robertson davies' the cunning man
first off, let me say that i really like the picture of davies on the back of this book--he's reminiscent of an intellectual santa claus. which sort of works, since the book deals so strongly w/ intellectual themes and is also giggle-out-loud funny at parts. however, it's also fairly disorganized (which is part of the framing device and doesn't really work), especially in the last quarter, when the narrator keeps interspersing parts of his story with notes for a book he plans to write. the resolution is also somewhat unsatisfying and seemingly rushed; i personally would have liked to see more on the apparently unsolved murder. on the other hand, the first half is rife w/ characterization and interesting plots (and i was pleased to see the return of the character ramsey from the deptford trilogy), and the third section is neatly narrated mostly through letters. and again, it's all very witty, which makes reading fun!
3 comments:
I read the Manticore--the first part of one of his trilogies--and really liked it but didn't read the rest of the trilogy. What does that say? I don't know.
it says that you should give the rest of the trilogy a shot! i'm pretty sure i have all the books in that one, if you want to borrow them.
Ahh, but I had them all in one volume. All I had to do was turn the page, but didn't.
I did just finish "A very long engagement" which I liked a whole lot. Very exciting, interesting read. And, moving? Yes, moved.
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