to William Shakespeare. Although Noah and his colleague Cecelia are hired to confidentially assess the importance of the text, their academic research is only the beginning of this complex, multi-layered tale. A series of relationships involving everything from romance to parenting, eldercare to jealous conflict, threaten to overtake the central scholarly inquiry, yet are skillfully interwoven. Echoing the best of Robertson Davies, Bourgeois delivers an elaborately balanced plot, filled with page-turning intrigue, desire and mystery. Recommended.

[Gary Kirchner]

In Full Fadom Five, David C. C. Bourgeois has crafted an original and intelligent story of family, friendship, and a plausibly developed connection to William Shakespeare himself! The scope of the work is broad in both time and geography; the reader is taken from the rugged seacoast of Nova Scotia to a seminar room at the University of Toronto to the estate of a wealthy and manipulative bibliophile, with a side trip to the bedside of a dying woman in sixteenth century London. The author exhibits brilliant linguistic fluency, with language which propels the work forward rather than weighing it down. The descriptions of setting, emotion, and atmosphere engage every one of the reader’s senses, making the reading a thoroughly enjoyable experience. It is hard to believe that this is a debut novel; I look forward to reading more from this author.

[H Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full Fadom Five is a brilliant novel with a large cast of well-drawn characters and beautifully evoked settings: Elizabethan London, contemporary Toronto, and rural Nova Scotia. The language registers also match the settings. We empathize fully with Noah the protagonist and the major characters as they struggle to make the most of the lives they’ve been given and the various phenomena they don’t understand. This is a novel that is in large part funny. It, however, leaves you reflecting on existential issues long after you’ve closed it.

[Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parts of this were fantastic, parts felt a like they were trying too hard. But overall I enjoyed the story. The descriptions are great, and its sense. The play was my favourite part.