Review: Defiant Joy -- The Remarkable Life and Impact of GK Chesterton

I love reading GKC ... he's always provocative, often humorous, and always spot-on with truths that transcend his time.  He is as pertinent today as when he was writing in the early 20th century.  He had an impact on many of his contemporaries -- not least of which, C.S. Lewis who credits GKC's writings with helping him find Christianity.

The above is why I jumped at the chance to review, Defiant Joy: The Remarkable Life and Impact of GK Chesterton by Kevin Belmonte.  Published by Thomas Nelson, this paperback with it's fairly cartoon-ish cover is a wonderful overview of GK's life, but more interestingly, the book is also a highly readable analysis of GKC's prolific production of the written word.  Belmonte, who obviously greatly admires this early 20th century writer, crafts a book that pays homage to GK's life, philosophy (as gleaned from his writings), and impact on others.

If you're looking for a biography of GK ... this is an ok starting point, but there are better biographies out there.  But if you're looking for an highly readable analysis and overview of GK's writings ... this is a wonderful book for you.  I thoroughly enjoyed the reading ... especially appreciating the excerpts from GK's own writings that illustrated Belmonte's points.  What better way to analyze than to use the actual words of the author being analyzed?

I highly recommend this book for high schoolers and up ... for all those interested in literary criticism, writing, and especially GOOD writing.  Excellent!

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DISCLAIMER:  I received this book as part of Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program with the promise that I would write an honest review of the work.  The above post is my honest opinion of Defiant Joy.