Preview
  • The Man Who Was Thursday

  • By: G. K. Chesterton
  • Narrated by: Simon Vance
  • Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (463 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

The Man Who Was Thursday

By: G. K. Chesterton
Narrated by: Simon Vance
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.95

Buy for $19.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

This is quite possibly Chesterton's most famous novel. All that G. K. Chesterton's critics labeled him- devotional, impious, confounding, intelligent, humorous, bombastic - he wove into The Man Who Was Thursday. This page-turner sends characters bobbing around a delightfully confusing plot of mythic proportions.

The story begins when two poets meet. Gabriel Syme is a poet of law. Lucian Gregory is a poetic anarchist. As the poets protest their respective philosophies, they strike a challenge. In the ruckus that ensues, the Central European Council of Anarchists elects Syme to the post of Thursday, one of their seven chief council positions. Undercover. On the run, Syme meets with Sunday, the head of the council, a man so outrageously mysterious that his antics confound both the law-abiding and the anarchist.

Who is lawful? Who is immoral? Such questions are strangely in the presence of Sunday. He is wholly other. He is above the timeless questions of humanity and also somehow behind them.

©2008 christianaudio.com
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Man Who Was Thursday

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    309
  • 4 Stars
    99
  • 3 Stars
    39
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    306
  • 4 Stars
    58
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    253
  • 4 Stars
    82
  • 3 Stars
    27
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    8

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Exciting

This story and performance was exciting! From the beginning I was hooked. The language and well put together story was engaging as well as entertaining.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Chesterton is brilliant as usual!

Engaging and thought provoking, yet still entertaining to stick with till the end. This work can be appreciated by all, but it's communication seems aimed at those with a theological worldview. Brilliant nonetheless.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

CHESTERTON NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE !

amazing story!!!
this book has so many layers I could read it more than 10 times ,every time getting something out of it. Beautifully written. it amazes me every time to think that Chesterton thought up each point of view, each retort for each character and how brilliantly they are presented in this amazing version of story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent actor. Excellent author.

The voice acting is top notch. The writing is great and had me laughing unexpectedly. The story got a little trippy at the end, but I wouldn't say it was bad. Otherwise, it's suspenseful for a nonstandard detective story. Fair warning: I've read GK Chesterton before, so I kinda knew what I was getting into.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

My First Chesterton book...I will be back for more

A wonderful morality play of a thriller of a story. in the traditional tone you would expect of a classical tale much like Indiana Jones, where the telling of the tale is very melodious, almost prose. The story can be quite quick, and quickly twisting as the main plot begins to reach a crecendo. The conclusion also requires the reader to twist their presumptions of the entire story...again very much like an Indiana Jones or Sherlock Holmes type story. My first Chesterton read...and I think well worth it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Timeless allegory In the caliber of C. S Lewis.

Well written as it draws you deeper into the story. Time we'll spent and worth hearing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great classic read!!

I wasn't familiar with GK Chesterton, so I was skeptical whether I would enjoy the novel. How wrong I was - highly recommend!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Indescribably good

There's something about this book which no plot synopsis can convey. This is in part due to the writing: Chesterton writes prose that is as beautiful, as playful, as inventive as poetry. The plot, too, has a unique quality which makes it truly captivating. This book is funny, bewildering, confusing and moving. One of the best I've come across in a long while.

And a note regarding the narration: If you're familiar with Simon Vance, no recommendation will be necessary. If not, then just do yourself a favor, get this audiobook and get to known one of the best narrators out there, if not *the* best.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

wonderful

Narrator was spectacular. So much so I will be looking for other works read by him.

The book is classic GK with a surrealist finish. it is certainly controversial but I found it satisfying. Just be prepared for a thematic closure rather than a linear one. Many themes here are closely tied to his own experience, documented in his work Orthodoxy. I found that having the knowledge from Orthodoxy greatly enhanced this book for me, as I was able to catch subtle thematic patterns I might have missed without knowing GK's story through Orthodoxy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Symbolism was over my head.

Exciting story, but the 2nd half got gradually more and more symbolic and I needed some foot notes to keep up. Mr. Chesterton was smarter than I am.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful