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The Manticore Book Summary and Study Guide

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of The Manticore


In this second book of Davies' trilogy, David Staunton, the son of Percy Boyd Staunton, travels to Switzerland. He is traumatized by his father's strange death and his own unhappy childhood. Although David is a lawyer, he is a rootless and unhappy failure. David decides on Jungian analysis as a possible answer to his troubles. However, while in Switzerland, he encounters the heiress Liesl, the hagiographer Ramsay, and the magician Magnus Eisengrim. All three are closely connected to his own past and to the death of his father. As David continues with his therapy, a recurring image of the manticore - a creature with the head of a man, the tail of a scorpion, and the body of a lion - emerges repeatedly. David must try to cope with his own past and with his father's cruelty and abuse as he tries to unravel the mysteries surrounding his family.
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The review of this Book prepared by A. Antonow



Chapter Analysis of The Manticore

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Plot & Themes

Tone of book?    -   depressed Internal struggle/realization?    -   Yes Struggle over    -   search for family/history Is this an adult or child's book?    -   Adult or Young Adult Book Main char. serviced by prostitute?    -   Yes Coping with loss of loved one(s)    -   Yes Loss of...    -   father Battle with a psychiatrist    -   Yes

Main Character

Gender    -   Male Profession/status:    -   a lawyer creature Ethnicity/Nationality    -   White (American) Unusual characteristics:    -   Extremely cynical or arrogant

Setting

How much descriptions of surroundings?    -   5 () Europe    -   Yes European country:    -   Switzerland The Americas (not US):    -   Yes The Americas:    -   Canada Misc setting    -   fancy mansion

Writing Style

Sex in book?    -   Yes What kind of sex:    -   vague references only    -   descript of kissing    -   touching of anatomy    -   Boob talk! Amount of dialog    -   roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

Books with storylines, themes & endings like The Manticore

Robertson Davies Books Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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