5th Buiseness response

The novel 5th Business is part of "The Depford Trilogy", by Robertson Davies. Originally published in 1970.  The story is written as a letter to the headmaster of Colborne College.  He was mad at a tributary farewell he received on his retirement.  The story starts with Mary Dempster's snowball incident.  Percy Boyd Staunten through a snowball aimed at Dunstable, but he dodged it and it impacted Mary Dempster, who fell to the ground and hit her head on the ice and sent her into labor with Paul Dempster.  Ramsay spends a lot of time helping out the Dempsters.  He starts to baby sit Paul at a local library job while Mary begins to go insane.  Amasa (husband) is a blame heavy type of guy (like Dunstable's Mother) who prays for people to be forgiven for their sins in front of them.  After realizing that Dunstable was teaching Paul magic tricks and about saints, Amasa never let them chill out togethor.  This is especially troublesome to Dunstable because he was in love with Mary.
Meanwhile, Mary went nuts and started wandering around town.  The final straw came when she sleep with a homeless guy.  She said on it, "he was so civil...he just wanted it so badly".  The homeless guy's name was: Joel Surgeonor, who goes on to become a priest.  He sneaks in the window to be with Mary Dempster when Amasa is out to work (who becomes defeated).

Dunstable becomes injured in the great war at the third battle of Ypres, he becomes a decorated veteran.  Instead of returning home he falls in love with a woman named DIANA MARFLEET, who was his nurse.  He changes his name to Dunstan. He knows he will not marry her, and loses a wife but gains three friends (her parents).  He returns to Depford where he learns that Paul has run away and that Amasa is dead, along with his own parents.  He goes back to school and then gets the job that will last him the rest of his life.
He finds Mary Dempster, being cared for by her aunt: Bertha Shanklin.
Meanwhile, Boy has his new name, and he becomes rich selling foods.  He's a really bad parents/ husband though and his wife doesn't fit the part.  Dunstan finishes his first book (a travelers companion to saints) and it sold actually well.  Leola dies!  (Oh no).
Dunstan then gets reacquainted with Paul Dempster as Magnus Eisengrim.  Liesl convinces him to write a ghost-written biography of Magnus, which also sells well.
In part six, Dunstan tells Mary that he found Paul (horrible idea).  Eventually she dies fyi.
Boy dies with a stone in his mouth.  "Who killed Boy Staunton?"

There's a lot of materialism versus actually spirituality in the novel, broadening what is considered material to interests and pursuits.  Also, though we may not know what actions do, all of our actions have the possibility of returning to us years down the road.