Fifth Business
by Robertson Davies
Recommended by Susan J. Fowler and Paul Bloom
Check price on AmazonProof-backed recommendation
Amazon availability
Should I read this?
Recommended by 2 sources and appears in About Canada and Fiction.
Ramsay is a man twice born, a man who has returned from the hell of the battlegrave at Passchendaele in World War I decorated with the Victoria Cross and destined to be caught in a no man's land where memory, history, and myth collide. As Ramsay tells his story, it begins to seem that from boyhood, he has exerted a perhaps mystical, perhaps pernic...
Looking for Kindle, hardcover, paperback, or audiobook editions?
Check formats, pricing, and current availability directly.
Why recommended
Recommended by 2 sources and appears in About Canada and Fiction.
Recommended by notable people
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation Signals
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Susan J. Fowler
“Pandemicreading: I'm returning to Robertson Davies' "Deptford Trilogy", which I read when I was a teenager. Particularly suitable since I'm now in Toronto. Almost done with the first book and it's extraordinary ... | Reading Fifth Business by Robertson Davies (this book is amazing, highly recommend)”
View sources (2) ▾80%
Appears In
Not sure if this is the right fit?
Consider The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Recommended by 5 sources.
“This sprawling, detail-rich historical novel follows cathedral builders, nobles, and townspeople across decades, delivering immersive scene-setting and a steady accumulation of plotlines. Its useful part is the sustained attention to craft—architecture, politics, rivalry—that makes the medieval world tangible. The main limitation is repetitive melodrama and swings in pacing: long, satisfying set pieces sit beside stretches that feel slow or contrived. Better read slowly rather than skimmed; readers who stick it out will find payoff in the concluding convergences.”
Similar books
How recommendation signals are reviewed
Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.