Defiant Joy by Kevin Belmonte

In Defiant Joy, Kevin Belmonte provides a biography of the great, late G.K. Chesterton, the ultimate Renaissance man thinker and writer of the early 20th century. He scopes out Chesterton's entire life, including childhood events that shaped the man of letters, samplings and analyses of his great works, and scoop about his relationships with his contemporaries.


Reading this book felt like ordering an appetizer sampler at a restaurant only to have it arrive after two hours with frozen Costco food warmed up on a platter. As Belmonte did not witness Chesterton's life, he could only tell about it long after, using quotes from previous biographies, reviews, and Chesterton's own works. At times, it felt like I read quote after quote, with a little bit of filler. In addition, the picture on the front of Chesterton fails to flatter.

Once I finally got into the book (about a third of the way into it), I found it delightful. The long quotes became less tedious; Chesterton's quotes spice up the book, as he wrote beautifully. Belmonte did manage to awaken a new generation to the greatness of Chesterton and implant a thirst for his full works (at least for this reader). (G, recommended) [I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishing's Booksneeze Program in exchange for an honest review. See above for honest review.]