Fifth Business

Theme: Davies urges readers to accept the possibility of the unknown despite one’s fears.
Summary, characters: Fifth Business begins with the story from Dunstable's childhood. He is sledding with his rich friend Percy, but Percy gets upset when Dunstable's sled is faster than his. Percy begins to throw snowballs at him and the last one he throws hits the pregnant Mrs. Dempster who falls down. The baby is delivered prematurely that night by Dunstable's mother. It is then explained that Dunny is writing all this as a letter to the new headmaster to prove he has had a interesting life. 
Percy is Mrs. Dempsters son and Dunstan teaches him to do magic tricks but Mr. Dempster gets very angry because he thinks it's trickery and a sin. Mrs. Dempster has become "simpler" and the people in the town do not like her at all. She goes missing and is caught sleeping with a hobo because "he wanted it so very much and he was so polite".
Dunstan then leaves home to go the war. He writes Leola every week but does not like her much over paper. He is almost killed and is nursed back to health by Diane who he eventually has to leave because she reminds him too much of his mother. When he returns to his hometown, Leola and Percy are engaged. 
Dunstan goes to college and starts looking for Mrs. Dempster who he finds living with her aunt. Dunstan finds Paul in Europe and he is now a magician. Percy, Boy, is now very rich and him and Dunstan are still close friends. Boy is married to Leola but he cheats on her often and she is very sad. She tries to commit suicide but she dies from pneumonia. 
Dunstan joins up with Paul's circus and becomes Fifth Business, a person that Liesl explains as coming in at just the right time to do something important. 

Quotes:“If you don't hurry up and let life know what you want, life will damned soon show you what you'll get.” This quote was probably my favorite from the book because it is so applicable to everyone's life.