Barbara's review
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare
by G.K. Chesterton
I am another fan of Chesterton. I also like to read books "in situ"––books that match the place where I am. More often it is to take me somewhere I've been and would like to be again.
You might want to read the Adam Gopnik piece on Chesterton in this week's New Yorker.
the Gopnick is great. I haven't read any Chesterton, likely the religion kept me off, but now I think I should read at least Thursday.
I prefer The Club of Queer Trades, also Father Brown. You might look for the film version done in the fifties by Alec Guinness. Our library has a copy; it's called The Detective (not to be confused with the Sinatra policier of the same name.)
If you like Chesterton, you should read John Collier's wonderful collection from NYRB.
Barbara's review
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G.K. Chesterton
Barbara's review
rating:
bookshelves:
fiction
First book of the year. I started it in Oxford, because it seemed like a good one to read there (sadly, I never got to read any of it while sitting in The Eagle and Child), and I finished it on the train to Scotland...just minutes before our train pulled into Glasgow. I love it when timing works out like that.
The story begins with Gabriel Syme, a "philosophical policeman" who is hunting anarchists, being invited to attend a secret meeting with the promise of it being an entertaining evening. By the end of the meeting, he has been elected to the General Council of the Anarchists of Europe. No, really.
The Council is plotting to destroy the world, or wreak as much havoc as they can along the way. Each member takes the name of a day of the week--the Council is headed by the mysterious and intimidating Sunday, and Syme replaces the recently-deceased Thursday. The bulk of the book follows Syme as he chases and is chased by the other anarchists and finally Sunday himself.
...more
The story begins with Gabriel Syme, a "philosophical policeman" who is hunting anarchists, being invited to attend a secret meeting with the promise of it being an entertaining evening. By the end of the meeting, he has been elected to the General Council of the Anarchists of Europe. No, really.
The Council is plotting to destroy the world, or wreak as much havoc as they can along the way. Each member takes the name of a day of the week--the Council is headed by the mysterious and intimidating Sunday, and Syme replaces the recently-deceased Thursday. The bulk of the book follows Syme as he chases and is chased by the other anarchists and finally Sunday himself.
...more
I am another fan of Chesterton. I also like to read books "in situ"––books that match the place where I am. More often it is to take me somewhere I've been and would like to be again.You might want to read the Adam Gopnik piece on Chesterton in this week's New Yorker.
the Gopnick is great. I haven't read any Chesterton, likely the religion kept me off, but now I think I should read at least Thursday.
I prefer The Club of Queer Trades, also Father Brown. You might look for the film version done in the fifties by Alec Guinness. Our library has a copy; it's called The Detective (not to be confused with the Sinatra policier of the same name.) If you like Chesterton, you should read John Collier's wonderful collection from NYRB.