Literary The Club of Queer Trades by G. K. Chesterton

[issybird]

This was a terrific read, one of those books that are as fresh and funny a hundred years later as they were when written (I just read another, also, if anyone wants to check my GR page). I love how Chesterton constructs a sentence and his unerring ability to create an unexpected yet exact simile.

There were some disappointments, however. I think the whole was less than the sum of its parts; as 'possum said in regard to Father Brown, perhaps it would have been better to read the stories individually, although I admit that the payoff with Basil wouldn't have been nearly so satisfying. I was left with the sense that Chesterton didn't do his conception justice. Fully half of the stories involved actors/acting, and while this might have been an early manifestation of the service economy, I was looking for more than one concrete product out of the six trades. A few more stories to flesh out his conceit and I'd have been totally won over. As it was, the collection while hghly entertaining, didn't have quite the heft I'd have liked. I wanted more.

I agree with Bookpssum's objection to Professor Chadd and I'll just note that while green seemed the ideal choice of color for Lieutenant Keith's domicile, come winter it was going to be rather conspicuous!

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by issybird

This is the free book from Amazon.

This is the MR download that's missing a chunk of text.

We'll look into this right now.

I've unapproved that Chesterton thread.

That member has not returned since 2007.

Thank you for this information.

-- Back to regular discussion.


Don
(Moderator)

[sun surfer]

Originally Posted by issybird

This is the free book from Amazon.

This is the MR download that's missing a chunk of text.

Luckily that's not one of the ones I linked to in the first post. If any of the ones I linked to have any missing text, anyone please let me know so that I can remove the link.

[desertblues]

Finally I've got the right book of Chesterton. And I have began reading it, but......the Vierdaagse has started in our town http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter...rches_Nijmegen
That is, one and a half million visitors from all over the world come walking around my town, Nijmegen. And I have been going to the festivities.....and working.....and lots of sangria.....and white wine.......I'll continue reading after we have greeted and celebrated all of about 45.000 men/ women who walk those four days; the principal street where they end their four days of walk, for this occasion baptised " Via Gladiola". That is, "Via" refers to the fact that our town started as a Roman garrison town at about 5 A.D. And " Gladiola" refers to the flowers that are given to the people that have walked those four days. There even is a saying around these part, when trying to achieve the near impossible " death or the gladiolus" . Well, the festivities of this last day is at the end of our street, so all friends and such invite themselves to my place to come and watch those 45.000 trooping past. I especially like the US Army with their singing and brass band. It is quite an event.
I'll report about the book after this weekend........

[Bookpossum]

That sounds strenuous but a lot of fun. It must be when people keep coming back to do it again each year!

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by issybird

Whoops! I got a free copy from Amazon.com and it's the right book. Be careful with the MR uploads; one is missing a chunk of text.

The one you identified as missing a chunk of text is now in moderation while we look at it. There are other MR uploads by other members that are not in moderation, including an ePub version by AlexBell and a mobi version by glauber. In addition, Don posted an IRF version in 2008 because he preferred his own paragraph formatting to the one now in moderation.

[WT Sharpe]

I've been on somewhat of a Chesterton audiobook kick lately, and just yesterday finished the Librivox version of The Club of Queer Trades. I cannot imagine a better quality reading of this work than David Barnes did on this one. It's certainly one of the gems in the Librivox collection, and neatly makes a lie out of the old proverb, "You get what you pay for."

Chesterton's stories are always fun to read, but a line in the first story in this collection had me wondering whether the great writer had a momentary lapse or was just having fun with words. Either way, the line creates a great mental image: "Rupert Grant was leaning forward listening with hawklike eyes." I suppose he saw everything that was going on as well with his acute hearing, but Chesterton didn't say.

[caleb72]

I wasn't hugely thrilled with the book. The prose itself was entertaining but I didn't find anything particularly compelling in the stories.

The mysteries were ones the reader was not supposed solve. They were often revealed to be specially crafted nonsense to line up with the concept of the club, but not to make sense in any other meaningful way. Basil often leapt immediately to a correct conclusion without any evidence at all. I was completely sick of Basil's side-kicks deciding that he must be mad in every story. "Oh he's really bonkers this time" ... yawn.

Luckily, the writing itself was good and fun to read, so it wasn't a waste for me. It just didn't provide much more than that for me.

[desertblues]

Finally started this book.
The first thing that I notice is that the writer has a beautiful way of using his words "'the chaos and complexity of those perpendicular streets' and 'passes through the twilight passages as one passes through the twilight corridors of a dream'. I can almost taste these words, somehow.
His style reminds me of the Portugese writer José Saramago.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by desertblues

His style reminds me of the Portugese writer José Saramago.

I've never read Saramago, although I picked up several of his books when they were cheap at Amazon. Thank you for this mention; I need to bump him up the list.

I'm always glad to read well-written light entertainments! I also think, however, that there was at least a little more than that going on. I appreciated the Holmesian parody, as I'm finding at least some of the Holmes stories to my mind devolve on an (unintended) absurdity, to the end of establishing a unique solution. Chesterton's intended absurdities are easier for me to swallow. Moreover, I enjoy his worldview which admits multitudes and indicates a larger underlying philosophy.

Just the same, I agree with Caleb that there's not much depth beyond the concept and the prose, but I don't know there has to be. Sometimes a good read is just a good read; sometimes on a bad day not only is it all I can manage, it also serves as a restorative.

In terms of the club, I thought this most serendipitously scheduled after the long and intense Testament; just the sort of mental palate-refresher needed!

[Bookworm_Girl]

I agree! It's nice to read something short and light after last month's selection. I've read the first four stories and will post my thoughts after I've finished. In the meantime I found this interesting article by the American Chesterton Society.

"Who is this Guy and Why Haven’t I Heard of Him?"
http://www.chesterton.org/who-is-this-guy/

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by issybird

Just the same, I agree with Caleb that there's not much depth beyond the concept and the prose, but I don't know there has to be. Sometimes a good read is just a good read; sometimes on a bad day not only is it all I can manage, it also serves as a restorative.

I agree. Sometimes the writing is enough and I did have a half-smile on my lips as I read this.

Actually, I watched a movie the other day called Under the Skin which demonstrated to me that not knowing the intention of a work can greatly influence your reaction to it. I knew nothing about this movie when I watched it other than the fact that it was rated quite highly by several sources.

I found the movie to be painfully boring and pointless. A few things came to my attention while watching: a 70s influence, the echoes of film-makers such as Kubrik. However, this did nothing to prevent me from almost falling asleep during tedious scenes of staring and silence and action scenes that were incomprehensible even if rather elegant.

However, after I sat through the movie I read an article about it which changed my perspective. I had expected a story from a movie which really wasn't so much about telling a story, but providing an experience. Had I read something about it beforehand I might have approached it with a different expectation and reacted to it in a slightly more positive way.

I'm not one for reading background material prior to reading a book, but I wonder if my reaction to this book would have been more positive had I expected only whimsy and delightful prose before I started.

[Bookpossum]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

I agree! It's nice to read something short and light after last month's selection. I've read the first four stories and will post my thoughts after I've finished. In the meantime I found this interesting article by the American Chesterton Society.

"Who is this Guy and Why Haven’t I Heard of Him?"
http://www.chesterton.org/who-is-this-guy/

Many thanks once again, Bookworm_Girl - a great find. I loved the story about his query to his wife about where he should be!

[desertblues]

Some thoughts on this (rather quirky and delightful) book.
I wonder whether this book a satire on the very English concept of clubs and societies? British clubs and societies were widespread and powerful social institutions as early as the beginning of the 19th century and there are many of them these days.

Btw, there's a Chesterton Society in The USA http://www.chesterton.org
Edit: ......oops, excuses Bookwormgirl, you mentioned this in an earlier post.......

It certainly is a very British book, with the kind of humor found in Monty Python for example: his ministry of silly walks.http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_M...of_Silly_Walks

[desertblues]

Originally Posted by caleb72

(...)
I'm not one for reading background material prior to reading a book, but I wonder if my reaction to this book would have been more positive had I expected only whimsy and delightful prose before I started.

Well, Caleb, my strategy when reading a new book also doesn't include reading background material prior to reading a book. I want to make up my own mind about things and not to be influenced by other's views/opinions on a book before I start to read.

This strategy makes reading a book more of an adventure, a journey of discovery and I find that it gives my mind a wider space to roam in my memory/associations and the likes. I think this is a great part of the attraction of reading for me. And as one gets older, sometimes wiser as well ( who knows), the amount of experiences to dip into is larger and getting even more exciting!

Having said this; I do like to know the nationality of a writer and the date of his birth. And I also love to see the discoveries of other readers, such as in this bookclub. That is a kind of bonus for me while reading......so thanks.