Fifth Business

The Deptford Trilogy, Book 1

By: Robertson Davies

Narrated by: Marc Vietor

Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

Hailed by the Washington Post Book World as "a modern classic", Robertson Davies’ acclaimed Deptford Trilogy is a glittering, fantastical, cunningly contrived series of novels, around which a mysterious death is woven.

This first novel in the trilogy introduces Ramsay, a man who returns from World War I decorated with the Victoria Cross but who is destined to be caught in a no man's land where memory, history, and myth collide. As we hear Ramsey tell his story, we begin to realize that, from childhood, he has influenced those around him in a perhaps mystical, perhaps pernicious way. Even his seemingly innocent involvement in as innocuous an event as throwing a snowball proves to be neither innocent nor innocuous in the end.

Listen to the rest of The Deptford Trilogy.

©1970 Robertson Davies (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"A marvelously enigmatic novel, elegantly written and driven by irresistible narrative forces." ( The New York Times)

"Robertson Davies is one of the great modern novelists." (Malcolm Bradbury, The Sunday Times, London)

"One of the splendid literary enterprises of this decade." ( Newsweek)

Been waiting for this

This is a favorite series of mine from my college days so I was very happy to see it come up on audible. For years, when I was younger, I re-read it nearly every year. This is great storytelling but it's complex and multifaceted so beware if you are just looking for a fun light listen. It is a great tale infused with history, psychology, religion, theories on different styles of education, murder mystery, all wrapped up in a often humorous, sharp writing style. I think this is the most sedate of the 3 books but it's needed to glean insight into into the main characters. As Dunstan Ramsey says, he is Fifth Business and this book reflects it.

The reader, Marc Vietor is adequate. He is the style of reader who mostly just reads. Not a great deal of characterizations of the voices. I would have wished for a more versatile reader. Not sure about his doing Canadian voices but Simon Vance would have been an interesting choice for reader.

An Under-appreciated Masterpiece

"As I have grown older my bias--the oddly recurrent themes of history, which are also the themes of myth--has asserted itself, and why not?"
- Robertson Davies, Fifth Business

Robertson Davies is one of those authors who has constantly been a peripheral artist. I've seen his books, corner of my eye, at bookstores (used and new) but never focused. Never stayed. Never picked one up. Recently I asked a couple friends to recommend some bigger books (or series) that they really liked. A friend of mine, who is an author and shares many similar tastes (Patrick O'Brian and John le Carré, etc) recommend the Deptford Trilogy by Davies. So, I picked it up.

Gobsmacked. Ach mein Gott! This book is good. It reminded me of an intellectualized version of John Irving (later I discovered Irving LOVED/LOVES Davies) mixed with a bit of John Fowles. He is a master of time, place, and character AND he is also one of those authors whose prose is full of little. quotable bon mots or philosophical epigrams. And while I readily admit that these are a bit like sugar sprinkles for me -- they work and their is a reason I adore them.

Anyway, the book carried a great deal of emotional resonance with me. Enough so that I'm jamming a copy I bought for my wife to read (she is a beast on books, so I bought her a mass-market version for her pleasure and sacrifice...she doesn't get the hardcover one I have). I am excited to spend more time with these characters in books two (The Manticore) and book three (World of Wonders). I'll return and report as I finish.

Enjoyable and complex

Would you consider the audio edition of Fifth Business to be better than the print version?

Yes, just simply from the fact that I can listen to it while doing other things, so I am not as concerned about the time spent on a large book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Fifth Business?

It felt very rich and deep, like I was eating second and third helpings of a delicious cake without a concern of gaining anything but mental weight.

Have you listened to any of Marc Vietor’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I very much appreciated Marc Vietor's performance and there was another reviewer who indicated she would have preferred Frederick Davidson. I personally do not agree. I very much like Marc Vietor's cleanliness of style, crispness of voice, subtleness of accent. He provided an excellent author's voice that I could only imagine Robertson Davies as a dramatist would have been quite pleased. It is nice that the performer doesn't inject too much of his own interpretation and personality and doesn't over act. That, for me, get's in the way of my own interpretation, so yes Marc Vietor is probably singly responsible for me continuing on with Robertson Davies trilogies.

If you could rename Fifth Business, what would you call it?

A traveling show of curious characters leading to murder

Any additional comments?

Ah, this was a gift of the depth of the human intellect.
Robertson Davies captures aspects of our culture and tantalizes us with the idea that we are all wealthy in some corners of our mind, certainly in imagination and understanding. We can live in books and that is often good enough. I thought everyone had at least 20 hidden talents and isn't it nice to leave the world of the easy reductions and simplistic generalizations. Robertson Davies is a man that has done Canada proud by elevating the whole of humanity.

A Very Nice Audio Version of a Great Book.

What did you love best about Fifth Business?

This is a hard question for me to answer because Fifth Business may be my favorite book of all time. I have read it on numerous occasions and enjoying it as an Audiobook just added more to my ongoing and probably never ending experience with the book. It has many wonderfully developed, interesting characters chief among them being the narrator and protagonist Dunstan Ramsay. The story is king though and includes many fascinating subjects in its tapestry: stage magic, love, war, siants, pre-WWI small town Canadian life, Jungian psychology. Just great.

Which character – as performed by Marc Vietor – was your favorite?

Marc Vietor really does a good job with the general narration which means does a good job with our protagonist Dunstan Ramsay who is the teller of this story. I also really enjoyed his Padre Blazon.

Any additional comments?

It's a truly wonderful book. The only book I had to read in high school that I was thankful for. If you've never read it I can't recommend it enough. If you've read it and are wondering if it's worth listening to as an audiobook I'd say yes, yes it is.

Thanks, Audible, but mildly disappointing

This is another novel I've always wanted to read but wouldn't have gotten to if not brought to audio. Since it finds itself on "best novels of all time" lists, my expectations were very high; however, I enjoyed books in Davies' Cornish and Salterton trilogies more. While Fifth Business is a very worthwhile listen, it's not THE great Canadian novel, but maybe it was the great Canadian novel of the Canadian psyche of its day (1970?).

I love Davies' old fashioned, (and sometimes) poetry-infused prose. The narrator was good, but it takes someone like the late Frederick Davidson to get his tongue around those multiclaused sentences in a natural sounding way. (and to be really picky, the Brit Davidson did a better job of sounding old fashioned Canadian vowels than Vietor (who may not have even attempted that little added touch to the pre WWII Canadian English of the characters - I imagine that Davies would have delighted in that little touch-up to the vowels)

I've no formal literary background, but Davies seems to me to be the great Jungian bridge between colonial and postcolonial CanLit and culture. And for 1970, this tale was probably innovative insight into the evolution Canadian nationhood. For non Canadians, Fifth Business might explain how we got from a nation of "hewers of wood and drawers of water" to "gee, eh!" (or G20) status. And it spins a darn good tale with some wonderful word play and images along the way. I'm looking forward to books 2 and 3. (The spirit of Davies is probably laughing about an American audio company making his novels accessible to Canadians who skipped through him on their university reading lists.)

I took a chance, and was greatly rewarded.

This isn't my normal genre. I generally don't like books set in this time period, or books that don't have something immediately gripping in the plot. Regardless, I gave this book a chance - mostly because I liked the cover and thought it was about running a business. After the first few chapters, I became so attached to the main character that finishing this book feels a bit like losing a friend. I'm astonished. More importantly, I'm very satisfied. The reading was great, too.

The Holy (?) Trinity

Davies writing style is incredibly engaging while still somehow sounding formal.

This is a great complex story that works on many levels. As a straight-forward memoir, as a fable, as a myth--perhaps as the story of a Saint. Or maybe Saints? Or Devils.

I laughed often while reading it--Davies delivery of humor is so dry that I generally "got" it while listening to the next sentence--so had to pause and rewind. (Therefore the book took me a bit longer than advertised to finish).

The narration was very good. Vietor's slight changes in voice for the various characters generally sufficed. Maybe he went a bit too far with his a Spanish accent.

THE DEPTFORD TRILOGY

In this trilogy, THE FIFTH BUSINESS, THE MANTICORE, WORLD OF WONDERS Davies traces the ripples in the lives of the three protagonists of one snow-wrapped stone thrown by one little boy at another little boy who dodged it. Can one ever foresee the impact of a careless act or word on the futures of oneself and others. A rock centered snow ball thrown by the fair haired son of the small town’s most prominent family thrown at and dodged by the son of a history professor. A rock-centered snow ball that is dodged by the intended target and hits the pregnant wife of a local minister who delivers a premature baby boy.

Davies traces the lives of these three boys as they separate and intertwine over their lives. He is a master story teller and draws upon his wide knowledge of history, literature, music, and even magic. He is a joy to read (listen) and also learn more than you might expect.

Why the trilogy? When I find an excellent writer, I enjoy immersion. I recommend all three books be enjoyed one after another; however, each book stands on its own.

Love John Irving? You'll love this!

Any additional comments?

If you love John Irving's sagas, you'll enjoy Robertson Davies.

This trilogy was recommended to me probably 30 years ago and many times since. But it was a friend's recent comment comparing the two authors that made me finally make time.

I'm glad I did. It was well written, quirky and oddly compelling. I'm looking forward to listening to the rest of the series.

Unlike Any Book I’ve Ever Read

Or listened to, for that matter.

The narrator is excellent. His dry, matter-of-fact style is perfect and accentuates the droll humor and irony perfectly.

I was in love with the story from the outset because the protagonist would have been an exact contemporary of my grandfather and described his youthful emotions and experiences in a way that was very familiar to me. Davies had the characterization of a Protestant white male in a small town down to a tee. A particular character type of that era — is a more accurate description.

The way the plot slowly unwound was mesmerizing. The pace was slow and deliberate, but each separate event had its own interest and significance and still fits neatly into the total puzzle of the story. The main characters are three young men who grew up in the same small town. Each one has a remarkable life — one a famous writer and historian, another a rich executive and politician and the third a famous magician. Their lives are all tied together by events in the first few pages of the book and the woman the events touch. The story starts in 1908 and ends in 1970. On the surface it didn’t seem like the kind of novel I would like but I’d heard the author praised and I wasn’t disappointed.

Impossible to describe but this book was simultaneously entertaining and profound. It was also a marvelous piece of prose. Beautiful writing. This is a must read.

Great story narration less so.

Robertson Davies seems to be less well-known than many of his contemporaries. I read his books some years ago and decided to listen to this one on a long drive through Europe. The story is as fresh and well told as I remember and overall I'd recommend it highly. The narration was just a bit strange though. I'm not sure if the accent is Canadian- certainly not from the areas I have visited, and it comes across as very mid-Atlantic.
If you've never read Davies, start with the Cornish Trilogy and as they stand alone, go for What's bred in the bone first. This is not quite as good but certainly will intrigue and entertain if you can live with the narration.

Funny, touching and often very implausible.

Funny, touching and often very implausible. Powerful canvas of early twentieth century Canadian small town life, WW1, capitalism, magic and mythical elements of Christianity. Would probably be considered quite misogynistic by today’s standards, and that made it all the funnier.

Perfect story

Perfect story beautifully narrated with great tone. Slow build of plot well crafted and written well

The first and best of this trilogy...

Each one loses narrative energy with each volume. The Cornish trilogy, and What's Bred in the Bone, are superior in wit, plot, invention and arcane lore, but none of Davidson's novels are given great readers to enliven them, and one or two on audible are almost sub-standard and painful. A waste.