Search - Fifth Business (Deptford Trilogy, Bk 1)

Fifth Business is the first novel in The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies. The trilogy is centered around several common themes, including the town of Deptford, the residents of this town and their offspring. After reading Fifth Business, I immediately started reading The Manticore, the second book in the trilogy.

Dunstable Ramsey, the protagonist of Fifth Business, is an extremely likable character. You feel a little like an outsider while reading this novel, because Dunstable seems to live as a spectator in his own life. Even so, the author does an incredible job of putting the reader at the center of his life, his travels, his careers & his obsessions. I’m really enjoying The Manticore now, and plan to read the final book of The Deptford Trilogy, World of Wonders, immediately after.

This is the first of the Deptford Trilogy by the late Robertson Davies. This award-winning Canadian author has a compelling style that draws you in from the first page. Written as a letter to his headmaster (he was the assistant headmaster) and delivered posthumously, the letter basically recalls all the salient events of his life. And though he comes across as a "reasonable man" who is not inclined to emote or dramatize events, he certainly has participated in some of the most remarkable occurrences. The term "Fifth Business" is described as a role in drama that is neither hero nor villain, but without which the story could not be told. Not the luminary, yet essential nonetheless. You begin to understand that he is describing himself as this character throughout. While not the luminary himself, he nevertheless is the thread that winds through all the other lives and through which their lives are told. Engaging, entertaining and educational. Definitely a good read. Makes you want to read the rest of the trilogy - "The Manticore" and "World of Wonders" - along with others of the 30 or so books by this fine author.