The Cunning Man

De: Robertson Davies

Narrado por: George Guidall

For years, Robertson Davies has won acclaim for his warmth and wisdom, humor and bravura. Now Canada's leading man of letters crowns an astonishing literary career with a novel in the spirit of his best-selling Murther and Walking Spirits.

"Should I have taken the false teeth?" This is what Dr. Jonathan Hullah, a police surgeon with "a high degree of cunning", wonders after he signs the death certificate for St. Aidan's Father Hobbes. What made the good father drop dead while celebrating Communion? In his search for the answer, Hullah whisks us back on a tour of his own rich and colorful life. From his adventures in the Royal Canadian Army to his relationship with a butter sculptress, from his medical secrets to his circle of friends - including outrageous banker Darcy - Hullah revels in the divine comedy of life and, not incidentally, solves a murder. The Cunning Man is enormous entertainment from the first Canadian Honorary Member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.

©1994 Robertson Davies (P)1995 Recorded Books

Philosophical and also interesting at the same time

George Guidall does his usual awesome performance that makes the conversations come to life. The philosophical musings are interesting and well thought out. The quotations are timely and add much to the book!! I loved this book.

A Very Long Biography

The beginning of the book was filled with detailed character studies by the "Cunning Man." He became a doctor, but the book starts in his youth. By the time he went to college, and he's describing the people he met in his hobby of acting, things started south. I found myself skipping forward by a minute, and not missing a thing. Then it was chapters. I made it to the end, but I probably skipped about half the book by then. The author is extremely talented. His use of the language is wonderful. When describing events and conversations in the early part of the 20th century, the phrasing he uses sounds authentic. But I'm returning this book, because I just found it, well, boring. That isn't to say it isn't a wonderful story. It just didn't work for me.