Robertson Davies

[Dark Muse]

When I was at one of the usual book sales I happen to go do, I was drawn to a couple books they had by Robertson Davies though at the time I really did not know anything of the author, but well primairly the cover's of the books as well as the titiles had struck my eye. There was something I found intriguing and interesting, and also I thought the cover art of the books sort of looked like Tarot Cards, so sense they were cheap I picked them up. But I have not yet read any of his works becasue currently I have two books from one triligoy and one book from another trilogoy, so I want to wait untill I have a completed set before I begin to read.

Anyway, today I decdied to try and do some reasearch on the author, and I was just currious if anyone here has read him, and what you think of his works.

[capek]

I really like his stuff a lot. I've only read his Deptford trilogy, though I've had his Salterton trilogy (the one with the Tarot cards on the front) in my To Read stack for a while. He's a very organic storyteller, who kind of sets the stage in a real diffuse manner, and then allows what originally seemed to be disparate threads of his story to come together and intertwine on their own time, and in interesting and unexpected ways, into a syncronistic whole, so that at the end you're left with a sense the inevitability of fate present in the work. Which is just to say that his writing has a real driving quality to it, where you're kind of pushed along effortlessly in a desire to see how everything is resolved, and it all seems pretty epic and consistent and compelling.

[JBI]

He is regarded as one of Canada's literary greats. His Fifth Business is generally considered his best work, which features the beginning of his Deptford Trilogy. If one is familiar with Jung, then he perhaps can get a better understanding of the books, but without the knowledge of Jung, he is still a worthwhile author. His Southern-Ontario Gothic Mode set a precedent for Ontario literature that has effected the works of many other great authors, such as Alice Munro, and Timothy Findley. I would start with Fifth Business or The Rebel Angels if you need to know where to begin. He was a fan of trilogies, so make sure you don't read out of order.

[Dark Muse]

Wow he really does sound quite interesting. Thanks for the input.

As it happens I have both Fith Business and The Rebel Angel. Though I do not have all the books in either of those trilogoies, so I am going to wait untill one is complete before I start reading. But thanks for the heads up on where to begin.

[AuntShecky]

I had a question about a passage in one of this author's books about a year ago, and that's how I discovered the
LitNet! Anyway, the Deptford trilogy is a good place to start with Robertson Davies.