"Brevity is the soul of wit," wrote Shakespeare; "but it would be quite as true to say in such cases that lengthiness is the soul of satire," added G.K. Chesterton. In Chesterton we have a master of satire, and as he would later come to be known, the Prince of Paradox. This is a fine collection of Chesterton quotes, from both his fiction and non-fiction. The author has even interspersed short articles describing Chesterton's various authorial hats that he wore throughout his lifetime. These can be interesting, though they seem to be a little out of place, landing in between a slew of Chesterton quotes. As far as catholicity of the included quotes, the author has done a fine job, although I was sad to see some of my favorite quotes absent. Considering, however, the enormous task of compiling a compendium of quotes from this enormous author, Belmonte has done well with the amount of pages he has dedicated to the task. I would love to see this volume as a springboard for a more thorough and elaborate collection to be arranged in the future.
The format of the book is quite nice, as the quotes are sequenced alphabetically. This is most suitable due to the vast subject matter that Chesterton addressed, and makes for quick reference during debate, conversation, or soiree. Entertain your friends and become the life of the party as you channel Chesterton's brilliance, but be prepared to be misunderstood, as many of his thoughts require reflection and explanation. Better yet, read his books; but then again, if you've bought this collection of quotes in the first place, odds are you are already a Chesterton fan.
If you have not yet had the pleasure of reading anything by Chesterton, I would suggest starting with "Manalive" as far as his fiction goes, or "Heretics"/"Orthodoxy" for non-fiction. Also, be sure to check out the American Chesterton Society's website, chesterton.org, for tons of information about this literary and philosophical giant. My gratitude to Booksneeze for providing me with this ARC.
