El club de los incomprendidos

by G.K. Chesterton

El Club de los Incomprendidos o «cuatro granujas sin tacha», narra las diferentes historias de cuatro hombres que han formado un extraño Club, unidos por el vínculo común de sus maltrechas reputaciones. Así, los cuatro miembros fundadores del Club de los Incomprendidos (el ladrón, el charlatán, el asesino y el traidor) han sido difamados con negros y repugnantes crímenes, pero no se han visto perseguidos por sus fechorías, sino por sus ocultas virtudes.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Classics, Literature, Short Stories

324 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

About the author

Gilbert Keith Chesterton was an English writer, philosopher, lay theologian, and literary and art critic.

He was educated at St. Paul’s, and went to art school at University College London. In 1900, he was asked to contribute a few magazine articles on art criticism, and went on to become one of the most prolific writers of all time. He wrote a hundred books, contributions to 200 more, hundreds of poems, including the epic Ballad of the White Horse, five plays, five novels, and some two hundred short stories, including a popular series featuring the priest-detective, Father Brown. In spite of his literary accomplishments, he considered himself primarily a journalist. He wrote over 4000 newspaper essays, including 30 years worth of weekly columns for the Illustrated London News, and 13 years of weekly columns for the Daily News. He also edited his own newspaper, G.K.’s Weekly.

Chesterton was equally at ease with literary and social criticism, history, politics, economics, philosophy, and theology.

Reviews

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 4 out of 5]

ENGLISH: This book is very interesting, almost at the level of The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare, but not altogether. The thread of this four-part novel is provided by Count Raoult de Marillac, a modern ascetic who seeks the company of people who bore him, goes to unbearable plays, and eats supposedly delicious things that he does not like. The four friends who tell their story to the American visitor are equally eccentric.

The first is a moderate murderer... I won't say more, so that the readers will find out what this means for themselves. The second is a quack (actually a doctor in Medicine). The third is a thief. The fourth let himself be bribed to betray his companions. But in fact, all four are faultless, as the title of the books suggests.

An interesting quote: It need hardly be said that Doone, being a great man of science, was almost universally praised in the newspapers for saying something very like the opposite of what he actually said in his books and lectures. Yes, I agree, this is the problem with newspapers when they speak about science: they usually don't understand. As I used to say to my students on the first day in the classroom: Whatever you read or listen in the media about science, do not believe it!

ESPAÑOL: Este libro es muy interesante, casi al nivel de El hombre que fue Jueves, pero no del todo. El hilo de esta novela en cuatro partes lo proporciona el Conde Raoult de Marillac, un asceta moderno que busca la compañía de gente que le aburre, va a ver obras de teatro insufribles, y come cosas supuestamente deliciosas, pero que no le gustan. Los cuatro amigos que cuentan su historia al visitante americano son igualmente excéntricos.

El primero es un asesino moderado... No diré más, para que el lector averigüe por sí mismo lo que esto significa. El segundo es un curandero (en realidad, un doctor en Medicina). El tercero es un ladrón. El cuarto se dejó sobornar para traicionar a sus compañeros. Pero, de hecho, los cuatro son intachables, como sugiere el título del libro.

Una cita interesante: No hace falta decir que Doone, siendo un gran hombre de ciencia, era elogiado casi universalmente en los periódicos por haber dicho algo muy parecido a lo opuesto de lo que realmente decía en sus libros y conferencias. Sí, estoy de acuerdo, ese es el problema de los periódicos cuando hablan de ciencia: no suelen entender. Yo solía decirles esto a mis alumnos el primer de clase: ¡No crean nada de lo que lean o escuchen en los medios cuando hablan de ciencia!

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

As usual, today's readers require a knowledge of century-old England or England's English and possibly a more generous vocabulary or at least a strong head for contextual gap-bridging in order to best appreciate Chesterton, especially his fiction.

That said, this book of 4 short mysteries of a kind is clever, amusing, smart Chesterton having fun in a playground of big thinking. And I don't even fully agree with where he seems to come down on certain issues though I do agree with much of his criticism.

It was tough not to give it 5 stars. I'm gonna be very sad once I've read his work to completion. (But then I'll start again!)

[Tirzah Eleora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another marvelous, crazy Chesterton adventure. This one lacked some of his usual verbose style and is a great one for those of us who have a hard time slogging through long Victorian passages;)

[Dan Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar in format to Chesterton's Club of Queer Trades, and very similar in concept to his Manalive, these are stories about crimes being committed which are not what they seem. Each of the four main characters in these stories commits a "crime" which seems like one thing but upon fuller explanation is really the opposite of what it was commonly thought to be (if you've read Manalive, you'll know what I mean). Rather than transgressive, each "crime" turns out to be redemptive. In this way, each antagonist (which is really a protagonist) is a little picture of the providence of God in that he works all things out (even the crimes) for the good of those who love him, even working the wrongful conviction and murder of his son that way. Quirky, fun, very well written, and full of Chesterton's typical paradoxes (in which there is nothing typical about them), this was very good reading.

[Justin K. Rivers · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Chesterton's later works, it is hard to find and often overlooked. It contains his trademark paradoxical mysteries coupled with wit and humor. They are clever and insightful in the usual manner, and I particularly enjoy the framing mechanism, which is minor and unobtrusive. The right about of framing.

This book actually consists of four related short stories, each about fifty pages long.

Four Faultless Felons is a joy to read, and certainly belongs among the best of Chesterton's work. But the larger concept is not quite as mind-blowing as The Man Who Was Thursday, which most people would call his masterpiece.

[Mcruz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuatro relatos más o menos breves, unidos por el denominador común del "culpable bienhechor". En algunos casos más cerca de la anécdota que del argumento, algunos de estos relatos me ha parecido que se extendían demasiado, que se alargaban innecesariamente a la espera de un giro de la trama harto previsible.
Sin embargo, la calidad de Chesterton escribiendo es innegable y ayuda a que se perdonen estas cosas.
En definitiva, una lectura amena y agradable, aunque quizás pelín simple y de mal envejecer.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four clever mysteries, each with a twist, humor, a sweet love story, and GKC's patented deep insights into, well, everything ... A fabulous read. I promptly ordered a copy for my son, who shares my love of GKC's writing.

[Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has Chesterton's virtues and faults in equal proportions.

[Jean Seah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moral of the book: Not everything is as it seems - you have to look at the intention!
Fantastic plot twists and hilarious quips.

[Tim Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A world where nothing is as it seems. Chesterton has written four mysteries that are almost an epic poem.


It is difficult to describe the plot without giving the game away. Suffice it to say that there is method in the madness: great method and great madness, a method so methodical that it seems insane, a purpose so pure it seems demonic. But don't worry: all is revealed in its proper place.


The prose is somewhat florid and the philosophy is definitely nineteenth century, but the result is utterly unique and 100% chestertonian. I have to admit, though, that the third story is much weaker than the others.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly an amazing book! When can a felon be actually faultless? When is stealing not, actually, theft, etc. Chesterton certainly isn't saying that such things aren't either illegal, immoral, or sinful, but to not take what appears to be true at face value. Often the surface reality is the lie. This book includes 4 novelettes as he pursues this theme.

If you've never read his fiction beyond Fr. Brown (or read any of it at all), this is a good starting place. Fr. Brown is also an excellent starting place. This thin volume is a pretty quick read.

[Abigail Drumm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Four Faultness Felons is a collection of four novelettes about criminals who did not really commit the crimes for which they are found guilty. Chesterton's economic and political views are spread thick through the stories, but his entertaining, controlled, and precise writing style (he's a good writer, no doubt about that) makes the moralizing more bearable. However, this could not compensate for the characters, who didn't vary much between the stories. The female characters were especially bland, serving only, it seemed, to prop up the intellect of the male heroes.

[Paolita Arce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me gustó mucho este libro, es un libro bastante antiguo, pero su narrativa y las palabras que usa no son rimbombantes o rebuscadas como la de otros libros de la misma época. Las cuatro historias fueron muy interesantes y muy ingeniosas, un tanto enigmáticas y por lo tanto nada aburridas. Lo que me gustó es que incluyó una pizca de romance que pasa casi desapercibido, me encantó. Ojalá todos los libros antiguos o de época fueran escritos de esa forma.

[Gloria Gna · Rating 3 out of 5]

No es de los mejores de Chesterton. Son cinco historias cortas (o quizá cuatro historias y un prólogo que cuenta también como historia de personaje inmoral hacia la galería pero sin tacha una vez que se conocen sus motivos). El caso es que de las cuatro historias la primera es la más convincente, la segunda puede pasar, pero las dos restantes se me hicieron demasiado irreales, en particular la última. Lo mejor de las cuatro, las pullitas humorísticas que deja caer de vez en cuando el autor.

[Janka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rate it 3,5 stars.
I know it’s classic literature, but I didn’t like it that much. It’s four stories and I liked two of them.
The language Chesterton used was too distractive to read for me. I was regulary lost who is who, since he used multiple ‘names’ for one character. If it was a novel, I could definitely manage but inshort stories it was rather confusing.

[Yousuf · Rating 5 out of 5]

The gift of literacy is to read Chesterton.

Variations on the theme of non-paradoxical paradoxes. But in a violently creative way. I don't understand how one can come up with the stories he does, and then write them as he does.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this has dated badly. Seemed quite unsophisticated.

[Jlnpeacock Peacock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each of the short stories were wonderful. Chesterton consistently provides interesting stories beautifully written. What a delightful way to spend an evening!

[Héctor A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buen libro!

[Patricia Roberts-Miller · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'd read this book before, I remembered that the premise is good, but I'd forgotten how antisemitic Chesterton could be. Ick.

[Brady Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent. Not his top mystery work but was still enjoyable.

[Cyprian Tessmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kunsztowna mieszanka gazeciarskiej sensacji i paraboli.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.51 stars. Finally finished Four Faultless Felons… fortunately.

[Abhik Gulati · Rating 5 out of 5]

With all divinity in me, shall I salute Mr. Chesterton's divinity. Beautiful! The word is One!

[Larry Piper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for alliteration. I once wrote flack for a community theater group and would get the paper to print my offerings under such headlines as "Strong Singers Staged Stunningly", and so forth. So naturally, I couldn't pass up this book. For some reason, I had problems getting into it, but after a while, it did grow on me. Chesterton has some interesting viewpoints.

This isn't really a novel but a collection of four short stories, or perhaps novelettes (15,000–17,000 words) tied together with a common conceit. The book begins and ends with four men around a table in the presence of a noted journalist. In the prologue, the journalist is introduced to the four men and learns that the one thing they all have in common is that they have committed crimes, one a murderer, one a medical quack, one a thief, and one a traitor. They seem like normal people, so what is it about them, the journalist wonders, that led them to crime? Good journalists in those days, we are told, were excellent listeners. People like to tell their own stories, so one just needs to listen with encouraging interest. Bullying people to get their stories isn't remotely necessary. Thus, he elicits each "felon's story, one novelette at a time. Yes, each did commit the crime associated with him, but in each case it was to provide a better overall result than if he'd not acted out his crime. Something like that.

So, it was an ok read, but not special, basically, just thin entertainment of no particular consequence, and something merely to be finished so I could go on to something better.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it possible to hang a man in order to keep him from being hung? Or commit perjury in order to keep from being perjured? These are the questions asked by Chesterton in this collection of novellas. They form a hybrid of sorts between his pure detective stories in the Father Brown tradition and his "Club of Queer Trades". The "Four Faultless Felons" are four men who all share one peculiar trait: they are each guilty of crimes that they intentionally committed for the purpose of preventing an even worse crime. They are technically guilty but spiritually innocent. It is a deeply Christian theme, something which should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Chesterton. The four novellas are full to the brim with Chesterton's sparkling wit, ingenious turns of phrase, and depth of spiritual insight. They are delightfully entertaining for those who just need a little brain-candy, but will also reward the most thorough analysis. I highly recommend them.

[Ci · Rating 2 out of 5]

Out of the four embedded stories, I read only the first two and subsequently gave up the next two for the moment. The idea of paradoxical tales with an implicit religious viewpoint is interesting, but the tales are wrought severely to fit into the idea. I do not find them enjoyable in the end.

*** notes
"The moderate murderer" -- The first felon is a murderer -- shooting someone with a gun with the intent to shoot. But like all GKC's paradoxical stories, the actual intent is quite different from what it appears to be. The key word is "moderate" -- something between not doing something versus an absolute force, to provoke a favorable change from the stupor and inertia, and in this case, something far more dangerous.

"The honest quack" -- a convoluted story questioning medical-materialism in reducing life to scientific hypothesis.

[Lee Lacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond delightful. Each story contains both a mystery and a romance, and some of the most intriguing speeches by men to the women they've just fallen in love with. It's been difficult for me not to share the storylines with people who may one day read the book, argh.

Chesterton's works are in the public domain; can't think of any reason you shouldn't download this and all his other works right now.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sheer Heaven for Chesterton fans. It has a bit of everything, including his wonderful descriptions of skies, especially twilights. Yes, you have to grit your modern teeth a little with the anti-semitism, but that's true of so many pre-Holocaust writers. I just loved the premise of this novel, each tale just the right length, and the ending so apt: if you enjoyed 'The Man who was Thursday', you will love this. It's a bit more comprehensible, too!

[Stan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Four Faultless Felons. Chesterton's brilliance shines as he poses situations in which criminal activity should not lead to criminal culpability. This may create an ethical dilemma for some readers as they are plunged into situational ethics. For me, it was just enjoyable fiction! Enjoy!