The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare (Modern Library Classics)

by G.K. Chesterton

book data

1,852 ratings, 3.96 average rating, 307 reviews (more data...)

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5		32%
4		40%
3		20%
2		5%
1		1%

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published

October 9th 2001 (first published 1907) by Modern Library

binding

Paperback, 224 pages

characters

Gabriel Syme, Lucian Gregory

setting

The United Kingdom

isbn

0375757910 (isbn13: 9780375757914)

description

In an article published the day before his death, G.K. Chesterton called The Man Who Was Thursday "a very melodramatic sort of moonshine." S...more

[close] In an article published the day before his death, G.K. Chesterton called The Man Who Was Thursday "a very melodramatic sort of moonshine." Set in a phantasmagoric London where policemen are poets and anarchists camouflage themselves as, well, anarchists, his 1907 novel offers up one highly colored enigma after another. If that weren't enough, the author also throws in an elephant chase and a hot-air-balloon pursuit in which the pursuers suffer from "the persistent refusal of the balloon to follow the roads, and the still more persistent refusal of the cabmen to follow the balloon."

But Chesterton is also concerned with more serious questions of honor and truth (and less serious ones, perhaps, of duels and dualism). Our hero is Gabriel Syme, a policeman who cannot reveal that his fellow poet Lucian Gregory is an anarchist. In Chesterton's agile, antic hands, Syme is the virtual embodiment of paradox:

He came of a family of cranks, in which all the oldest people had all the newest notions. One of his uncles always walked about without a hat, and another had made an unsuccessful attempt to walk about with a hat and nothing else. His father cultivated art and self-realization; his mother went in for simplicity and hygiene. Hence the child, during his tenderer years, was wholly unacquainted with any drink between the extremes of absinthe and cocoa, of both of which he had a healthy dislike.... Being surrounded with every conceivable kind of revolt from infancy, Gabriel had to revolt into something, so he revolted into the only thing left – sanity.

Elected undercover into the Central European Council of anarchists, Syme must avoid discovery and save the world from any bombings in the offing. As Thursday (each anarchist takes the name of a weekday – the only quotidian thing about this fantasia) does his best to undo his new colleagues, the masks multiply. The question then becomes: Do they reveal or conceal? And who, not to mention what, can be believed? As The Man Who Was Thursday proceeds, it becomes a hilarious numbers game with a more serious undertone – what happens if most members of the council actually turn out to be on the side of right? Chesterton's tour de force is a thriller that is best read slowly, so as to savor his highly anarchic take on anarchy. – Kerry Fried [close]

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01/31/08

Chris rated it:

(review of isbn 0140183884)

bookshelves: classics, fantasy, top-shelf

Read in August, 2008

I lost my backpack thanks to this book.

It was years and years ago, probably my first winter in Japan, and I'd picked up this book at Maruzen. I had heard about Chesterton, mainly from the dedication page of Pratchett and Gamian's Good Omens ("The authors would like to join the demon Crowley in dedicating this book to the memory of G.K. Chesterton. A man who knew what was going on.") and the title looked weird enough to be entertaining. So, I was reading the book on the t...more

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12/23/07

Skylar Burris rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy

This short novel is intriguing, humorous, clever, and spotted with stunning descriptions. Ostensibly, it is a tale of an undercover police man (Syme) seeking to infiltrate an organization of anarchists, controlled by the "Council of Seven Days" under the leadership of a man named Sunday. The novel is not as obviously allegorical as The Ball and The Cross, at least not until near the end, when it become entirely symbolic. I struggled with Chesteron's meaning when I concluded the novel...more

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10/24/08

Nancy rated it:

(review of isbn 1406803154)

bookshelves: classics, fiction

Read in October, 2003

A very original, wonderfully quirky, thought-provoking little book about an English detective who infiltrates a group of anarchists. Part fantasy, part mystery, part philosophical, lots of Christian symbolism that is not apparent until later in the book, but you don't have to be a Christian to enjoy it. There is so much going on here that I will have to reread it at some point.

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01/02/09

Terence rated it:

Read in January, 2009

recommended to Terence by: Maevisvintage, Michael Dirda

To be honest, I'm still trying to get my head around the book's ending, where the wheels-within-wheels machinations of the anarchists and the special police squad dedicated to eradicating them come to an earth-shattering finale.

Or does it...

The subtitle of the novel "A Nightmare," may not be entirely figurative.

And then there's an underlying idea that we're dealing with fundamental forces of the universe which becomes explicit in the final chapter (P...more

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06/03/08

Laura rated it:

bookshelves: books-for-a-lifetime

Read in June, 2008

The question "What is your favorite book?" has always been impossible for me to answer, but this is the only book I have ever felt comfortable defaulting to. I've read it at least a half a dozen times since I discovered a copy of it in a used bookstore when I was in middle school; I will probably reread it a dozen more in the next ten years. I get something different out of it every time I reread it.

The story itself makes no sense, until you come back to the subtitle: A N...more

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02/08/08

Jason Pettus rated it:

Read in February, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com].)

The CCLaP 100: In which I read for the first time a hundred so-called "classics," then write reports on whether or not they deserve the label

This week: The Man Who Was Thursday (1908), by GK Chesterton
#4 in this essay series

The story in a nutshell:
Part detective tale, part absurdist comedy, The Man Who Was Thursday tells the story of poet and intellectual...more

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04/13/08

David rated it:

bookshelves: read-in-2008

Read in April, 2008

Kingsley Amis tells us it is "not quite a political bad dream, nor a metaphysical thriller, nor a cosmic joke in the form of a spy novel, but it has something of all three". However you describe it, it's hilarious. It gives "The Third Policeman" a run for its money, both for how funny it is, as well as the unabashed goofiness of its central conceit.

Read it in one sitting. Then read it again.

Scuttling off to look for more Chesterton .....

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

09/29/07

matthew rated it:

bookshelves: dear-to-my-heart, to-reread

Read in January, 2001

recommends it for: i want to say "everyone", but it would be dishonest

nobody reads chesterton but me, it seems, but they should! not so much the father brown stuff, though. this piece of work is just that, and, yet, so much more. i just can't explain it. yes, christianity's mixed up in it, but you'd hardly know if they didn't write it all over the cover. gah! read it!

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03/23/08

jeremy rated it:

Read in March, 2008

this book is enjoyable on many levels: as a compelling mystery, as a humorous and well-crafted yarn, as classic british literature (1908), and as penetrating allegory. chesterton's novel excels at each count, and was composed without a trace of sanctimony.

more aptly, writing about the man who was thursday in 1929, chesterton asserts, "the bolshevists have done a good many silly things; but the most strangely silly thing that i ever heard of was that they tried to turn this ...more

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10/29/07

Leah rated it:

(review of isbn 014000095X)

Read in October, 2007

The Man Who Was Thursday is not an allegory. It is called an allegory for want of a better word, but there is absolutely no symbolism or metaphor. It is completely literal in every way, and the reader who feels the need to say 'allegory' is simply thinking too hard. The ending, especially, is reminiscent of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I think that Lewis and Chesterton are making similar points, and that they are both talented enough to be able to whack their readers over the h...more

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11/05/07

Jenijo.lyn rated it:

Read in July, 2007

Whoa.. most of this book was like any other British literature of its time, but then when you get to the end, the author goes way out on a limb and makes you STREEETCH your imagination, and comprehension. The whole thing kept me waiting and wondering what would happen at the end, and then when I got to the end, I was like.. "What the??" Keep in mind, the title includes the words "A Nightmare". The end was definitely more dream-like than realistic, and my brain spent many days...more

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03/26/09

Steve Aga B'Stard rated it:

(review of isbn 0141031255)

Read in June, 2008

The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare. This novel is a satire on religious anarchy with bubbling undertones of politics, espionage, human loyalty and Edwardian gentlemanly behaviour. Not for the feint hearted, readers should consider a reread when they finish the final chapter; I immediately went back to page 1, read the book again and I felt the better for it. This is a weighty piece of work and although Chesterton writes in a style which keeps the story moving at a fast pace, it requires a ...more The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare. This novel is a satire on religious anarchy with bubbling undertones of politics, espionage, human loyalty and Edwardian gentlemanly behaviour. Not for the feint hearted, readers should consider a reread when they finish the final chapter; I immediately went back to page 1, read the book again and I felt the better for it. This is a weighty piece of work and although Chesterton writes in a style which keeps the story moving at a fast pace, it requires a level of concentration in order to appreciate the underlying themes.

This edition (Penguin Red Classics) finishes with extracts from an article written by Chesterton just before his death, asking him to describe the work. He suggests to readers that they must consider the full title of the novel, ie., to note the addition of the subtitle “A Nightmare”. Chesterton was writing at the turn of the century (first published in 1908) and was a devout Christian; to him, the world was changing dramatically, and there must have been an underlying scepticism about what the future was to hold, particularly on a religious level. This is reflected in the book.

As far as the story is concerned, this is a fast-moving adventure about Gabriel Syme, a poet recruited into an undercover police/spying role to infiltrate a group of international anarchists. With quick-witted intelligence, Syme manages to get himself appointed onto the Group under the codename Thursday, but he soon discovers that there is another undercover policeman in the group. Once the reveal is made, the story rapidly unfolds and develops into a chase from London, across the Channel into northern France, and back to England for the final chapters.

Chesterton treats the reader with a number of twists, though you will be guessing what happens next as far as some of the central characters are concerned. There is a wholesome mix of boys-own antics including covert spy recruitment, codenames, secret policemen, daring escapes, car chases and hot air balloons; all of this is decades ahead of the creation of the worlds of Bond, Palmer and other notorious spies. There are numerous gems of wit, comedy and amusing disguises littered throughout the book, which bring much-needed relief from the building tension. Chesterton writes with great detail to the characters and scenes, taking particular care to capture London at the turn of the century.

Kingsley Amis is quoted on the cover as “the most thrilling book I have ever read”; I’m not sure I would go that far, but as an early 20th century spy thriller cum theological discussion piece, I would recommend it.(less)

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03/23/09

Diane rated it:

Read in February, 2009

This book seems at first to be a detective novel. The story begins in a London suburb at the turn of the twentieth century, where an undercover policeman and an anarchist poet debate the merits of order and anarchy. Before the night is through, the policeman, Gabriel Syme, has almost by accident infiltrated the anarchist power structure.

The events which follow are surreal and genuinely creepy, while at the same time their wild improbability - together with the author's use of wittic...more

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02/22/09

yellowbird rated it:

(review of isbn 1404316175)

bookshelves: fiction--literature

I heard good things about this book, so I read it. It was ok, but it was not the great masterpiece I was expecting. If this book was a person, it would be a young modern artist who has been told that he is a genius. The writing is too self-aware.
Here's an example - 'Syme, who had sat down once more with his usual insolent languor, got to his feet with an unusual hesitation.'
If you can get past this weird literary style, the plot is a nice twisty brain puzzler that makes fun of secret...more

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12/28/08

Sam rated it:

bookshelves: novels

Whether you like this book or not will probably have a lot to do with whether you can swallow Chesterton's eventual swing into Christian allegory, and I think that's a shame, because there's so much good going on in the Man Who Was Thursday - and so much tolerance for doubt, confusion, and paradox - that even if you don't have much of a stomach for theology it should have a lot to offer.

What really amazes me about this book is the beautiful sense of structure Chesterton displays. ...more Whether you like this book or not will probably have a lot to do with whether you can swallow Chesterton's eventual swing into Christian allegory, and I think that's a shame, because there's so much good going on in the Man Who Was Thursday - and so much tolerance for doubt, confusion, and paradox - that even if you don't have much of a stomach for theology it should have a lot to offer.

What really amazes me about this book is the beautiful sense of structure Chesterton displays. Without any obvious plot skeleton, and with a tolerance for the spirit of digression that allows for small flights of fancy, Chesterton keeps his absurd plot - which features an anti-Anarchist police force infiltrating the International Council of Anarchists, only to find its own goals inverted in a fabulous manner - spinning like a series of small plates. Jonathan Lethem, in his superb introduction, was right to describe it as a sort of literary somersault. I kept thinking, can he really get away with this? And the answer is yes. The only thing I can compare it with are some of the best children's books of my youth, like the Phantom Tollbooth.

Chesterton was a reactionary, vaguely anti-Semetic, Catholic conservative, but in a display of intellectual respect I am almost totally unfamiliar with, he provides the Anarchists in this novel with some of the best lines, and with some of the most compelling perspectives. Reading Chesterton's afterward, it was easy to believe that the book represented a look back at a long dark teatime of the soul, in which he wandered through the various camps of late nineteenth century thought, and while I don't agree with Chesterton's eventual refuge in the Catholic church, his time finding that refuge led him to sympathize with most of the people he later disagreed with. Even at the end of this book, when his amazing wizardry culminates in a scene where his Christian intentions are unmistakable, the spell is broken by the entrance of a real anarchist voice who gives one of the best speeches in the whole story - a speech I happened to agree with.

Chesterton's book is big enough to hold two countries, several contrary philosophical schools, and enough literary tricks to keep a college creative writing seminar busy for a whole semester. Highly recommended.

P.S. Apparently a big influence on Borges!(less)

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06/07/09

K. rated it:

Read in June, 2009

Very strange book. The "Nightmare" part of the title should have clued me in, but it didn't. It just got weirder and weirder, which made sense by the end, but didn't in the present. The part just before the end was still a very kaleidescopic--if I didn't know better I would have wondered if he had been on lsd. :)

Not a really great read for a very tired mommy, I found I had to use my brains too much, still felt stupid at not getting some of it. Was really excited about Che...more

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05/01/09

Peter McEllhenney rated it:

(review of isbn 0543903389)

Read in January, 2007

The Man Who was Thursday is a genuinely strange and original book. Now, much of literature is strange and original. Moby Dick, for example. Gogol's Dead Souls. Burrough's Naked Lunch. Waiting for Godot by Beckett.

But these books all make more sense the more you read them, and they all create worlds that feel unified and complete (imagine here a smiling professor with an ideally bald head and a sunlamp tan forming an invisible sphere in the air with his hands).

The M...more

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04/18/09

erik graff rated it:

(review of isbn 014000095X)

bookshelves: literature

Read in January, 1982

recommended to erik by: Ardiss Collins
recommends it for: Chesterton fans

This novel was assigned for the first night of Collins' Hegel seminar during the second semester of 1981/82 at Loyola University Chicago. Consequently, it was read too quickly, in one sitting, and wasn't the fun it should have been.

The plot of this complicated story is simple. The hero is assigned by Scotland Yard to infiltrate an anarchist group. He does and discovers that six of the seven members are, like himself, infiltrators. The seventh, Sunday, masterminds and manipulates....more

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12/07/08

ayrdaomei rated it:

bookshelves: finished

Read in December, 2008

“I tell you I am sometimes sick of my trade when I see how perpetually it means merely a war upon the ignorant and the desperate. But this new movement of ours is a very different affair. We deny the snobbish English assumption that the uneducated are the dangerous criminals. We remember the Roman Emperors. We remember the poisoning princes of the Renaissance. We say that the dangerous criminal is the educated criminal. We say that the most dangerous criminal now is the entirely lawless ...more

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12/29/08

Sarah rated it:

bookshelves: 2006, fiction

Read in December, 2006

this was written in 1907 and published in 1908. i read a 1910 printing, so i didn’t have the foreword or afterword taht comes with the new printings. perhaps they would have helped my understanding.
this was a book that had a point and a message and a social commentary. but i didn’t get any of it, because i am no longer a close reader. that is definitely to my detriment. not that i would have gained a lot from this book in particular, but overall, a lot is lost to me because i am no lon...more

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"You!" he cried. "You never hated because you never lived. I know what you are all of you, from first to last--you are the people in power! You are the police--the great, fat smiling men in blue and buttons! You are the Law, and you have never been broken. But is there a free soul alive that does not long to break you, only because you have never been broken?" More quotes...