Customer Reviews

The Poet and the Lunatics

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In keeping with many of his works, Chesterton examines the ideas of sanity, madness, and modern thought- often coming to conclusions most moderns would not like. The percepetion Chesterton gives, though eighty years old, is remarkably fresh and relevant. For the enemies of good in Chesterton's time have not really changed, aside from some slight vagrancies in vocabulary. Be forewarned: atheistic thought is taken to the hammer {as it well should be! ha!}, and all its forebearance of "modernity" is shown to be the true madness of life, rather than the seeming madness of Gabriel, who is sane {as we see, in more ways than one}.

This is a fine, quirky sort of book, relatively short, but filled with excellent insight. And it's an enjoyable read at that- a real shame it's been neglected {along with much of Chesterton's work}. I for one propose to come back to it again.

While not nearly as well known as The Father Brown mysteries or The Man Who Was Thursday, the quirky adventures of Gabriel Gale -- poet, artist and lunatic-keeper -- provide excellent entertainment for an evening spent curled up with a good book. This collection of short adventures explores some basic ideas about human nature, specifically,the ideas of poetry, insanity and sin. Some events in the stories are worthy of a laugh out loud, but each also has a darker side that causes the attentive reader to shudder, as Chesterton clearly outlines the differences between these.

A neglected writer, these days, Chesterton sparkles here as always. If you are like me, that is, a fierce Chestertonian, I urge you to place this book next to Fr. Brown and Thursday. If you have never read the man, start here!