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 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.… (mer)