Fifth Business by Robertson Davies

Fifth Business by Robertson Davies generated intense conversations on November 3rd and 4th at the Rust library book discussions.

The book opens with a four page description of an event with lifelong impact. Two boys, about ten have spent the afternoon sledding. Percy has a new sled but it doesn’t defeat his sometime friend, sometime enemy, Dunny on his old sled. In frustration, Percy throws snowballs at Dunny. The last one misses and hits Mrs. Dempster, the wife of the Methodist minister. She is pregnant, and whether because she is frail or because of the snowball hitting her head, Mary Dempster goes into labor and her son is born that night. For the rest of their lives these three men act and react to each other. Dunny chooses to let life happen and let’s circumstance move him along. Percy chooses to attack life and plots his ascendance to wealth and power. Paul Dempster chooses a completely different path.

I was one of the readers who was captured by this event. I wanted to know the rest of the story. Other readers didn’t want to know more. How about you?