The Quotable Chesterton - 22 February 2011 |
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Compiling a book of quotations might seem like an easy way to get your name in print. After all, the hard work has already been done; all that remains is to assemble a stack of one-liners in alphabetical order, add an introduction, and watch the royalties rack up. But while this might be an easy task to do badly, I suspect it is not easy to do it well.
Happily, Kevin Belmonte’s The Quotable Chesterton: The Wit and Wisdom of G. K. Chesterton falls into the latter category. Belmonte knows how to write biography – he previously authored William Wilberforce: A Hero for Humanity, and is winner of the John Pollock Award for Christian biography. And his ability to bring historical figures to life shows in his latest work.
Belmonte’s book provides pretty much all you could ask from a book of quotations. First, it is comprehensive. All the famous one-liners are there: “Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese” (p. 33); “These are the days when the Christian is expected to praise every creed except his own” (p. 40). Alongside these are some longer extracts the show all the literary flair and apologetic incisiveness for which Chesterton is well-known. Accurate and extensive references are provided.
Second, it is well-organised. The quotations are organised under headings that make it fairly easy to identify the “flavour” of Chestertoniana that you’re looking for, even if you can’t remember the exact quotation you have in mind.
Third, Belmonte provides enough additional biographical material to introduce the reader to Chesterton in a little more depth. Scattered throughout the book are a dozen or so short essays which combine to give a good flavour of Chesterton’s life and work: “Reasons for His Hope: Chesterton the apologist,” “The Father of Father Brown: Chesterton as a mystery writer” and “A Lover of Wisdom: Chesterton the philosopher,” for example. This book is more than a mere compilation of one-liners; it’s a thoughtfully-written introduction to Chesterton’s literary genius.
There are a couple of obvious weaknesses, though neither of them is terminal. First, the book lacks the kind of index found in standard dictionaries of quotations. If you can remember only a single word or phrase that came from Chesterton’s pen, you might struggle to find the relevant quotation. Second, Belmonte’s biographical essays sometimes appear a little lacklustre alongside Chesterton’s glittering prose. But perhaps that’s only to be expected in a work dedicated to so great a literary artist, especially when the essays are sprinkled with aphorisms from other such giants as C. S. Lewis and Dorothy L. Sayers.
Notwithstanding these quibbles, Belmonte’s book leaves the reader wanting more – of Chesterton, that is, which presumably counts as success.
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Posted by Steve Jeffery · Topics: Minister's Blog