The official blog of the American Chesterton Society where we talk about anything Chesterton talks about or writes about; including everything and everything else.
"You should not look a gift universe in the mouth." GKC
I just read _The Flying Inn_, and was therefore interested to see a review of it--because I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. The review didn't help at all, because it's an unsubtle Procrustean-bed reading of the book from an entirely anachronistic perspective (it might be a good idea to note the Shaw connection, too, regarding the "Superman" aspect). The description of the story itself isn't terribly accurate, and elides lots of oddities in it. The book's ending is, as it were, explicitly ambiguous (was the battle a dream? etc.). The central theme is clearly Ivywood's bland fanaticism and authoritarianism; it isn't much to do with "political correctness" avant la lettre at all.
Posts
I agree, this is a great essay. It's amazing how much more timely many of Chesterton's books are today than when they were first published.
ReplyDeleteI just read _The Flying Inn_, and was therefore interested to see a review of it--because I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. The review didn't help at all, because it's an unsubtle Procrustean-bed reading of the book from an entirely anachronistic perspective (it might be a good idea to note the Shaw connection, too, regarding the "Superman" aspect). The description of the story itself isn't terribly accurate, and elides lots of oddities in it. The book's ending is, as it were, explicitly ambiguous (was the battle a dream? etc.). The central theme is clearly Ivywood's bland fanaticism and authoritarianism; it isn't much to do with "political correctness" avant la lettre at all.
ReplyDeleteEtc. etc.