Wow! I think I'll have to listen to it again (I got the audio book) because - wow - there is a lot going on in this story. Still very relevant today, just swap anarchists for terrorists. But beyond that there is a lot of philosophical stuff going on. At the moment (and it is one of those stories where you get different things out of it t different times) what strikes me is what it says about the nature of Truth. How it is like smoke - difficult to grasp and often just as you think you've got it, it changes

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, unsure of just what he was saying about God. At the end of my Wordsworth Classic edition, however, I found an excerpt with a note of admonition from the author himself: "I happen to have a very strong objection to that trick of missing the point of a story....I have sometimes had occasion to murmur meekly that those who endure the heavy labour of reading a book might possibly endure that of reading the title page of a book." I had not endured any such labor, and so I quickly thumbed to the title page to read: "The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare." That little, two-word subtitle goes a long way toward explaining Chesterton's tale. But not having read it before launching into the story (I never waste time on test directions, either), I perhaps found the plot more mysterious and suspenseful than I might otherwise have done. Because I was not considering the story to be a nightmarish dream sequence, more possibilities lay open to my mind. Either way, The Man Who Was Thursday is a worthwhile read merely to enjoy Chesterton's play with words, and the beauty of his language.

best book i've ever read, and i've read many

This book is hard to categorize. I enjoyed reading it, but found it confusing. In particular towards the end when the majority of the characters describe a another character quite differently from how they have up to that point. These observations don't really seem to follow from what is revealed up to that point.

It’s a strange sensation to not be able to put down a book whose allegory I do not fully understand. What began as an interesting debate, became an absurd adventure, which became a thrilling chase, and finally a mind bending conclusion that I will no doubt be spending time thinking over in the days ahead.

I'm pretty sure I didn't understand half of this book. But it was a wild ride. Looking forward to the Literary Life Podcast fleshing this out for me. I think I will understand more with more readings.