the deptford trilogy pt3

book: world of wonders
author: roberston davies
completion date: 21/06/10
method: borrowed (mum)

i felt that this was by far the weakest link in the trilogy. i found myself not really enjoying it or seeing its purpose and almost didn't finish it. fifth business seemed to stand head and shoulders above the manticore and world of wonders.
this novel focused on the story of the illusionist that young paul dempster became (i don't have his name here... i have already returned the book.... plus i could never pronounce it). and the main problem was that he is totally unlikable. he is unpleasant and spoilt despite his rough childhood. i found that i was totally unsympathetic to his plight because of who he had become through it.
up until half way through i really was liking this book too. but then i just couldn't get into it. i totally lost interest. i feel that this is not a trilogy in the traditional sense at all. they are 3 loosely connected novels.
even though this novel is narrated again by ramsay, we don't have the benefit of his intelligence or poetry because the story is dempster's retelling of his life story as observed by ramsay. as a character ramsay is one of the strongest (rivaled by boy stanton and lisel) characters and has the most fascinating insights but he is totally useless in this novel. i was disappointed but i feel that it was partially my fault- it isn't the type of trilogy you read in succession.
xo-ellebee

the deptford trilogy pt 2

book: the manticore
author: robertson davies
completion date: 18/06/10
method: borrowed (mum)

i have to say that this is not a typical trilogy. each book appears to stand on its own entierly. if anything world of wonders seems like a more appropriate second book at the moment, but i'm also only about 100 pgs in.
now i understand why davies illustrates each of the minor characters in such an careful way. the trilogy is connected by these characters entirely. the manticore is narrated by davey, the son of the wealthy percy boy stanton just a while after his fathers death. in fifth business we are introduced to boy stanton's children, but they aren't of any great consequence to ramsay, and thus they are pushed aside more or less. however, in the manticore we witness their struggles and how they are truly a product of how they were raised. davey is a depressed miser who is lost after the death of his father. he has sought his fathers approval his entire life and now, his father has died without ever approving of davey. even in the will davey feels the disapproval of his father.
davey's sister is quite the piece though. in the manticore you are given a terrifying view of the boy stanton household. caroline is spoiled rotten, but she is also the most manipulative woman in the novel. you get a sense that caroline is holding all the strings and is completely in charge. it isn't that she isn't loving or sensitive to her brother, she was just raised to believe fully that she is the MOST beautiful the MOST talented the MOST intelligent and as a result is vain and a brat. she believes the world worships at the caroline alter and so they should.
my favourite character was netty, though. the boy stanton family house keeper and keeper of secrets. netty has been with the family since davey was born (he is now a middle aged man and she is still responsible for him). netty knows everything and is fiercely loyal to percy- caroline suggests its because she is in love with him. however i think percy was more her father that her unrequited lover. you get the impression that although netty doesn't have any education to speak of, she is very intelligent and knows that whatever she may feel percy boy stanton would never return anything above mutual respect.
i keep loving each of these books more and more, it makes me wonder what the next one could bring

the deptford trilogy trilogy pt 1

book: fifth buisness

author: robertson davies

completion date: 16/06/10

method: borrowed (mum)

every time i have asked my mother for a book recommendation, she has pushed this trilogy on me. she told me this is her second set of these books, because the first ones weren't up to the number of times they were to be read. fifth business is the first in the trilogy named for the town the story starts.

i loved this novel. i loved the writing. the narrator is so likable but so complex. i find often with first person narrators, the narrator is simply an observer and isn't participating in a lot of the action. however dunstan is so intriguing and seems to focus as much on what is going on inside him as much as what is going on around him.

my favourite part of the novel is the relationship between dunstan and his best friend/ chief rival percy boy(d) stanton. percy seems to not so much enjoy dunstan as much as he likes using him as a reference point. they were friends from boyhood and percy has experienced a very rapid climb to success. they have always been in competition and percy seems to keep dunny around as someone he has beaten. dunny on the other hand enjoys percy's company because of the monetary success it affords him. the two enjoy a complex relationship both giving and taking from each other because each is integral to the other's enjoyment of life.

davies creates characters with such depth. even the smaller characters who play only a minor roll in this part of the trilogy have such depth which i have to assume is because they are featured in each book.

it is difficult to review this book because i feel even though i've been told each book can stand on its own i still think that in order to absorb everything in each book without reading the others. because otherwise there wouldn't have been a reason to write a trilogy.

xo-ellebee