[.ca] Penguin Modern Classics Manticore (ISBN 0143051393)

like Magic Mountain without the politics:
Okay, so the comparison to Mann's work is a bit far fetched, but this book is a Jungian exploration of our main character's consciousness. Thanks to the convention of having Davey recount his story to his shrink, we feel a bit detached and disoriented. There is an element of almost-mysticism and we trace all the paths of Davey's mind and experiences. How did this famous criminal lawyer become such an incorrigible drunk and why does he check himself into Zurich for analysis? Unfortunately I read Fifth Business 4 years ago, so I can't remember any of the story line or comment on the relation of this book to the first. It seems to me though that this book does not depend on the first book in the series. I plan to read World of Wonders next, so I'll have more to say about the relation. Back to this book -- it's extremely engrossing with penetrating descriptions of all the characters in Davey's life and a curiously detached view of his life. I couldn't put it down, even at the end when the mystical element almost gets out of hand and he literally climbs the mountain and crawls through a primal cave. Even if you don't buy all the Jungian stuff, Davies is such a good and interesting writer that most should enjoy the experience. As a social commentator, he reminds me of Thomas Wolfe. A gripping read.

jungian, shmungian:
I really like some of Davies' work for its narrative drive and fresh characterization. However some things continually annoy me about him and they are very present in this novel. Firstly, I find it intellectually revolting how he still clings to such old-fashioned, reactionary ideas such as Jungianism (or that kook Joseph Campbell), and uses "archtypal" patterns as a way to formulate a story. Also his characters have an annoying habit of believing themselves to have "figured everything out" when really they just have a bunch of stuffy ideas that they will not let go of. In other novels by Davies these things annoy me but they are easy to ignore, but this novel is fully made up of such things.

amazing:
An outstanding addition to the trilogy. Davies takes a sidestep here to add a Jungian perspective into his stories. This part of the trilogy is exciting and illuminating as its uniqueness and flair leaves us with the same characters we're learning to know and love and shows them to us from a different perspective, a trip, like a daydream in the middle of a classic!

The Second Best:
Based in Switzerland on terms based on the first book of the Deptford epic, our main character finds himself on leave to discover the answer to his problems in life and unravel the mystery of this trilogy. Through out the book Davies places emphasis on Psychological ethos and technique as well as expressing the extremes of the human ego and sexual desires. Davies however, is a story teller. Throwing aside callous and unnecessary detail and drawing upon less used characters from Fifth Business, Robertson brings us down a compelling though sometimes debatable path of a man coming to terms with who he is and what his life has been lived for. Occasionally the main Character drags on with seemingly unrealistically long narratives. Ramsay the Hero of Fifth Business (the first installation of the Deptford Trilogy) seems to receive a bad review from the main character of the Manticore. This enrages the reader who remains faithful to Ramsay but whom is trying to keep up with our new main character. The Manticore requires an open mind, more so then fifth business and is a long and drawn out read. However with the third and best book only pages away it is a must read for those who desire a satisfying epic. Second best. Four stars.

A Jungian perspective:
The story is everything with Davies books. He captured me with the tale of David Staunton, who is only a minor character in Fifth Business. As with Dunstan Ramsay, the narrator of the first book of the Deptford Trilogy, David Staunton is very much a character who needs to be brought back into balance from an extreme psyche. The book explores his eccentric character through Jungian psychology. Since Davies daugther is a Jungian psychologist, he no doubt used her as a resource in compiling the profile of Staunton. I really find with Davies books, I find out more about myself, and new ways to view myself, through the characters that he writes about. Perhaps that is why I enjoy them so much.