Customer Reviews

The Seven Storey Mountain: 50th Anniversary

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Sometimes you have to endure a lot of pain for a few ounces of pleasure. I picked up TSSM upon a friend's recommendation, and after he had read me a few incredibly insightful quotes from the book. In addition, I am a huge fan of Brennan Manning, who quotes Merton quite often in books like "The Ragamuffin Gospel" and "The Signature of Jesus," which further whet my appetite to read TSSM. What I found was a man who is incredibly complex in his dogmatism, who began a project, the proportions of which he may have found greater than will the reader.

The events of his life, from birth to the day the ink dried on the manuscript, may prove to be too wordy for many people; however, it would be a shame to let Merton's droning on about seemingly insignificant events discourage the reader from reaching the final 50 pages. I wished there were a condensed version, because his style is not conducive to such minutia as what he ate at such and such meal. Details like that really bog down this autobiography. I mean, come on, I thought he should have been a bit more selective about which items to omit from this book.

To be fair, looking at my copy next to me on the desk, I see about 40-50 dog-eared pages interspersed throughout the book, marking sentiments ranging from the empty spirituality of the Anglican church, the futility of life without God, communism, the prison of consumerism. Some of his words, written 50 years ago, are chillingly prophetic. For example, "Is it any wonder that there can be no peace in a world where everything possible is done to guarantee that the youth of every nation will grow up absolutely without moral and religious discipline, and without the shadow of an interior life, or of that spirituality and charity and faith which alone can safeguard the treaties and agreements made by governments?"

I realize this book was written under a strict editor's pen (his abbot), so much detail about his sinful past was struck from the final manuscript. Such details are important when trying to understand the nature of Merton's self assessment. Why did he feel so remorseful about specific situations? He talks about his remorse, but does not address the specifics of his sin that is causing a chasm between him and God.

As a detestable Protestant (nearly paraphrasing Merton), this book had me both cheering and squirming uncomfortably at some of Merton's statements. The most distressing point was his statement (I'm paraphrasing) "the Catholic Church is the only institution that has presented an unchanging, cohesive theology over the centuries." A few pages later, he is ripping off a long prayer to Mary, hailing her as the Mother of all Life, the Mother of God, which is a doctrine that the Catholic Church adopted in the 8th century. I would not consider that "unchanging and cohesive," not to mention the changes from Vatican I to Vatican II. Being a Protestant, I found his veneration of Mary foreign and uncomfortable, and maybe a substitute for the intercessor Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit. I found way too much Mary and not enough Jesus or Holy Spirit. Of course, I was not the targeted audience, so my personal offense is immaterial.

However, I found many gems in Merton's writings and am not willing to throw this baby out with the bath water of his near militant Catholicism. The man was a genius, there is no doubt in my mind, and TSSM is filled with paragraphs that should be posted on the walls of our institutions, to at least get people to stop and think about the direction in which they are being driven. I found it a bit wordy and a bit too militaristic to afford it 5 stars, but many will find it well worth the time.

I'm far from an intellectual but do think deeply about God and life.

There's so much mystery and power in Merton's writing--much of it goes by my brain and heart like a speeding train.

But--some words, phrases, paragraphs, pages, chapters feel like cool summer rain---other times, like a bolt of inspirational lightening.

Seven Storey Mountain provides great insight to Thomas Merton the child, young man and early adult leading to his entering the monastery at Gethsemini.

And the book also delivered wonderful food for thought (and prayer) as well as fuel for my own spiritual journey.

My immediate goal is to get my Dad to read it---long range to make a retreat at his beloved Gethsemini.

I'm not Catholic, and I'm never going to be Catholic, but I ejoyed reading Thomas Merton's religious journey anyway. He felt there was something missing in his life, even though he was popular and successful in the secular world, and he looked until he found what was missing. In his case, he found God, and a certainty that there were order and love in the world.

I found it easy to follow Merton through most of his journey, because he seems like an ordinary person. I even understood his self-loathing, because sometimes I feel like I'm missing something, and not doing what I ought to be doing. His writing in the early sections is clear and simple, but also very descriptive. But once he converted, I found the book harder to follow, especially when he included poetry, or sang about the wonder and glory of God.

I call myself a spiritual atheist. That means I have a sense of wonder at the world, and I try to be open, but I don't believe anything I can't prove. So I couldn't relate to Merton's experience of God the way I related to his secular life. Also, I was a little upset by how certain he is that the pre-Vatican II Catholic Church is the only right religion. I understand he became more open, but when he wrote "The Seven Story Mountain," he was still a recent convert. He seems almost smug, the way he glories in his relationship with God.

Just a thought: Merton grew up without much religion. People who don't have a religion are more likely to convert to other religions later, and believe in them strongly. That's how a lot of people join cults. If you look at Merton that way, he's like the people who joined the Heaven's Gate cult. They believed strongly enough to withdraw from the world and kill themselves. Merton didn't kill himself, but he withdrew and tried as hard as he could to be a completely different person. That's just something to consider, when you talk about Merton's spiritual virtues. He's really not that special. He just picked an established religion and wrote well.

I admire people who have the willpower to really look hard for something they think they need, but I'm not really comfortable with what Merton finds as his answer.

This is a wonderful book, although it is indeed quite Augustinian- almost Dostoyevskian- in the degree to which Merton publically flagellates himself here for not having found his destiny until he became a Catholic and a Trappist.

If you can get past that - and his jibes at Protestants- you can appreciate the Merton of the late 1940s/early 50s, who was quite on fire spiritually. (I do, however, greatly admire his take onthe Oxford Movement- precursor to Alchoholics Anonymous. Merton was dead on target there!) His description of his experience in a church in Cuba is simply amazing first hand of what Buddhists would call an enlightenment experience.

I for one appreciate more his contemplative works. (Of course, as a Buddhist, what might you expect?) Still this is a beautiful, literate, and although flawed, touching account of one man's spiritual journey.

I'd say though, if you want more, try "Seeds of Contemplation" and "The Monastic Journey."

This is a wonderful book, although it is indeed quite Augustinian- almost Dostoyevskian- in the degree to which Merton publically flagellates himself here for not having found his destiny until he became a Catholic and a Trappist.

If you can get past that - and his jibes at Protestants- you can appreciate the Merton of the late 1940s/early 50s, who was quite on fire spiritually. (I do, however, greatly admire his take onthe Oxford Movement- precursor to Alchoholics Anonymous. Merton was dead on target there!) His description of his experience in a church in Cuba is simply amazing first hand of what Buddhists would call an enlightenment experience.

I for one appreciate more his contemplative works. (Of course, as a Buddhist, what might you expect?) Still this is a beautiful, literate, and although flawed, touching account of one man's spiritual journey.

I'd say though, if you want more, try "Seeds of Contemplation" and "The Monastic Journey."

The Seven Storey Mountain was a book suggested to me by my father when I was a teenager. I ignored his advice 20 years ago and I found myself comming back to this work only now that I am married with two children. I am glad that I did not read the book at 17 I was too young to fully understand it because I did not have enough life experiences to recognize the value in Merton's points. You definately need some scars and experience to take this book to heart.

One other thing you have to keep in mind always while reading this book is the fact that it was written before the second Vatican Council. I am making this point because Merton's descriptions and characterizations of Protestants can be read as harsh in the more ecumenical world we live in today. I am a life long catholic and found some passages and referneces set me back. If the emnity between religions was consistent with these comments, then I am happier to be living today than then.

The last thing is that this is a long, long, long book. You have to work your way through several hundred pages before it all comes together. The labor is work the effort as the last 100 or so pages are some of the most emotive and spritual words I have read. This effect would be lost entirely if you do not read the whole book. So the advice is to set your mind to reading the whole thing knowing that there is a reward at the end. In that way, the book is a metaphor for the spirtual life.

If you are a teeenager I recommend a book called "The Cross and the Switchblade". A good book on religion and being a teen that I did read when I was a teenager. Although its set in the 1960-70's its still topical.

This was my first real "conversion story" that I've read, and I'm sure it will be one of the best I'll ever read. After spending many years in the darkness of sin, Thomas converted to Catholicism and ultimately, a Trappist monastery. His story was really inspirational, and has nurtured my possible vocation to the Trappist life. This book would be a great read for ALL kinds of people: senior citizens, atheists, Catholics, and Protestants.

THE SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN is Thomas Merton's autobiography, concentrating on his early life up to his Catholic conversion experience and entrance into a Trappist monastery.

Comparisons abound between this work and the CONFESSIONS of St. Augustine, both authors address the book as much to God as to the reader, and they both look back scornfully and regretfully upon their lives before entry into the Church. However, Augustine has the upper hand here due to his immense honesty of his sins, while Merton alludes to sinful actions without exactly saying what he did wrong, leading the reader to wonder what exactly he's complaining about. Merton's fathering of an illegimate child while at Cambridge is a crucial event which leads to his leaving England, coming to New York and eventually into the Church, but is never plainly stated, and in fact one has to read the preface to find out what happened.

Thomas Merton's convert zeal is impressive throughout the book, and that the book shows an inside view of a man's love for his God is its one redeeming factor. This reviewer's complain is that Merton claims to want to live a better life, but he spurns the poor and unfortunate people of the world, fleeing to solitude to work for his salvation alone. The reader would think, if only Merton had shown his love for God through helping the needy, we'd have one of the greatest charity workers in history. But instead, Merton comes across as an uncaring, incompassionate man.

THE SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN is, of course, a story of conversion and is therefore written in a frenzy of love for God. His later works are much more concerned with ecumenicalism and world events from a monastic viewpoint, and so the reader should know that those books read differently.

Thomas Merton is a profound person, and his personal story reflects his wisdom and keen sense of what is important in life. The book itself is surprisingly easy to read, though at times it seems to contain more detail than I hoped for, particularly in the latter parts of the book. As a non-Catholic, I was not reading this book for specific religious doctrine, but rather as a study of the nature of intensely devoted religious people. I got my money and time's worth.

I'm reading this book for the 2nd time -- the 1st time changed my life. Funny, that seems to be a recurrent theme in these reviews. I started reading it expecting a dense academic work, and was VERY pleasantly surprised to find that it is a life-changing book and a good read to boot. Merton is unbelievable; his candid (and funny) observations about himself, his self-absorbtion, his pride and his misery made me so clearly see the same things in myself, and humbly sprint back into God's arms. P.S. -- In response to the reviewer who was disappointed because Merton didn't discuss having a child out of wedlock in the book (How dare we compare the book to St. Augustine's Confessions?): It is my understanding that, in his original manuscript, Merton was very frank about his past, including the pregnancy. However, his superiors at Gethsemene made him take it out, "cleaning the book up" a bit for his 1950s audience.