Just Finished Reading The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G.K. Chesterton

English writer G.K. Chesterton came out with his short novel The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare in 1908, during the middle of a historic period in which anarchists wreaked havoc across the world...one of them assassinated our own president, William McKinley, in 1901.  In Chesterton's tale, set in England, this movement is the central theme as two poets with different worldviews meet in a park.  During their discussion about their respective philosophies, Gregory reveals his belief in the destruction of society's institutions for the greater good of humanity...he is an anarchist.  Syme counters his argument by exalting the law and the beauty of order that society bestows on us.  The two conclude with Gregory inviting Syme, who expresses doubt as to the degree of Gregory's commitment to anarchism, to a real anarchists' meeting...only he must swear an oath to never speak of it to others.  Once at the meeting place, Syme turns the tables on Gregory and elicits a corresponding secrecy oath from his fellow poet: having it, he reveals that he is working undercover for the police and is infiltrating anarchist groups.  Both feel bound by their oaths, but Gregory is very uncomfortable in the presence of an undercover cop...so when he is nominated to be the local chapter's representative to the general council, he makes a weak speech toning down the severity of their plans.  Then Syme unexpectedly rises up and opposes him, making a thundering and passionate address supporting anarchism and its violence.  The members enthusiastically choose Syme over Gregory to be Thursday...that's the cover name...and the winner now has to meet with this group that organizes and oversees anarchist activities.  Syme is introduced to the others...each named by a day of the week...with Sunday, a very large, charismatic man, leading them all.  There, I've given you enough background story...you can read the rest yourself, but beware: while certain subsequent events might lead you to make your own conclusions as to where it will all lead, the ending is nothing short of puzzling...

Chesterton put an enormous amount of humor in The Man Who Was Thursday, and the developing situation as the tale progresses is nothing short of ridiculous.  Had the ending been a little clearer, who knows, this might have been a more universally known and liked story.  In a few movies I've seen of late, like Fight Club, Vanilla Sky, and American Psycho, they seem to deliberately confuse the viewer as to what is real and what isn't...and who exactly is who.  I know a lot of us enjoy being messed with like this, but I don't...when I first discovered as a kid that Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz had dreamt everything up, I thought it all was a cop-out...although back then the term didn't yet exist for me.  There is a message...or maybe more appropriately...a moral at the end of this perplexing-yet-funny story, but the question of what is real and what isn't obscured it all for me and detracted from my enjoyment.  Why not check out The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare and tell me what you think?  You're sure to get a few good laughs from it, although I bet you'll also be scratching your head in bewilderment at the end...