When men are weary they fall into anarchy; but while they are gay and vigorous they invariably make rules. This, which is true of all the churches and republics of history, is also true of the most trivial parlour game or the most unsophisticated meadow romp.
We are never free until some institution frees us; and liberty cannot exist till it is declared by authority….
This may be the most delightful of all G. K. Chesterton’s fictional romps. Many love The Man Who Was Thursday, but Manalive is perhaps the distillation of the author’s philosophy of life; a comedy that makes his most serious point.
The central character of Manalive is Innocent Smith, a huge but oddly graceful gentleman who leaps into a suburban London garden one day, chasing his hat in the wind. He is not at all irritated by having his hat blown away; he declares to the people present that hat chasing is one of his favorite sports. He then proceeds to shoot a physician’s hat off with a pistol, an action which sparks the story’s odd action.
Soon three young men have proposed to three young women, and had their proposals accepted. Then authorities come to take Innocent Smith away. He is, according to information received, an attempted murderer, a burglar, and a bigamist, believed to be dangerously insane. Through one of those odd plot contrivances that could only happen in a Chesterton story, a hearing on his sanity is held in that very house. Evidence against Smith is heard, and explanations given.
Without giving away the details, the whole point is that Smith is a man who has discovered how wonderful life is, and is determined to make himself forever aware of the wonder of living through finding new ways rediscover its beauty. He seems insane because he’s eminently sane. He looks like a murderer because he imparts life wherever he goes. He is a walking paradox, Chesterton’s perfect brain-child.
If you’re looking for realistic fiction, this is not the book for you. Chesterton, as is his wont, stretches probability as wide as Innocent Smith’s waistcoat. He plays with ideas, plays with his characters, and plays with the reader. He is endearing and maddening—just like his main character.
Recommended without reservation.
I tried this one once, but I found it way too weird for me at the time. Maybe someday when I’ve given up on “sanity” and I’m feeling delightfully insane.
I haven’t read it, but I probably will. It’s right here.
I should caution you that there is a Jewish character, who is not portrayed as a bad man, but is a comic stereotype. Likewise with the single American character.
I read quite a lot of Chesterton, including his opinion of us Jews. I’m used to it.
Chesterton had this politically incorrect idea that we Jews are somehow different. I have no problem with that – Orthodox Jews tend to think the same. Besides, I have no problems with being the comic stereotype.
In my book, the entire Chesterton corpus could be compressed to Manalive and The Man Who Knew Too Much. Manalive is about the joy of living in the strange, bizarre, mad gift that is life. The Man Who Knew Too Much is about living in a world addicted to evil and oppression, and somehow managing to neither conform nor run away.
Orthodoxy is good too, though–as is most of what he wrote. A Half Hour in Hades is brilliant:
http://inamidst.com/stuff/gkc/hades
I love this book! The bit about getting dirty in order to tidy things up has stuck with me.