The Incredulity of Father Brown (Father Brown Mystery)

"The Incredulity of Father Brown" could just as easily have been called "Father Brown Goes To America," because the first half of this third short-story collection is saturated with America and Americans. But whatever side of the pond G.K. Chesterton writes about, his gnomish little priest-detective is still a font of psychological and theological know-how. "The Incredulity of Father Brown" is a bit more religiously-tinged than Chesterton's prior mystery stories, but the core of his stories is still the same -- a kindly little priest who effortlessly unravels bizarre and seemingly unsolvable mysteries. While working in a South American mission, in an unspecified country about to erupt in a revolution, Father Brown becomes a figure of interest to the United States media (mostly due to an atheist reporter's work). Shock is widespread when the little priest is clubbed to death by an unknown assailant -- only to rise from his coffin, very much alive and annoyed. Is it a miracle, or something much more mundane? His American adventures continue in the United States, when the little priest is present when a millionaire is killed by an Amerindian arrow -- supposedly caused by a cursed relic. It's not the only curse he has to deal with: a golden cross and an embalmed body pursued by a murderous stalker, a "doom" on a rather inbred aristocratic clan, and a vengeful man who seems to have demonic powers -- and a hysterical potential victim intent on using "silver magic." He also deals with a few cases that are less supernatural in theme, but still pretty befuddling -- such as a trio of millionaires murdered with a connection to communism, a seaside hotel whose disbelievers are baffled by a murder, and a dog that may (or may not) hold the key to a murder. G.K. Chesterton liked to write mysteries that were a lot simpler than they appeared to be, or else had some sort of bizarre twist at the end. Both kinds of mysteries show up in this collection of short stories, but only occasionally can readers guess what is going on, until Father Brown spells it out with some little detail of human nature, historical inaccuracy, or a simple fact of reality ("Real mystics don't hide mysteries, they reveal them"). And Father Brown is a likable little guy, who looks like an everyday, shabby little rlceric and doesn't have to overwork himself to solve mysteries. It's his shrewd brain and rather childlike straightforwardness that carries him through, as well as his uncanny knowledge of human nature and and his humble religious principles ("I believe in miracles. I believe in man-eating tigers, but I don't see them running about everywhere..") If there's a flaw, it's the rather dated racial descriptions, although those were typical of the time. Chesterton's writing is absolutely exquisite, like poetry rendered down into prose ("... the pale green bitter waters of the sea, and the flowers would be drowned and strangled in seaweed"), especially in Father Brown's expeditions

In "The Incredulity of Father Brown," G.K. Chesterton treats us to another set of bizarre crimes that only his "stumpy" Roman Catholic prelate has the wisdom and mindset to solve. As usual, Chesterton loves playing with early 20th century class distinctions, "common-sense" assumptions and the often anti-Catholic biases of his characters. He loves showing, through his characters, how those who hold themselves superior to the "fantasies" of Brown's Catholic faith themselves devolve into superstitious blithering when faced with the tiniest of mysteries. Brown finds himself as the main event at his own funeral (The resurrection of Father Brown), contemplating the possibility of death from the sky (The arrow of heaven), piercing the mystery of a dog's "prophetic" behavior (The oracle of the dog) and facing off against a curse hanging about a medieval burial (The curse of the golden cross). In each story, Brown's ability to see past the assumptions that stymie his companions can seem facile and repetitious. But Chesterton provides such a bevy of social insights and beautiful prose that these small annoyances are easily forgiven. Tom Whitworth ably read the audio version that I listened to, which is sadly out of production. Listen to Whitworth on audio versions of other collections of Father Brown stories.