Particularize Of Books The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare
Title | : | The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare |
Author | : | G.K. Chesterton |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 182 pages |
Published | : | October 9th 2001 by Modern Library (first published 1908) |
Categories | : | Fiction. Classics. Mystery. Fantasy. Literature |
G.K. Chesterton
Paperback | Pages: 182 pages Rating: 3.84 | 28711 Users | 2914 Reviews
Commentary As Books The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare
G. K. Chesterton's surreal masterpiece is a psychological thriller that centers on seven anarchists in turn-of-the-century London who call themselves by the names of the days of the week. Chesterton explores the meanings of their disguised identities in what is a fascinating mystery and, ultimately, a spellbinding allegory.As Jonathan Lethem remarks in his Introduction, The real characters are the ideas. Chesterton's nutty agenda is really quite simple: to expose moral relativism and parlor nihilism for the devils he believes them to be. This wouldn't be interesting at all, though, if he didn't also show such passion for giving the devil his due. He animates the forces of chaos and anarchy with every ounce of imaginative verve and rhetorical force in his body.
Point Books Concering The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare
Original Title: | The Man Who Was Thursday |
ISBN: | 0375757910 (ISBN13: 9780375757914) |
Edition Language: | English |
Characters: | Gabriel Syme, Lucian Gregory |
Setting: | United Kingdom London, England,1905 |
Rating Of Books The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare
Ratings: 3.84 From 28711 Users | 2914 ReviewsJudge Of Books The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare
- Mr Syme?- Yes sir.- You wished to make your report in person.- Yes sir.- Not in writing. This is most irregular.- Yes sir. I had expected that I would be talking to--- The person to whom you are referring no longer works for our organisation.- Yes sir. May I ask--- No, you may not. - Yes sir.- Well?- Ah, yes sir. Ah, I understand very well that my account may seem a little, ah, unusual, but you must take into account that the Czar is still with us and has not been--- The Czar?- Yes sir. HeI 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 train, as I often do, and
The Man Who Was Thursday reads like P.G. Wodehouse writing from a Phillip K. Dick plot while on a Nyquil bender. It begins with two poets arguing in the park about whether poetry is more akin to law or anarchy. It turns out that the poet espousing anarchy is actually a member of an anarchist soceity and takes Syme, the other poet, to their meeting place to prove it after a vow of secrecy. Syme is actually a member of an anti-anarchy branch of Scotland Yard and usurps Gregory's spot as the new
Ok so I didn't hate it, at times I could almost have been said to be enjoying myself in the midst of this pointless, grandiose, waffling, pompous and from my 2015 point of view predictable romp to nowhere (not really a spoiler). I know Chesterton from the Father Brown series and I wasn't expecting him to pass the Bechdel test or anything and I knew to expect weird sort of conservative Christiany-slanted metaphysics and philosophy. It gets two stars because it avoided being as hard-core right
Gilbert Keith Chestertons own life stories were every bit as madcap and zany as this book is. Ill tell you a bit more, if you like...One day, during his days of his éminence grise littéraire - the days late in his unbuttoned life of entre deux guerres - we find him on his own madcap mystery tour on the de rigeur readings and signings circuit. The total stress and if-this-is-Friday-it-must-be-Paris kaleidoscopic feeling of it all, must have overwhelmed this poor, usually windbaggish bonhomme...
The Man Who Was Thursday is my first venture into the writing of G.K. Chesterton having discovered the existence of this writer earlier in the year. Of course the first I heard of him was in reference to his Father Brown stories, one volume of which I have on my to read stack. I then heard that his most recognised book is this one, so naturally I organised to read it.The Man Who Was Thursday is truly a classic detective tale, yet it is also an allegory. I didn't realise the book was an allegory
2★Loved the language and loved the beginning. Its like a mad Monty Python story, but it lost me half way through. And to be fair, the Python crew, Terry Pratchett and others may well have been weaned on tales from Chesterton, so perhaps he should get more credit.The main character, Syme, is a detective who is invited to a secret meeting of anarchists who are preparing to overthrow governments using bombs. He promises Gregory, the man who invited him, not to divulge anything of what he says.
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