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Robertson Davies' new book Murther and Walking Spirits begins with this epigraph: "Printers finde by experience that one Murther is worth two monsters, and at least three Walking Spirits... where Murthers and Walking Spirits meet, there is no other Narrative can come near it."
Davies follows this advice to the letter in his fictional family history, which traces two centuries of the Gilmartin ancestry. If this sounds like another overdone generational novel, expect to be surprised.
Davies' descent into Gil's past is sensitive, detailed and epic. Gil regards the films with a mixture of admiration and discomfort. The most intimate details of his forefathers' lives are revealed to him in stories which are tragic, pathetic and humorous-fleshing out characters who previously existed only as...
Thankfully, Davies' writing is sharp and talented enough that this epic saga is neither heavy-handed nor ceremonious. The narrative moves swiftly and fluidly from film to film, generation to generation. Davies' flexibility with time and use of the posthumous film festival keep Murther and Walking Spirits from being a...
Davies' narrative style is playful to the end, and this sustains the book. Finally, the Sniffer is revenged, the present accounted for and Gil learns, ironically, to "Wake up, man! Come alive! Feel before you think! "The true joy of the novel is not in the final revenge nor even...