Happy Days

I did stick to my promise and only read eBooks while on holiday, the first of which is somewhat of an absurdist classic. I am sure that if I were an Edwardian gentleman I would have found The Man Who Was Thursday positively hilarious. As it is I am neither Edwardian nor, as many of you would rush to point out, a gentleman. Consequently, the book struck me as just mildly amusing and often quite frustrating.

The plot is certainly daft enough to entertain: an undercover detective infiltrates a group of anarchists intent on overthrowing governments and assassinating royalty. The high council meet in secret and go by codenames taken from the days of the week. Our detective is voted in to replace the recently deceased Thursday and, through a process of rather silly revelations, discovers that all is not as it seems within the group.

We are treated to bluff, counter-bluff, unmaskings, duels, angry mobs, escapes on horseback and, when all sense of credulity is thrown out of the window, one on the back of an elephant. All of which leads us to the final denouement - the discovery of the true identity of the fearsome man known hitherto only as Sunday.

During the opening chapters I really thought I was going to love this but it rapidly became, well, a bit too silly for its own good and ends up lightweight and throwaway as a result. If you guffawed your way through Three Men and a Boat, a book which only managed to raise the occasional titter from me, then you might find this more rewarding. I was disappointed, although adequately amused.

There are lots of versions of The Man Who Was Thursday available in print. Or you can download it for free from Feedbooks like I did.

Comments

[Stephanie]

I made prolonged eye contact with an e-reader in Borders today. I'm sure it's the future but I don't think I'm ready to give up paper yet. Also, I know it's short-termist, but I couldn't get past how many actual books I could buy with the £189 the thing would cost.
(Apart from that it looked delightful!)

[Jade @ Ps3 Home Items]

I absolutely love reading e-books and I have read many of them but not "The Man who was Thursday". From what I read in your post, this is a humor book - am I correct? If so, I'd love to read it. Great review!