THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY

In his time, Chesterton was dubbed the "prince of paradox" for treating serious questions in a whimsical manner. This psychological thriller masquerades as a spy novel while becoming a metaphysical thriller. The result is a literary work too complicated for the audio format. Keith does an admirable job of reading this complex, phantasmagoric work clearly and succinctly, but still the listener gets lost in Chesterton's nutty agenda. The hero is London policeman Gabriel Syme, who has infiltrated a group of poet-anarchists to save the world from their bombings. Keith narrates the brilliantly crafted language adroitly and with aplomb, but the tale twists and turns, weighted down by metaphors and symbols, until listeners will be totally confused and disappointed, and ultimately, lose interest. S.C.A. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 02]