In Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton sketches the story of a sailor who travels the seven seas and finally comes to shore in a strange and exotic land near a temple shining with brilliant lights….and discovers that he’s back in England and the temple is Brighton Pavilion. It merely looked strange and exotic because the sailor was seeing it from a new angle, and with no preconceptions. (The sailor’s homecoming is a metaphor for Chesterton’s conversion to Roman Catholicism.)

Manalive is a short novel which plays with the same paradox, but with a twist. Innocent Smith is a man so alive, so in love with life, so keen to remain fiercely in love with life and with all the good things in it that he purposely becomes that sailor, travelling far from home (both literally and metaphorically) so that he can return and see it with new and freshly delighted eyes.

Honestly, I’m not quite sure what I think about it. That is to say, I enjoyed the book. Chesterton is always fun, and he always takes a bit of effort. But I’ve not yet made up my mind about Mr. Smith and his program. It’s worth pondering, though.