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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9780812972221
ISBN: 0812972228
Label: Modern Library
Manufacturer: Modern Library
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 288
Publication Date: 2005-04-26
Publisher: Modern Library
Product Release Date: 2005-04-26
Studio: Modern Library

G. K. Chesterton’s Father Brown may seem a pleasantly doddering Roman Catholic priest, but appearances deceive. With keen observation and an unerring sense of man’s frailties–gained during his years listening to confessions–Father Brown succeeds in bringing even the most elusive criminals to justice.

This definitive collection of fifteen stories, selected by the American Chesterton Society, includes such classics as “The Blue Cross,” “The Secret Garden,” and “The Paradise of Thieves.” As P. D. James writes in her Introduction, “We read the Father Brown stories for a variety pleasures, including their ingenuity, their wit and intelligence, and for the brilliance of the writing. But they provide more. Chesterton was concerned with the greatest of all problems, the vagaries of the human heart.”

Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Dated and a bit hackneyed
Review: The thing is, I have nothing against the character of Father Brown. If Chesterton had been a member of the Church of England, his brilliant amateur detective might have been an Anglican priest, a vicar or rector, perhaps, and possibly married with children. But Chesterton was Roman Catholic, so his protagonist turned out to be an eccentric Roman Catholic priest, resident in England. I myself am an Anglican (a U.S. Episcopalian), and I have no issues with Father Brown as a character. There's nothing he says or does that offends me in any way.

The problem I have at age 55, nearly 56, is that I have a more critical eye than I did in the 1960's when I first read Father Brown, having discovered it in the library of my junior high school. I had just discovered Sherlock Holmes, which I loved. The thing is, I can re-read a Holmes story and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writing is still readable and enjoyable. Somehow, it seems fresh and viable. Even Agatha Christie's oldest mystery novels still have liveliness.

Somehow, Father Brown nowadays lacks something. The style is a bit stilted, I think, and many references Chesterton makes are obscure and puzzling. His writing is okay, but not exciting. I find it interesting that Father Brown hasn't shown up in movies or on TV, as far as I know. Perhaps I missed something that was done in Great Britain at some point, but perhaps not. I find that Chesterton's murders aren't that interesting and his solutions aren't either.

We get to know little of Father Brown other than the fact that he's a bit of an eccentric fuddy duddy, or at least he strikes people that way. He's a pudgy, nondescript little man who would go unnoticed if it weren't for his clerical garb and distinctive hat. Beyond that, little is communicated about him that I recall, and in the end he seems a sort of stock figure, an amateur detective of great ability and little personality who offers the novelty of being a Roman Catholic parish priest. We don't even know much of his life as a priest. He doesn't seem to be associated with a particular parish.

He's not nearly as interesting or entertaining as Horace Rumpole. The dialog is even particularly entertaining.

I've read worse things, but I've also read better, even in the genre of what the Brits call detective fiction. In the end, I have to interpret this as Chesterton's way of moralizing with not all that much charm.

If you have a layover at an airport or a train station with time to kill, reading this will help pass the time. But there are other mystery stories I'd rather read for a good many reasons. Father Brown is just too ho-hum for me to lavish praise here.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Man Of God?
Review: In the twenties, British author Gilbert Keith Chesterton. created the Father Brown stories. A Man of the Church of Rome (Catholic), he became Chesterton's immortal detective. Listening to confessions came in handy in his sleuthing. The many and varied stories were about every conceivable subject under the sun; with religious overtones. In THE INCREDULITY OF FATHER BROWN, "The Resurrection of Father Brown (like Jesus?) leads off and contains "The Arrow of Heaven" all the way to "The Ghost of Gideon Wise." In this volume, you can find "The Blue Cross" and many others of that genre.

In thirty-five years, he wrote one hundred books about politics, philosophy, history, etc. as a form of social criticism. That was quite popular during this time. He declares that the most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen at all. In his MISCELLANY OF MAN, he informs us that appearances are deceiving; all men have their individual frailties. Men -- who needs them? You find one you think you can trust and he turns out to be an old miser with his affections; and yet he shares your messages with all his "friends" -- nothing was private with him.

Father Brown was such a man; in all these fateful mysteries and supernatural tales, he was truly incredible as he came up with solutions. As a man of God, he was considered eccentric. Some of the other volumes included 'The Innocence of Father Brown,' 'The Wisdom of Father Brown,' 'The Secrets of Father Brown,' and "The Scandal of Father Brown.' P. D. James praises him and his creator most highly. James Agee, at another age, an American, wrote "Now Let Us Praise All Men."

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