Tempest-Tost

Robertson Davies's "Tempest Tost," first volume of the Salterton trilogy, opens in a deceptively quaint Canadian city, with two cathedrals (one Catholic, one Anglican) and one university. Still waters run deep, and quaint towns run weird. While it's not Davies' best work, it's still entertaining and quite amusing.An amateur production of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" is being put on in Salterton, under the guidance of Ms. Valentine, and a seemingly random assortment of people arrive to audition. The usual problems -- revealing "arty" costumes, warring auditions, simmering rivalries, and some rare old books -- crop up, with a few extras in the bargain.Hector Mackilwraith, a prissy, aging teacher, joins because of his crush on the beautiful heiress Griselda Webster. But Griselda is flirting with womanizing soldier Roger, who's romancing her to gain a sense of class, and is worshiped by the colorless Pearl. The relationships and mistakes they make come to a climax as the "Tempest" begins to storm...Anyone who's watched "Midwinter's Tale" knows that putting on a play is never a picnic, and it's even worse when there's internal tension and weird actors. There's a sense of the fantastical around "Tempest Tost," even though nothing really fantasy-like happens. His tone is less barbed than traditional satire, but no less amusing or insightful. His style is a good combination of the more formal styles of the early twentieth-century and the more streamlined style of more recent times.Where the book excels is character development. The plot really has no beginning or end; it just stops after awhile. The characters just border on parody, with fussy teachers, effusive "bad girls," gypsy philosophers, slick serial womanizers, precocious teens, pompous professors, and more. Humphrey Cobbler, who is a sort of gypsy philosopher, is the most vivid and engaging guy in here. The characters are very multifaceted, like real people. Roger is an expert portrait of a human Ken doll who feels no need to be anything else; Griselda and Freddy are the slightly fickle but kindly daughters of an eccentric; the Torso seems like she'll be a pain at first, but is revealed to be a diamond in the rough. Hector, with his stalkerlike obsession with Griselda and odd brand of sexism (he considers a girl who has been kissed to be no better than a hooker) just gave me the creeps. "Tempest Tost" was Davies' first book, but while it hasn't got the polish his later works have, it's still a solid and smooth read. Highly recommended as a modern classic.

A brilliant, brutally honest, yet affectionate satire of the excentricities and insecurities present in old small-town Victorian-remnant Canadian Anglo-saxon culture...those of you among this set: you know who you are! Required reading for an Ontarian or a Maritimer born in the early 1940s, or for anyone who has ever known, loved, or worked closely with one. The story revolves around characters putting on an amateur production of Shakespeare's play "The Tempest," and although I found the ending slightly anti-climactic, I really haven't laughed so hard in years!

Far from fluffy. Tilting at "The Tempest" as Davies does in this early novel is brave, or foolhardy, beyond measure. Extremely acute human beings are only occasionally profoundly generous. Do NOT forego the pleasure, even if you imagine you might balk at play within play. Davies came to novels by way of his love for theatre. Everything begins here, most remarkably his unique ability to write charming lively characters of both sexes, all ages, many orientations. In "Tempest-Tost", five or six rise to the level of presiding spirits. Plus the gnarled final effort of Shakespeare is tweaked/tickled/refreshed to a very nice renewal. Grand. Sharp without ever descending to mean. You can't meet Valentine Rich or the sisters Freddy & [Im]Patient Griselda (Gristle to Freddy) anywhere else. First in the Salterton. Read it.

I agree with the above reviews. This delightful book was written by a green Davies -- not yet in his prime. The thing for you prospective readers is to do as my Canadian literary guru had me do. Start with this book, this trilogy and read chronologically. Then you get the double pleasure of reading good literature and admiring the author's development. As for wanting to read more Davies after this -- it's a given.

Reading this book is like taking a trip with a mixed bag of characters: College students, college professors, ex-army vets, an opinionated gardener, teenagers, and many others. There is rarely a dull moment, there are many clever insights, and even though the trip doesn't finally leads us anywhere special, getting there is lots of fun. And there is Davies' attitude towards his characters: an amused curiosity, a gentle observation, so that the worst of them are still lovable human beings.