tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3872063720972084494.post3865032776115425916..comments2022-08-09T13:13:43.510-06:00Comments on LIVE AND LEARN: Book Review - Orthodoxy by G. K. ChestertonMyke Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13515375816353987662noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3872063720972084494.post-26080596994584791202010-08-31T04:31:42.597-06:002010-08-31T04:31:42.597-06:00Thomas, thank you so much for the sympathy and enc...Thomas, thank you so much for the sympathy and encouragement. I plan to take your advice. Won't it be embarrassing when I do and then conclude to give him the stars he deserves.Myke Weberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13515375816353987662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3872063720972084494.post-83301615409203430032010-08-30T22:46:31.773-06:002010-08-30T22:46:31.773-06:00You're probably right in saying that it's ...You're probably right in saying that it's way over your head; I think that experience is pretty common among those reading Chesterton for the first time. The problem isn't that his ideas are convoluted or that he understands only vaguely what he is trying to say; in fact, if there is a problem, it is quite the opposite one. The problem is that he is an extremely clear thinker and assumes (wrongly, in my case) that we are too, and thus feels no need to hold our hand from point A to point Z, explaining each step along the way. When Lewis has an especially lucid thought to share with his readers, he knows what a rare and startling thing that will seem to most of us, and takes pains to bear us through gently. Chesterton simply takes it for granted that we also see the logical progression from one (seemingly unrelated) idea to another, and moves on with nary a comment on what lay in between. It makes for difficult reading, and his writing style doesn't exactly make it any easier.<br /><br />As to the frequent references to individuals, events and ideas that we are not likely to recognize without our constant companion wikipedia, I cannot but agree with you. The curse of the newspaperman, I suppose; no thought at all given to making sure his writings are accessible to future generations. Might I recommend the annotated addition?<br /><br />Finally, don't feel frustrated that you only made it halfway through. Multiple false starts are a part of my first experience with Orthodoxy, and of many others' experiences as well. I think I finally read it through the third time that I picked it up, a full year and a half after it was originally given to me. Read some other books, 'take your brain elsewhere', but then come back and look at it with a fresh set of eyes; you might be surprised by what you see.<br /><br />-TJ WebbUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01147784710228995895noreply@blogger.com