A review by allisonjpmiller
Tremendous Trifles by G. K. Chesterton

4.0

Absolutely wonderful. I've been carrying this book around at work the past couple of weeks, and reading the very short chapters ("trifles") on my breaks has been a big part of what's kept me sane. Chesterton is so good for one's perspective. He is such a healthy human being. He takes joy in the ordinary, unravelling the divine in the contents of his pocket and in the chaos of a train station. His whole premise is that there are two ways of viewing the world: as a giant, to whom the Himalayas and Niagra Falls are nothing more than specks on the landscape... or as a nymph, to whom a box garden on the balcony of a city apartment is an alien landscape, vast and unfathomable. As far as Chesterton is concerned, the latter is the only honest way of living (and I'd agree with him). The world is a strange, uncommon place, and we are uncommon creatures in it. As he writes, "The world will never starve for want of wonders, but only for want of wonder."