The Innocence of Father Brown
I have read a number of G.K. Chesterton’s nonfiction works. I knew Chesterton was an influence on C.S. Lewis and so I wanted to check them out. I am less familiar with Chesterton’s fiction, although I had listened to his The Man Who Was Thursday on audiobook years ago.
I had known that Chesterton had read quite a few Father Brown stories but had not read them and was not motivated to. Murder mysteries are just not of interest to me. I watched too many Murder She Wrote episodes as a kid.
But I happened to come across the collection of stories called The Innocence of Father Brown. I decided to read it, just because it was G.K. Chesterton. I really enjoyed it.
The Father Brown stories were not at all what I expected. In fact, in the earliest stories, Father Brown barely appears, although he is the one who solves the mystery. He is a humble priest that people hardly notice and who think very little of, but he is also the only one who can see things clearly.
Each story was very different from the next and I never got bored. I was reminded of what a talented author G.K. Chesterton was. He was able to take a genre of fiction that I don’t particularly care for and make it entertaining.
Having read this collection of Father Brown stories, I would not hesitate to read more. I am also considering watching the television series.
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