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The Flying Inn Paperback – December 10, 2001

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G. K. Chesterton (Author)
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4.8 out of 5 stars 18 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Dover Publications; Dover ed edition (December 10, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 048641910X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0486419107
  • Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.7 x 8.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #289,811 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsLust for Life, Political Incorrectness, and God
By David Rolfe on May 7, 2003
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
G. K. Chesterton is a hugely powerful voice, both intellectually and spiritually. I resonate to him as I do to few others (a few examples of my personal favorites, going in different directions, would be Leo Tolstoy, Ayn Rand, Robert Heinlein, James Branch Cabell). "The Flying Inn", published in England in 1914, is a tale of a man who is confronted by modern cultural trends -- and, oddly enough, this focus on all things "modern" (in 1914) is no less relevant today than it was a hundred years ago. Chesterton saw England as being a culture in transition and in conflict with itself, and the struggles he saw play out dramatically in this novel: The individual versus the collective; common sense versus political correctness; right and wrong versus legal and illegal; a healthy soul versus a healthy body. But to state these themes makes the book sound like a lecture, and it's not that (although it does freely meander into occasional philosophical discourses, some of which didn't hold my interest); this story is, more than anything else, an adventure and an odyssey, which begins when Mr. Humphrey Pump wants to visit the local pub in pursuit of a pleasant hour, but he finds it is being shut down by lawmakers who have decreed the neighborhood bar to be an unhealthy anachronism. Thus begins a tale of flight and civil disobedience (hence the title, "The Flying Inn"). We meet a curious collection of characters that are driving, hindering, observing, and contemplating this safe, regulated, soulless, terrifying world of the near future.
The descriptions of multicultural mandates are prescient.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsWeird and Wonderful
By paul barlow on November 20, 2000
Format: Library Binding
A fantastical rollercoaster of a book presenting the deranged but life-loving forces of Merry England holding back the tide of dreary and oppressive modernity in the form of Prohibition, Vegetarianism and Theosophy. The plot involves a pre-1914 alliance between the teetotal Ottoman Empire and 'progressive' British killjoys, keen to introduce Europe to the spiritual benefits of Islamic culture. Only a singing Irish Captain and a pub landlord with a keg of rum and a giant cheese stand in their way. As their 'flying inn' evades prohibition on a rollicking journey round England, Chesterton makes swipes at the various forms of 'advanced thought' prevalent in his day, satirised in drinking songs, and in the absurd meetings of the Simple Souls, a society devoted to progress. Even `Post-Futurist' art gets a hammering, until the Falstaffian culture of old England is restored to the sound of many a drunken song.

A loopy book, to be sure, and one which manages to be gloriously politically incorrect. Some of the targets of Chesterton's attacks will seem obscure to modern readers, but the fun is irresistible. A major precursor to Magic Realism, well before its time. The Post-Futurists are far less Post-modern than this. And we should all drink to that.
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5.0 out of 5 starsComic and Tragic Masterpiece
By Arthem on July 14, 2006
Format: Paperback
The Flying Inn defied many of my expectations of the book, but is imbued with Chesteron and his many unique prophetic touches. Throughout, the story is a meandering dash of unlikely heroes, pitted against all the forces of "modern" society. In this respect, the book is a clear precursor to CS Lewis' "That Hideous Strength", and bears a great deal of similarity to Chesterton's "The Ball & The Cross". From the standpoint of the characters and the plot, "The Flying Inn" is hilarious. I read it on the airplane and caught myself laughing out loud.

But then there is the tragic component of the story, which is that the prophetic vein has proven all too true. Certainly the west never embraced and incorporated Islam to the extent that Chesterton portrays - the temperance movement is quiescent for the moment, and although everything from fast food to meat is under assault from the nanny state, the attack doesn't bear the hallmarks of a crypto-islamic ethic.

But, Chesterton accurately portrays the weakness of the West as it abandons its underlying moral strength as it abandons Christianity, leaving it at the mercy of societies in which self-hatred and tolerance are not treated as virtues. There is a strong Chesterbelloc tone to the book - Hillaire Belloc's catalog of the enemies of the Church are well represented. Indeed, "The Flying Inn" demonstrates Chesteron's gift at immortalizing concepts, where Belloc's more lucid expositions are dated and flat.

Where Chesteron's "The Ball & The Cross" illustrates a dystopia of modernism and apathy, "The Flying Inn" illustrates a dystopia of oligarchic cultural relativism.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsA gem for thought and reading pleasure
By Martin G. Beyer on March 18, 2004
Format: Paperback
This novel, written just before the outbreak of World War I, belongs to my absolute favourite books. It is quintessential England in a nutshell, and foresees in a remarkable way, how the world seems to develop now, ninety years later. The attempts at amalgamation of different cultures, and the clashes - alas worse in reality in so many parts of our globe - are wrapped in a story with lively action, humour, and interlarded with some pieces of the most delightful poetry. Any student of political and ideological phenomena, as well as psychological warfare, would find this book inspiring. Yet, it is as good an entertainment as you would wish for. The various personalities are to the point, and you might recognize quite a few characters from among your own acquaintances. Just as an example: Only a genius can give a name to a fictitious and politically opportunist and obsequious journalist, such as "Mr. Hibbs However"! Warmly recommended!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsThe good guys of The Flying Inn are fighting to keep ...

The good guys of The Flying Inn are fighting to keep the old taverns and traditional English ways. I don't drink myself, but the book makes a convincing case that abstinence... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsBrilliant.

As can be expected from Chesterton, Brilliant.
Brilliant characters, a cogent and thoughtful plot, and perhaps just as relevant and witty now as when originally written.

Published 3 months ago by ARaven
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Goo

Published 10 months ago by constance rossman
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is a little tome that will swipe at politically ...

This is a little tome that will swipe at politically correct insanity. Ah to be so free to write what you actually think! Those were the days!

Published 12 months ago by Mother Effingby
5.0 out of 5 starsGK Chesterton is just a great author. He is one of the few authors ...

GK Chesterton is just a great author. He is one of the few authors whose books I read a second or third time. This book is set between the two world wars in England. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Eric M Weldon
4.0 out of 5 starsWeird but enjoyable

Weird but enjoyable. Though very dated it makes a few strong points which would be applicable to modern times.

Published on August 8, 2014 by Chris
5.0 out of 5 starsAwesome!

An awesome, completely hilarious, deeply profound book. Everyone should read it. And over and over again to glean all possible meaning from it.

Published on March 30, 2013 by J. Vansweden
3.0 out of 5 starsProphetic?

This story is about the collision between east and west and how a westernized society, perhaps out of appeasement, capitulates to certain Islamic beliefs, notably prohibition and... Read more

Published on January 12, 2012 by B. Darakyan
5.0 out of 5 starsExquisite, wise, snug and somewhat hilarious

Don't let an absurd plot to frighten you. As is his custom, Chesterton knows to sharpen the message of his fiction by a generous touch of absurd and paradox. Read more

Published on December 30, 2008 by Vulpecula
4.0 out of 5 starsOutrageous comedy, non-outrageous philosophy

"The Flying Inn" is neither Chesterton's best novel nor his worst. It is not his funniest novel, but it may be the one that hits the widest variety of topics. Read more

Published on December 24, 2006 by not4prophet

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