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rileysamsa's review against another edition
4.25
A simple yet fun and enjoyable collection of short-stories; more a tale of how Father Brown sees common humanity in everything than how he solves the mysteries at hand. Cleverly, and perhaps sensibly given the inordinate success of Sherlock, Father Brown sets out to present a deeply intelligent, shrewd, yet also deeply moral and sympathetic detective character - whose duty is more to solve the moral problems of the criminals, than to solve the practical problems of the crime itself.
Father Brown is presented with a deep humanity and a genuine desire to save, seeming to take on many of his cases by sheer coincidence of happening to pass by, or by purposeful trawling of the late Victorian's more decadent elements, like a fisherman trawling for fish, Father Brown searches for souls to save and spirits to put at ease.
Father Brown is presented with a deep humanity and a genuine desire to save, seeming to take on many of his cases by sheer coincidence of happening to pass by, or by purposeful trawling of the late Victorian's more decadent elements, like a fisherman trawling for fish, Father Brown searches for souls to save and spirits to put at ease.
badar_kt's review against another edition
5.0
Yes, it's a weird work if you look at the plausibility of the story. But it is not so bad as to say implausible and difficult to imagine. Especially people like myself, who is used to reading sci-fiction novels.
It contains many short stories, with Father Brown as the protagonist. His character very much reminds one of Hercule Poirot of Agatha Christie books. In fact, I think, Agatha Christie must have been inspired by Father Brown. The reason why I enjoyed this very much must also be related to this apparent relation to Agatha Christie books, with the advantage that very few pages have to be read to get to the 'Solution to the Mystery'. If you are a fan of really intriguing detective-fiction, not the Sherlock Holmes type where you are taken for a long action packed investigation, but of the more sedentary and contemplating type, akin to H.P., you'll like this.
It contains many short stories, with Father Brown as the protagonist. His character very much reminds one of Hercule Poirot of Agatha Christie books. In fact, I think, Agatha Christie must have been inspired by Father Brown. The reason why I enjoyed this very much must also be related to this apparent relation to Agatha Christie books, with the advantage that very few pages have to be read to get to the 'Solution to the Mystery'. If you are a fan of really intriguing detective-fiction, not the Sherlock Holmes type where you are taken for a long action packed investigation, but of the more sedentary and contemplating type, akin to H.P., you'll like this.
buildingtaste's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I've been reading these at work during my lunch break, and they're perfect for that. Not quite the same as the BBC adaptation of the stories, but just as cozy. Also RIP Aristide Valentin you hot french atheist I am SO sorry about you
wwatts1734's review against another edition
4.0
The Innocence of Father Brown is the first collection of mystery stories that GK Chesterton wrote during the First World War and subsequent years. By this time mysteries were already a popular part of English language popular literature. The Sherlock Holmes mysteries were already very popular, and Agatha Christie had already started writing mysteries. So Chesterton's contribution to this genre is not as significant as was his contribution to other genres, such as religious controversy and historical essays. But Chesterton's contribution is significant in that he takes a different approach to his mysteries than other writers like Christie or Conan Doyle had used. For Chesterton, crime was a spiritual malady as well as a matter of physical problem solving. And so his mysteries, masterminded by Father Brown and his French sleuth partner Flambeau, approach the problem of crime from a perspective of spiritual analysis rather than physical analysis.
It is this approach that many modern readers find objectionable. For a 21st Century writer to pick up a Father Brown mystery and read him discussing the moral and theological aspects of a crime seems to be condescending and judgmental. It is far more acceptable for a sleuth to identify the perpetrator of a crime by analyzing the mud on his shoes than it is to point out the perpetrator's lack of knowledge of Catholic theology while the perpetrators is posing as a Catholic priest. But this is the approach that Chesterton uses. Personally, I prefer the detective stories of Conan Doyle, but Chesterton's approach is an interesting alternative. And, when you think about it, crime by definition is a spiritual malady, so why not use a spiritual approach in fighting it?
I would recommend this novel to all fans of GK Chesterton and to fans of mystery novels in general.
It is this approach that many modern readers find objectionable. For a 21st Century writer to pick up a Father Brown mystery and read him discussing the moral and theological aspects of a crime seems to be condescending and judgmental. It is far more acceptable for a sleuth to identify the perpetrator of a crime by analyzing the mud on his shoes than it is to point out the perpetrator's lack of knowledge of Catholic theology while the perpetrators is posing as a Catholic priest. But this is the approach that Chesterton uses. Personally, I prefer the detective stories of Conan Doyle, but Chesterton's approach is an interesting alternative. And, when you think about it, crime by definition is a spiritual malady, so why not use a spiritual approach in fighting it?
I would recommend this novel to all fans of GK Chesterton and to fans of mystery novels in general.
richard_farley1976's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
orlion's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
esjo04's review against another edition
2.0
Mmmnoo I did not like this aaat all. I did not like the voice of the person reading it at all and I did not like that there were a bunch of short stories and not just one. I think that if I’m gonna read another one of these books I’M gonna read it and not listen to it as well as discovering beforehand if it’s a bunch of short stories in one or JUST one. But I don’t even know if I would’ve understood this if I was reading it myself either so I donno… It’s sad tho that it was so bad that I can’t wait to listen to HG2 now…!
anna_the_literasaurus's review against another edition
2.0
I know Chesterton from his religious, philosophical books. I was surprised to find that he’d written several murder mystery stories and had high hopes beginning.
Father Brown is a huge disappointment. This is not your typical (nay, even good) mystery story. Let’s get into the nitty gritty, shall we?
1) There is absolutely no way the reader would ever be able to guess at the answer.
2) Father Brown is SO racist. I was appalled by the racist slang and attitudes towards people of color from a Catholic philosopher who I’ve respected for so long.
3) Whereas Sherlock and Poirot are concerned with justice and due process, Father Brown believes in his omnipotent atonement and allows *murderers* to go free. I’m sorry, WHAT.
Those were my biggest complaints.
I stuck with it because I liked a secondary character, Flambeau, the brilliant thief turned incompetent detective (doesn’t make ANY sense but he’s v entertaining).
Father Brown is a huge disappointment. This is not your typical (nay, even good) mystery story. Let’s get into the nitty gritty, shall we?
1) There is absolutely no way the reader would ever be able to guess at the answer.
2) Father Brown is SO racist. I was appalled by the racist slang and attitudes towards people of color from a Catholic philosopher who I’ve respected for so long.
3) Whereas Sherlock and Poirot are concerned with justice and due process, Father Brown believes in his omnipotent atonement and allows *murderers* to go free. I’m sorry, WHAT.
Those were my biggest complaints.
I stuck with it because I liked a secondary character, Flambeau, the brilliant thief turned incompetent detective (doesn’t make ANY sense but he’s v entertaining).
foxon's review against another edition
3.0
Expected to like this a lot more than I did, but the charming, considerate amateur detective I was looking for was almost entirely absent. In the same vain as Doyle and Christie, we are not in the head of Brown, but rather the people around him. But instead of coming off as inquisitive and mysterious, he comes off aloof and patronizing. I am hoping this is a fluke and the author irons out the kinks and gives us a more engaging protagonist.
kerisreads's review against another edition
5.0
How have I never read this before?! Hilarious, clever, and quite an enjoyable, somewhat untraditional detective read. I love how each chapter is nice and short (episode-esque,) and I can read one in about 20 minutes start to finish. Makes for perfect bedtime reading! Chesterton is a delight not only for his plots but also for his philosophical jabs and insightful commentary on religion and human nature. Now to check out its BBC show with a more Chestertonian eye...
*Only caveat: Though typical of the culture and period, there are a fair amount of racial terms and slurs in a couple of the chapters in particular that make some cringe worthy reading. The foreigner is always suspected - though (spoiler alert) always wrongfully so.
*Only caveat: Though typical of the culture and period, there are a fair amount of racial terms and slurs in a couple of the chapters in particular that make some cringe worthy reading. The foreigner is always suspected - though (spoiler alert) always wrongfully so.