While the very story of the book is rather contrived and artificial, the ideas conveyed in it make this a worthwhile read. Basically Chesterton uses an allegory to show that contemporary society cannot begin to comprehend a truly Christian man. Remarkably Chesteron set this book in an ostensibly Christian society. However his understanding of a Christian meant someone like the protagonist Innocent Smith; a man who was dead to the world in that he paid no heed to the laws and customs of man but held dear the eternal principles and laws of God.
Chesterton also slips in some harsh criticism of science,psychology in particular, throughout the course of the book. Although Gould and Pym constantly change their scientific explanations of Smith's behaviour, they pompously expect everyone to except their decisions because it is science. While science does explain things of the material world, Chesterton makes it clear that the soul of man is above such crude analysis becuase it is made in the image of God.
So as a man fears things he does not understand so do entire societies fear men they do not understand.

Manalive is all the things stated by the other reviews given here, except the inference of being a great book. It has some wonderful prose. It has interesting ideas. It has a truly unique main character, Innocent Smith.

At the same time, there are two clear issues with Manalive. First, it is rife with extreme plot contrivances. Allegory or not, these are very distracting. A trial is enacted in a single afternoon, and letters used as evidence simply appear from all around the world. Innocent's wife takes vacations of a week or two in different locations about Britain, but people know and care about her as if she'd been there for a year or more. Etc. Second, the characterizations, other than Innocent, are shallow and stereotypical. There is the sleepy elder matron, the sardonic playboy, the intelligent but uptight D'ebutante, the stodgy closed-minded doctor, and so on.

A third problem with Manalive is that the central theme does not hold up, other than perhaps whimsically. Chesterton uses Innocent Smith to break conventions, to think beyond the norm, to witness the sunrise, to portray the essence of being alive. A crucial component of being alive is to never harm anyone: Smith shoots but never hits, he thieves but only from himself, he seduces and runs off with many women but (it turns out) they are all his wife. He and his wife play a recurring game of seduction and elopement, and it is here that Chesterton's core idea fails. Innocent and his wife never let anyone know what has happened to her. She simply runs off with him, and they've done so much of this--a young woman disappearing with this unusual man, to never be heard from again--that Innocent is feared to be a serial murderer or polygamist. The key is that the people left behind had grown to care for his wife. Perhaps they care in a stodgy, uptight, and not-alive manner, but in a very real sense, Innocent and his wife harm these people by never letting them know what happened to her.

Manalive has many wonderful attributes, but in a seriously flawed package.

I was absolutely astounded at the level of wittyness and profoundity that Chesterton achieved in this novel. Chesterton manages to once again use a rediculous fiction novel as a vehicle to share his profound insights into life with us as well as his stinging refutations of the leading philosophies of his time. Innocent Smith, the main character, is a man who says that "I am going to hold a pistol to the head of Modern Man. But I shall not use it to kill him--only to bring him life." Innocent Smith is put on trial by Modern Man for attempting to save a mans live, breaking into his own home, and marrying his own wife. He is a man whom is the embodiment of a live life. His life is truly alive, for he goes to great pains to make it so. He travels around the world just so he can have the satisfactions of arriving home again, he breaks into his own home so that he can covet his own posessions rather than his neighbors, he shoots at a man to save his life. To the best of my knowledge there is no character in any fiction book anywhere who is anything like Innocent Smith, and I seriously doubt that any other author will ever be able to reproduce a character like him. He is a man who makes a game of chasing his hat and who is delighted with discovering an attic to have a picnic in, yet he is a man who carries a loaded gun he uses to deliver "pills of life" and refute the philosophies of the day. He is the subject of this profound work by G. K. Chesterton, who is only slightly less profound that the character which he has produced.

Overall Grade: A+

This was my first read of Chesterton. After seeing him quoted and referred to in so many other books I had been reading, I decided it was time to check out his actual work. I was not disappointed, and feel like I have discovered some hidden treasure!

Beautifully written, mixing the ridiculous with the profound, I found myself underlining many times in this book. G.K. Chesterton's main character Innocent Smith managed to restore so much joy to even my life. Such is the goal of this character, to restore the joy of being alive. He manages to achieve this in a manner that many consider childlike or quite certainly insane! Innocent Smith aids other members of the tale in discovering the meaning of death; "It isn't only meant to remind us of a future life, but to remind us of a present life, too." A reader walks away from this work, realizing the beauty of the birds, the sweet smell of the flowers and the delight of one's own romantic love. I find myself indebted to this work for helping to restore my joy of living.

I did discover one difficulty in starting this read. I am so accustom to reading such easily digested material, it took me several attempts to actually get past the first three pages. I thought to myself, 'how many adjectives does he need!' After crossing this hurdle, I was so delighted by the rich descriptions as one viewing a fine piece of art.

I highly suggest this work with 5 out of 5 stars and am looking forward to reading more of Chesterton.

Reading this book was like eating a cupcake. It was delicious and over too quickly. The few other works of Chesteron's that I have read are much meatier, much more profound. But Chesterton always seems to be able to take a brief, clever idea, and follow it through to its logical conclusions.

The insanely secular world Chesterton paints in "The Ball & the Cross" is present in Manalive, but it has been mercifully suspended outside of the confines of Beacon House. This suspension allows Chesterton to explore the actions of a single man who is fully and completely human - an uninhibited man with a good heart and relatively infinite resources.

Within the confines of Beacon House, Chesterton assembles a cast of English cartoon figures to serve as foils to his protagonist. Their lighthearted attempt to make sense of "Smith" provides the structure around which Chesterton makes his points.

Chesterton's disdain for Americans makes its appearance in Dr. Cyrus Pym, but GKC can be forgiven for this since he equips his hero Smth with a fine American revolver.

All in all an excellent book, over too quickly, but consequently well suited for repeated readings.