Robertson Davies (1913–1995)

Liesl is the Deptford Trilogy's most intriguing character - so brilliant she belongs in a list of my all time favourites - but Magnus is not far behind, and this is effectively their combined story. I was disappointed at first by the original narrator's return in its opening pages, but this is only a framing device (like the therapy sessions of the previous book) and soon Magnus Eisengrim is describing how he ran away with the circus - or how the circus ran away with him.

The mystery that show more initially compelled me was wondering how he ever comes to harbour a grudge against Boy Staunton, since he begins with no knowledge about what triggered his birth and cares little for the family he's left behind. This is never explored until the end and winds up as window dressing, a bit disappointing in that respect; I like a "trilogy" to be tied more firmly together. This is still a strong story on its own two feet, in its exploration of Oswald Spengler's "magian world view": the medieval concept of the world as populated by angels and demons rather than the seemingly dull science-laden world we understand today, when only our most advanced scientists perceive the wonders still to be explored. The response to this loss of wonder in our time has been the move from superstition to conspiracy theories, but Davies in the 1970s was looking at a different challenge in his fiction: the necessary replenishment of wonder through clockwork, illusion and sleight of hand, as sustenance for the starving adult desire to be confounded. Perhaps the answer to social media is more stage magicians. show less

Leer a Robertson Davies es un acierto seguro. Davies era un inteligente y refinado narrador, dueño de un sutil sentido del humor y una erudición privilegiada, características todas ellas que se hacen evidentes tanto en sus diálogos como en sus descripciones. Esto, unido a un pulso narrativo encomiable, hace que la lectura de sus novelas sea una delicia para el paladar más exigente.

'A merced de la tempestad' fue la primera novela que escribió el canadiense Robertson Davies, en el año show more 1951, libro que formaría posteriormente parte de la llamada Trilogía de Salterton (siendo las otras dos ‘Levadura de malicia’ y ‘Una mezcla de flaquezas’), localidad ficticia donde transcurren las tres novelas.

La historia que nos plantea Davies en 'A merced de la tempestad' es todo un homenaje al teatro, elemento que el autor, dramaturgo excelso, dominaba a la perfección. En ella se nos presenta a una serie de personajes, todos ellos actores aficionados, que desean representar La tempestad de Shakespeare. Pero a la presidenta del llamado Teatro Joven, se le ha ocurrido la idea de convertir la obra en una representación pastoril, y para ello han sido elegidos los jardines de St. Agnes, residencia de los Webster. Las desavenencias no se harán esperar.

Davies es un maestro a la hora de describirnos el ambiente en el que transcurrirá la novela, así como los personajes, la misma Salterton, con sus dos catedrales, los paisajes o la arquitectura. Desde el inicio, cuando se nos presenta el escenario en el que va a devenir la trama, Davies nos atrapa. Posteriormente, cuando asistimos al reparto de papeles entre el variopinto grupo de miembros de aficionados al teatro, a los ensayos y a la representación de La tempestad, caemos rendidos ante el saber hacer del escritor canadiense. Y es que los personajes son memorables: Hector Mackilwraith, profesor estricto de matemáticas al que le ha picado el gusanillo de las tablas; la presidenta del Teatro Joven, Nellie Forrester; las hijas del señor Webster, Griselda, que volverá loco a medio reparto, y Freddy, la pequeña aficionada a fabricar sidra; Solly, el joven ayudante de la directora Valentine; y un montón más de secundarios, a cual más delicioso. Davies realiza un meritorio análisis psicológico de las diferentes clases sociales que pueblan Salterton, poniendo de manifiesto sus debilidades y pasiones, todo ello no exento de un gran sentido del humor.

Cuando se habla de Robertson Davies, siempre se le vincula a grandes maestros como Charles Dickens, y su influencia se hace notar también en autores como John Irving. Pero para mí Robertson Davies es único. Tenía una capacidad extraordinaria para crear personajes creíbles y consistentes, y sus historias son intemporales. 'A merced de la tempestad', siendo como es la primera novela que escribió Davies, no llega a la altura de otras obras suyas del mismo corte, como pueda ser 'Ángeles rebeldes', pero su calidad es innegable. Ágil y amena a partes iguales, es una altamente recomendable. show less

In this weird time in our human history, Davies is like a balm to my soul. His writing is insightful and witty, warmly crisp and engaging, and hits all the emotional marks, celebrating the passions, fears, and silliness of humankind. In this, the conclusion to the Salterton Trilogy, the story of Solomon Bridgetower and Pearl Vambrace, which began in such an unlikely fashion in the previous volume, is tied up neatly, as they endure the vengeance of Mrs. Bridgetower, exacted upon them from her show more grave. In crafting her legacy thus, the story of Monica Gall, an indifferent girl who happens to be a singer of some talent, begins. Monica becomes the heiress of a complicated trust designed by Mrs. Bridgetower, which allows--indeed, demands--that she go off to Europe to pursue music as a career, a path which would never have occurred to her in the natural course of her life. But, she travels to London (as my own daughter has done, at Monica's age!), falls in with a varied and, at times, motley crew of musical teachers, and finds herself working toward a success she's not quite sure she deserves. She is filled with Canadian humility and propelled by the passions that consume young women, and her trajectory is informed by both of those qualities. When the story winds down, all injustices appear to be set to right, and Monica is faced with a choice that could change her life forever (again). So excellently written is this tale that I don't even care that the reader doesn't get to know what her decision is, because I get to imagine it. show less

Highly weird (though it starts off in a mundane enough way) but BRILLIANT prose and unforgettable characters.
The narrator- a history master/ author on the brink of retirement - relates his life story. As the son of a fairly average family in a small Canadian town at the turn of the century, things change forever when an accident brings him into contact with the pregnant girl bride of the dour local vicar..
Myth, magic, religion...I loved it.