The Manticore

Well, I have now finished the second book the The Bopford Trilogy, "The Manticore". The manticore was a very enjoyable book, not as good as Fifth Buisness I think but still very good.

The Manticore tells the story of Davey Staunton, the son of Boy Staunton (né Percy Boyd) whom I mentioned in my previous post. Davey Staunton is a lawyer in Toronto who has been in a bad way for a while and seeks some therapy in Zeurich. The story is written, again, as a memoir, Davey's notes and journals of his psychotherapy.

The book is an entertaining read, one thing that I have enjoyed about both Fifth Buisness and The Manticore is the idea that you are reading a person's history, not just a moment of importance in their life, but all the important things that make up their life. It's interesting becuase as you read the novels the narrator's habits begin to make more sense as you learn more about them.

Here is a paragraph from The Manitcore that I thought was pretty cool:

"He had been given something by the doctor beforehand, and needed help as he walked. I had seen him the day before, in his cell where the lights always burned and where he had spent many days without a pelt, or braces, or even laces in his shoes--deprivations which seemed to rob him of full humanity, so that he appeared to be ill or insane. Now his surly look was gone, and he had to be pushed up the ladder that led to the platform. The hangman, whom he never saw, manoeuvred Jimmy gently to the right spot, then put the noose over his head and adjusted it with great care--in other circumstances one might say with loving care. The he slid downthe ladder--literally, for he put his feet on the outsides of the supports and slipped down it like a fireman--and immediately pulled the lever. Jimmy dropped out of sight behind the curtains, with a loud thump, as the cord stretched tight."

So now I am left with World of Wonders, and then I will be finished with the Depford trilogy and Roberston Davies for a while. I'm on to some David Eggers next, You Shall Know Our Velocity, I've never read any Eggers before and have heard both some good and bad things about him, more good them bad so I am looking forward to reading him.

And now to bed my good friends, but before I retire, a short quote:

"Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise."