The Man Who Was Thursday Review:
The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton is a book that i have been meant to get around to read for ages (it's a type of book, like many others, which you find really interseting from the blurb, but you just don't have the time to read it). I have finally read it (and negotiated some technical problems along the way) to bring you my personal review of the book that was the 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' (which by the way is another classic thrilller novel in my opinion) of its time!
The first thing I will say about the book is that it might as well be the script for a blockbuster movie. With chases around London, sword fights, constant mortal peril and its own version of special effects, it is safe to say, this is the most action packed book I have ever read (and I have read some pretty action packed books). The plot is inspirational and is utterly unique in the world of fiction (I can't reveal it to you because it is too good to put into to words, you have to read it for yourself to appreciate it's magnificence). If you want a hint though, here it is: (WARNING SPOLIER ALERT. IF YOU WANT TO READ THE BOOK WITHOUT ME RUINING THE SUPRISE FOR YOU, CONTINUE READING AFTER THE BOLD TYPING FINISHES) Around midway through this short novel (which is another reason why this book should be read because the book is under 200 pages, a third of the amount of my last entry and this is a significantly better book to read as well), a pattern begins to reveal itself in the book, an extremely large pattern which is so brilliant that once you have discovered it, readers who read for the fun of it will be smiling like a small child on christmas every time they turn the page. to put this very bluntly, Chesterton has written a book that is about the pursuit of God?!
This explains why the book is slightly philosophical. Sometimes I was a bit bored when characters started lengthy speeches on human nature (which allows the fact that the book is dated to leak through into your reading) but don't let this deter you. This for me is the only thing wrong this actual classic, unlike The Da Vinci Code, which lives up to its reputation. The philosophical points raised would interest the most renowned philosphers and are very interesting, the plot is full to the brim of twists and turns (the book is almost entirely based around them) and if that is not your thing, the action in the book is far from dull and far from few and far between.You will easily be on the edge of your seat when (WARNING SPOLIER ALERT. IF YOU WANT TO READ THE BOOK WITHOUT ME RUINING THE SUPRISE FOR YOU, CONTINUE READING AFTER THE BOLD TYPING FINISHES)Gabriel Syme tries to track and take down each of the anarchists named after a day of the week (the hero being THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY) and the leader of the society being the mysterious and sinister Sunday.
Overall opinion of the book:
Plot: ONE OF IF NOT THE BEST CRAFTED PLOT I WILL READ IN MY LIFETIME (this will depend though if you can see the pattern).
Text: a treasure trail of hints, secrets hidden underneath the words printed (just the tip of the iceburg).
Score out of 10: 9.5 (almost perfection apart from the times when I became lost in the long monologues about philosophy). I wonder why my english teacher didn't put this book as one of the classics that had to be read for this genre.