The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton

G.K. Chesterton

Father Brown is a Catholic priest who side-lines in solving criminal mysteries.  He lives in London but travels to many various locations, such as Scotland and France.  Invariably, wherever he goes there is a mystery to be solved.  Father Brown has a talent for observation and deduction, and he sees the truth where others are comfounded by details and red herrings. 

Father Brown has the ability to see into the dark side of human nature.  He explains that it is impossible to hear years of confessions without knowing what humans are capable of doing.  He also values reason as an intellectual instrument, thinking that it can be used to deduce the highest Truth just as well as it can be used to solve problems of the mundane world.  Being a priest, Father Brown is as much interested in redemption as in justice, and we see him working on the souls of the wrong-doers he meets, this being his true calling.

The dozen short stories contained in The Innocence of Father Brown are of uneven quality.  The first four or so are not very satisfying as a literary experience, but the stories that follow each improve upon their predecessors, and we can see Chesterton's style improve as he comes to terms with the short story vehicle and the mystery genre.  By the time we get to the eighth story, Chesterton is in full flight and his short stories are both intriguing and entertaining.  

Publishing details: G.K. Chesterton wrote over 50 mystery stories featuring Father Brown.  The first twelve of these were published separately between 1910 and 1911, and were collected under the title of The Innocence of Father Brown in 1911.  The version I read was an e-book with no publishing details.

The Trip (Film, 2010)

The actors Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon portray two characters called Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, two actors who share equal talents and similar lives, yet the former is vain and unhappy while the latter is happy with his lot in life.  Steve has the opportunity to visit the lakes District of England with the companion of his choice and is getting paid to review the restaurants he finds there.  To his great disappointment, Steve is turned down by his girlfriend and several people at the top of his list and finally asks Rob to go with him.  Rob is genial company but the two compete with each other and Steve almost invariably comes off second-best, to the wounding of his vanity.

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon both put in admirable performances in this film, and their powers of mimicry are uncanny as they take off Michael Caine, Anthony Hopkins, Billy Connolly and Hugh Grant, to name a few.  Steve Coogan displays an wonderful ability for noticing filmic cliches and Rob Brydon improvises on these themes with great relish.  Two particularly funny improvs arise around "Come, come, Mr Bond" and "To bed, gentlemen, for tomorrow we ride at dawn."

The Lakes District provides stunning visual interludes that break up the necessarily close-up filming of the characters' interaction.  What little storyline there is meanders like the journey Steve and Rob make through the English countryside.  And for all the hilarity and giggles provided along the way, the film is tastefully tinged with pathos provided by the character of Steve.  This is an all-round better-than-good movie and I look forward to seeing it again.  And now, to bed, gentlemen ...

Directed by Micheal Winterbottom.  Starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Japan, 1945:  A mysterious event injures a young boy and leaves an unnamed woman living with deep regrets.  Fast forward to modern Japan, a world with Walkmans and mobile phones.  Fifteen year old Kafka Tamura steals half a million Yen and runs away from home to look for his estranged mother and sister.  Meanwhile, Satoru Nakata lives in a nearby suburb of Tokyo.  He has the ability to talk to cats and makes his living by tracking down ones that have gone missing.

We follow the stories of Kafka and Nakata in alternating chapters, and as they move about Japan, their paths get ever closer.  The closer they get, the more extraordinary the events that overtake them become.

I read Murakami for the first time back in the late 80's.  I found his prose simple and his storytelling beguiling, and he has acquitted himself just as well with Kafka on the Shore. The half dozen or so characters are interesting, even likable.  The action is well-paced and the scenery is varied.  Many of the themes are universal.  No doubt about it, Murakami knows how to write a page-turner.

The major themes of Kafka on the Shore are the power that music and literature have to move us as human beings, our basic loneliness  and how we get by in the world, and the providential force of destiny.  Murakami uses the devices of magic realism to set out a vision of a benign world beyond our own mundane reality, one that will be our ultimate and welcoming home.

I don't want to say more as I fear I may spoil the many mysteries contained in the book.  If you like music, mystery and magic, then Kafka on the Shore may be your cup of tea. Be warned! There are some graphic descriptions of cruelty to cats.

Publishing Details: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (Vintage, London, 2005)