The Wisdom of Father Brown

If you're looking for me on a Saturday night, you'll find me deeply involved with an eccentric Catholic priest.  Yup, I'm living on the wild side these days, settled in nicely on a weekend night while friends are throwing axes, belting out tunes at karaoke bars, or swearing with gusto at sheepshead tables.  Nope, it's just me and Father Brown solving mysteries.

My friend Gabrielle gave me this 1914 edition of The Wisdom of Father Brown before she and John moved to Nottingham, England a few weeks back.  I don't think she knows about my Saturday night dates with the good Padre; still the gift of a book that falls open at pivotal pages due to being handled by many readers over the years cannot be undervalued. 

My bespeckled Father Brown carries a tattered umbrella, rides a dilapidated, single speed bicycle, and always seems to be in the right place at the wrong time - meaning he stumbles across mayhem, and murder as he caries out his soul saving missions.  G.K. Chesterton, a contemporary of George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde, usedsBrown to promote his own value system, emphasizing understanding of human nature over the scientific method. 

Father Brown is not a detective, yet his keen intuition and refined grasp of emotions allow him to solve crimes by thinking of himself as the criminal and moving through the scenario from beginning to end; one would think that eventually Brown would come to a logical discovery, but more often than not, it is a mid-think epiphany that wraps up each cunnundrum.

This book is a twelve story collection, most pretty good, easy going mysteries with predictable conclusions. The stories are more about Brown himself, and the little lesson Chesterton inserts for all of us.  One story in the group became uncomfortable to read because of the blatant racism which I suppose was not thought of as inappropriate at the time of publication.

Don't  want to read the book?  Check out the Father Brown Mysteries on PBS or Netflix.  Good Saturday night fun.  Don't want to watch alone?  You'll know where I'll be.  Come on over. 

Thanks for stopping by.