The Story of the Family: G.K. Chesterton on the Only State that Creates and Loves Its Own Citizens

G.K. Chesterton lived in the early 1900s and wrote on the issues of his time. He was a great defender of Christian orthodoxy. In this book, Dale Ahlquist compiled a collection of poems, quotations, excerpts, and essays on the family from G.K. Chesterton. In today’s society, we see all kinds of attacks on the family around feminism, birth control, divorce, promiscuity, etc. To quote Ecclesiastes 1:9, “There is nothing new under the sun.” It was the same in G.K. Chesterton’s time. He speaks on these topics, which are just as relevant today.

I appreciate his defense of the family. He gets us to think about things more deeply. He writes in a style where he takes an idea and compares it to something concrete and relatable. For example, “If a triangle breaks out of its three sides, its life comes to a lamentable end,” which shows an obvious truth. In speaking about home and work, as another example, he writes, “Women were not kept at home in order to keep them narrow; on the contrary, they were kept at home in order to keep them broad.” This is not a slight on women to keep them at home, but it does give a certain individual dignity and respect that can be found in the household that may be absent in the workplace.

There are many good quotes in the book. One of them I really liked was, “The good artist is he who can be understood; it is the bad artist who is always ‘misunderstood.’” It is thought-provoking, simple, and easy to understand.

While reading the book, I found that if I read it too quickly, I missed out on what G.K. Chesterton was saying. I often needed to read it slower and sometimes stop and re-read what was just said to understand it fully. When I slowed down, I found the topics more interesting and profound.

I recommend this book to people who appreciate a challenging and thought-provoking read. It is not light or casual but enriches with slow-paced reading and deeper reflection.