The entire book is an allegory for one man’s dauntless pursuit of Christ and his realization of how closely suffering is intertwined with the Christian spiritual life. The Man Who Was Thursday is an adventure novel with an unparalleled level of hidden truth. These mysteries are unfathomable to us but our lack of understanding does not make them any less true. Why does Chesterton embrace paradox in his writing? Because many foundational truths of the Christian faith are paradoxes: the Trinity (three in one), Mary (a virgin mother) and Christ (both God and man).

For Chesterton, insanity can be sanity, a traitor can be loyal in his treachery, the best way to hide is in the open and order appears in the midst of utter chaos. However, even in the final wave of confusion and bedlam, the novel is finely ordered. Chesterton adds to this his complete disregard for seasons, weather and time. Yet as the story continues, the plot quickly disintegrates and at last dissolves into chaos. There is no real mystery about the characters or their actions. While most books start in some state of confusion, challenging the reader to draw together the scattered strands of plot, The Man Who Was Thursday’s opening scene is almost childishly simple. He certainly accomplished his goal in more than just one way. Called by many “the Prince of Paradox,” Chesterton clearly not only meant for instances of contradictory truth to be scattered throughout the pages but also for the entire novel to be a paradox. Whereas most stories are created to be appreciated, Thursday might be the only novel ever written with the intention of not being fully understood. A detective story without detection and a tale without a clear ending, The Man Who Was Thursday is typical Chestertonian and a clear example of the great writer’s propensity for paradox. The novel, subtitled A Nightmare, follows the poet Gabriel Syme as he manages to infiltrate a highly ordered anarchist society and becomes one of the seven members of the high council. Part of the reason lies in how Chesterton uses paradox to convey Christian truths. Why is this so, and why should every Christian read The Man Who Was Thursday? Though the story is fundamentally Christ-centered and penned by a renowned theologian, the novel has appealed to both Christians and non-Christians for decades. When first published in 1908, reviewers instantly praised it as “amazingly clever,” “a remarkable acrobatic performance” and “a scurrying, door-slamming farce that ends like a chapter in the Apocalypse.” One critic wrote that he read the book in a single sitting, putting it down at the end “completely dazed.” The Man Who Was Thursday was an immediate and overwhelming triumph and its success has continued through today, remaining Chesterton’s most famous novel. The Man Who Was Thursday is among the greatest Christian novels ever written.

The man who was thursday a nightmare