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.

 

Review: The Father Brown Reader II by Nancy Brown

I avoid adaptations, condensed novels and other “re-told by” books of the classics. If we have to wait to expose our children (or ourselves) to great works, so be it.  Adaptations are so ... "reader's digestish"!

That said I have made an exception on occasion. One such exception was Nancy Carpentier Brown’s The Father Brown Reader, published a few years ago and an excellent re-telling of some of Chesterton’s stories for the younger set. Today, I received the hard-copy of the sequel, The Father Brown Reader II: More Stories from Chesterton. Published by Hillside Education, Brown has done another phenomenal job of making Chesterton attainable for children, while keeping the rich imagery and language of the original.  I was fortunate to get an electronic copy for review a couple of weeks ago and so this review is based on that reading.

The difference between this second compilation is that Brown has chosen stories with murder as the theme. She is quick to point out (in the ‘note to parents’) that these stories are not “gratuitously graphic” and that she believes teaching children about life and death is important. I agree wholeheartedly. By choosing these stories to adapt, Brown has opened a world to children that allows them to see that untimely deaths and the finding of the culprit are a worthwhile endeavor that can be treated with dignity and avoid the voyeuristic themes of other books.

Reader II includes four stories that are classic Chesterton: “The Invisible Man”, “The Mirror of the Magistrate”, “The Eye of Apollo”, and “The Perishing of the Pendragons”. The retellings are well done, tightly written and accessible for the younger readers – I am starting these as a read-aloud for my children so that we can talk through the events and messages Chesterton develops in each of these stories.

A bonus from the first set of stories and repeated in this volume is the artistry of Ted Schluenderfritz. Schluenderfritz helps children really see the humble parish priest Father Brown, the dapper and debonair Flambeau, the criminals as Chesterton describes them. These drawings, scattered throughout the volume, are a lesson in illustration from text-description and will make a great drawing unit for my children.  His sketches really bring to life the dumpy Fr. Brown, the tall, svelte Flambeau and the other characters scattered throughout.  The cover is just gorgeous ... well done, Ted and Margot!

Bottom line: for those who can, read the original Chesterton stories; for those who can’t, feel confident reading this (as well as the first) collection adapted by Brown. You will not regret reading these “re-told by” books!

 

Feast Day: Our Lady of the Rosary (aka, Our Lady of Victory)

To commemorate the victory of the Christians over the Turks on October 7, 1571, Pope Pius V instituted the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Victory (which he renamed two years later to reflect the impact from praying the rosary prayers consistently in achieving victory).   The Battle of Lepanto, immortalized in the poem by GKChesterton, stemmed the Turkish armies from coming further into Western Europe, stopping them in Austria.

October is a month dedicated to praying the rosary ... and it is especially so today!

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us ....

 

Feast Day: Our Lady of the Rosary ...

... this is also known as the Feast of Our Lady of Lepanto as it was the Battle of Lepanto (1571)  that spawned this feast.  Seems the Turks were looking pretty darn victorious and the Pope asked all the Christian World to pray to Our Lady for assistance in pushing the Infidels back out of the Eastern Edge of the Christian World ... led by Don John of Austria.  For G.K. Chesterton's glorious retelling of the tale, click this link to the Battle of Lepanto.

Our Lady seems to have answered the prayers, against all rational military odds and Pope (and since declared, Saint) Pius V created this Feast Day to celebrate the victory.  This is a great day for Catholics to embrace the Rosary as a source of answered petitions and thanksgiving!

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!