A "Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading book (hey, there was a holiday clearance sale). Supposedly the father of modern spy dramas (so says the introducer), the book was quite enjoyable until the last chapter.
Symes, a cop, infiltrates a anarchy crime ring. The leader of the ring, Sunday, is a criminal mastermind. All the members of the ring (7) are named after days of the week: Symes becomes Thursday. The hilarity ensues (criminals chasing cops, etc.). Turns out, all the anarchists are undercover cops, although none know that (until the book progresses, of course).
The rest of the week unites to find Sunday. They do, and the final chapter becomes some odd religious allegory, with Sunday playing the God figure . I understand Chesterton was both a Christian and a philosopher (are the two mutually exclusive? thanks again to the introducer), but I certainly didn't expect this ending. I guess, being a spy novel, it needs the "gotcha" moment. It's just weird when the "gotcha" becomes salvation. Odd.
I liked it (not loved it), but I'm not too sure why it was an "essential" read. Oh well.
Finished: 1/12/08
Pages: 156
Total Pages Read: 754
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