The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler

Well, after the travesty of a novel I read 3 days ago (see: Under the Volcano) I finally have hit the literary jackpot: The Way of All Flesh.

Now, before you start congratulating me on my scholarly victory, I'll admit that it has not became my all-time favorite book. But, I will say that it's probably in my top two books I've read on my journey.

First of all, this story is told by a third-party narrator named Mr. Overton. Previous readers may remember my hatred (found here) of a certain outside narrator named Nick Carraway. However, the difference between Mr. Butler's story and Mr. Fitzgerald's story is that the former never tries to present its narrator as an "unbiased spectator." In fact, Overton is extremely unsatisfied with the Pontifex family (the central characters) as a whole, and he lets the reader know that at every opportunity he can. It is with Overton's passionate commentary that we get a sense of who the Pontifexes really were.

Secondly, the main character, Ernest Pontifex, is extremely likeable and relateable. While the first characteristic isn't a necessary ingredient of a recipe of a good book, the second is an important factor, at least for me. If I can understand a character's situation and circumstances, I am far more likely to actually want to finish it.

More importantly, the book is a good representation of hypocrisy both in family life and in the church. The main character's father, Theobald, is a clergyman with a bizarre sense of parental duty. At the beginning of the novel, Theobald was mentally abused by his father as a youngster, and forced to enter the clergy against his will. You would think that such a horrible childhood would make Theobald re-evaluate how he would treat his children. But no! Theobald is even worse to his kids than his own father was! Not only does he bombards Ernest with accusations of stupidity and selfishness, he requires him to attend parochial school. Talk about deja-vu!

Even though ordained as a Minister, Theobald does not subscribe to his Holy Book's Golden Rule: "as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise" (Luke 6 v31). In other words, he does not treat people the way he wants to be treated. In fact there is an entire passage in which he and his wife are thrilled that Ernest is stupid: because if he were smarter than them, they would surely hate him.

The book is filled with little moments like that: moments that make you roll your eyes in disbelief at the ridiculousness of the church as it stood in the 1800s. Butler did not try to hide his disappointment with Evangelism. In fact, he waited until after his death to release the novel in order to avoid the outrage that surely accompanied his text. I highly recommend this book to any and all of my readers out there.