The Merry Heart (1997)

     Robertson Davies The Merry Heart (1997) A collection of speeches plus a couple of pieces written for publication, and a fragment of autobiography. Because Davies spoke many times on the same themes, there is some repetition of ideas and of even of whole sentences, but that doesn’t disturb the reader unduly. Anyone who has heard Davies, even if only on TV, can read these pieces with his voice in mind, and that certainly adds to their charm. But I think what comes through most strongly is Davies’ wisdom, which is not a heavy freight of solemnly declared platitudes, but a cheerful apprehension of the way life is, passed on to us with a twinkle in the eyes and the occasional sigh. Davies knows his and our darknesses, but he does not dwell on them and dislikes those writers who present us with horrors merely to fascinate. His insistence that fiction is a necessary grace in our lives, and his belief that the imagination serves to help us understand ourselves, may be suspect but still is necessary in our country, which looks on the arts as mere frills, and prides itself on a realistic approach to the difficulties of life. But Davies is right.
     A good book; but like all collections of occasional pieces a single reading suffices. It’s worth keeping on the shelf for possible quotation, though. *** (2002)