The Paradoxes of Mr Pond edition by G K Chesterton Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks
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The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond is G. K. Chesterton's final collection of detective stories, published after his death in 1936. Of the eight mysteries, seven were first printed in the Storyteller magazine. The Unmentionable Man was unique to the book.
The stories revolve around a civil servant named Mr. Pond (we are not told his first name). He is described as a very ordinary and fish-like man who has a habit of startling those who meet him with outrageous paradoxical statements. He seems unaware of the oddness of his remarks, and his friend Sir Hubert Wotton explains "he looks a very sedentary, scientific little cuss... but he's really had very extraordinary experiences. He doesn't talk about them; he doesn't want to talk about them... but when, in the course of talking in the abstract he comes on some concrete thing that he has actually done – well, I can only say he crumples it up. He tries to crush it into a small space and it simply sounds contradictory. Almost every one of those crazy sentences simply stands for one of the adventures in what would be called by most people a very unadventurous life."
The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond contains an interactive table of contents.
The Paradoxes of Mr Pond edition by G K Chesterton Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks
Each story in this collection is the gradual and entertaining explanation of some paradox stated by Mr. Pond, such as this one from "When Doctors Agree:" 'I once knew two men who came to agree with each other so completely that one of them, naturally, murdered the other, but as a general rule...." The story that follows is convoluted, thanks to Pond's digressions on society hostesses and what he calls 'the sanctity of really futile conversation,' but more than lives up to the high promise of that opening paradox. "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" is nearly as good and just as clever; the rest of the stories are good and clever, and would shine in nearly any other collection, but those two are so outstanding that they make the merely good look ordinary. Buy it! Read it! Read parts of it out loud to your helpless friends and convert them!Product details
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The Paradoxes of Mr Pond edition by G K Chesterton Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks Reviews
It should be quoted more often among the greatest Chesterton's books. Mr. Pond is no less likable as a character than Father Brown (most other characters are charming as well). Each short story revolves around a paradox stated in earnest by Mr. Pond, such as "naturally, he was so tall that no one saw him" and things like that. (All is wonderfully explained later). Great crime stories (with no serious crimes involved) for those who consider "whodunits" too gory.
G. K. Chesterton, a contemporary of Sir Conan Doyle, is known today for his delightful short stories, especially those involving Father Brown, a priest with a penchant for solving crimes.
Like myself, most readers of Father Brown stories are less aware of Chesterton's other collections of mystery tales. Following the advice of previous reviewers, I recently introduced myself to Mr. Pond and his friends, Captain Gahagan and Sir Hubert Wotton, in "The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond".
Once again Chesterton pleasantly surprised me. Mr. Pond, a quiet, mild mannered, obscure English bureaucrat relates an odd mix of adventures. All stories are initiated by some paradoxical comment that he unwittingly utters. After some confusion, Mr. Pond is persuaded to explain himself. The tales are usually a little convoluted, but in the end we have a solution that is logically possible, but not necessarily probable. (Many Sherlock Holmes cases share this characteristic.)
In "The Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse" Mr. Pond mentions that a Prussian Marshall Van Grock failed his mission "because the discipline was too good". His plan failed "because his soldiers obeyed him. Of course, if only one of his soldiers had obeyed him, it wouldn't have been so bad." Failure couldn't be avoided "when two of his soldiers obeyed him".
Mr. Pond's statements were equally incongruous in "When Doctors Agree". "Funny things agreements. Fortunately people generally go on disagreeing, till they die peacefully in their beds. Men very seldom do fully and finally agree. I did know two men who came to agree so completely that one of them naturally had to murder the other."
Chesterton's stories move at a more leisurely pace than many readers are now accustom, often involve improbable events and unusual characters, and occasionally digress to consider a moral issue.
If you are already an admirer of Chesterton, definitely acquire this inexpensive Dover edition. If you are new to Chesterton, consider also acquiring Chesterton's famed Father Brown detective stories.
An endearing if imperfect collection of mysteries from G. K. Chesterton. This was the last work of fiction he ever wrote. Certainly all of his trademarks are still here clever plot twists, seemingly impossible paradoxes, philosophical discussion mixed in with the story, and endearing comedy mixed in with the philosophy. But with that said, this particular set of stories is a mixed bag.
At the top of the heap (and the top of the order) is "The Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse". This tale takes us to Poland, where a headstrong German general fails because he has two loyal Prussian servants. If he'd had only one, he would have succeeded. How can this be? Mr. Pond narrates out of the apparent contradiction in fine fashion, complete with unforgettable characters, creepy setting, and a titanic clash of wills.
On the other hand, other stories in the collection are definitely lacking some real Chestertonian zing. Some of them are frankly predictable, others seem arbitrarily constructed just to build up to a clever punch line. One hesitates to suggest that Chesterton's talents were failing at the end of his life. After all, he wrote some of his best books in the 1930's, including his towering autobiography. Nevertheless, he certainly let some substandard material slip through here.
Even so, "The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond" is well worth reading for anyone who appreciates a good mystery or just a little fun. Further, all the stories are still packed with the unflagging spirit that is G. K. Chesterton. Even when his literally skills slipped a notch, he remained committed to principles, and determined to fit important statements into all his works. In particular, both the first and last story in this collection contain echoes of the horrors of the Nazi regime. With the Holocaust beginning in earnest shortly after this book was written, it's worth considering how much a seemingly innocent collection of tales could tell us about the human condition. Perhaps we should pay a bit more attention to the messages in our popular writings today.
Each story in this collection is the gradual and entertaining explanation of some paradox stated by Mr. Pond, such as this one from "When Doctors Agree" 'I once knew two men who came to agree with each other so completely that one of them, naturally, murdered the other, but as a general rule...." The story that follows is convoluted, thanks to Pond's digressions on society hostesses and what he calls 'the sanctity of really futile conversation,' but more than lives up to the high promise of that opening paradox. "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" is nearly as good and just as clever; the rest of the stories are good and clever, and would shine in nearly any other collection, but those two are so outstanding that they make the merely good look ordinary. Buy it! Read it! Read parts of it out loud to your helpless friends and convert them!
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