Thursday, January 31, 2008
While browsing through the stacks at a favorite independent bookstore, I came upon a copy of Fifth Business, a Canadian classic by Robertson Davies, the first novel of his acclaimed Deptford Trilogy. I cannot resist a Penguin paperback—the combination of superior cover art and binding make them a pleasure to hold, read and collect. If you've not yet discovered Canada's prominent novelist, playwright, critic, and journalist, then pick up a copy of Fifth Business as it is his most autobiographical work of fiction. It tells the story of three characters—Dunstan Ramsey, Boy Staunton, and Paul Dempster, whose life paths are haunted by a single boyhood event. Davies' prose is reflective of his academic study of mythology and archetypes, his career as a repertory actor and theater advocate. He was one of the founders of the Ontario Stratford Shakespearean Festival, North America's leading classical theater.
