The Man Who Was Thursday Review

The Man Who Was Thursday is a thriller-adventure novel by a G.K. Chesterton. The book tells the story of one Gabriel Syme who is an investigator for the police tasked with discovering and infiltrating a secret anarchist society. The book is a quick read at around 150 pages and is fast-paced throughout making it easy to enjoy. One special element of the book is its uncanniness and surrealism. Throughout the novel, a series of events occur that are not entirely unbelievable but seem to get increasingly out hand. This forces the reader with no choice but to accept the truth as it is revealed to them with a curious kind of wonder about the unknown. Chesterton, as per usual, is very clever in how he sets up the story and how it all plays out. The unique characters and the unexpected situations they find themselves in provide foundation for many comedic moments. While the majority of the novel is purely a surreal adventure, the ending lays out an allegory that is somewhat controversial. I myself believe that, while the message is wholesome and applicable to everyone, it seems almost ham-fisted into the end of the story to make it deeper than it really needs to be. Another remarkable aspect of the book is its signature style. Chesterton somehow makes every situation, even one involving callous, bomb-throwing, anarchists to be fantastical and light. The book does not take itself to serious and even when the protagonist and his companions facing near certain death, the humor of the situation is evident. To conclude, I will share one quote from the novel changed the way I view the world and contains much wisdom. “Moderate strength is shown in violence, supreme strength is shown in levity.”