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marjonmarie's review against another edition
5.0
Incredible! Truly an amazing memoir of Thomas Merton’s life from birth until be became a monk. How he stumbled into his faith and fell in love with the Catholic Church. Beautifully written! Will read again.
bookherd's review against another edition
4.0
You could say this was my Lenten reading this year, though I didn't plan it to be. I had read it many years ago and it didn't make a very big impression on me, except that I remember feeling that Merton was a stern, sad person who had had what sounded like a deprived childhood. I'm not sure why I picked it up again.The first 100 pages or so I struggled through. Merton wrote beautifully about the interesting characters of his childhood and the landscapes he remembered, but would then suddenly condemn a whole group of people as heretics without explanation, or condemn himself for holding Protestant beliefs as a child. I wished he could tell the story of his childhood without the moralizing. As the book progressed, though, the moralizing stopped, the story remained, and although I have little in common with Merton apart from being an adult convert to Christianity, I could understand him better and appreciate his story. It also helped to remind myself that he was all of 33 when he wrote The Seven Storey Mountain, and had many years left to learn to have mercy for himself and others. What I think is really wonderful about this book is that he allows the reader to see the whole process, internal and external, of his conversion, with all his uncertainty, doubts and mis-steps. By the end of the book, I found myself rejoicing with him that he had found his home at last.
ehays84's review against another edition
4.0
Well, there is a lot to say about this one. I read it because I had heard of it as a sort of classic of modern Catholic (but pre-Vatican II) writing. And I can see after reading it how it has gotten that title, but I understand it really as more about the individual (Thomas Merton) than about Catholicism per say. Yes, the book sort of is the story of his coming home to the Catholic Church and to the vocation of monasticism, but to me the book stands much more as the story of why becoming Catholic made sense for him, and was truly a homecoming for him. But the book does not strike me as one that would go very far towards calling others to the Catholic Church. Perhaps I am wrong there, but there is so much about his story that is very particular to his unique biography that I did not find myself reading the story through his eyes but rather sympathizing with what he was going through.
In some ways, I would say this book compares to Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis. Lewis was born before Merton, but not by that much. And both of these books are spiritual autobiographies. Lewis' work, and I don't think this is just because I am also an Anglican like Lewis, went much farther than Merton's toward helping me see my own spiritual walk and God's own pursuit of me.
The Seven Storey Mountain is essentially the story of a young man who grew up in the early twentieth century while moving constantly in both Europe and the United States. His mother died when he was young and his father died when he was a teenager, both of his parents were free spirits and lacked connection with the church, and he barely spent any time with his brother while growing up because of the constant moves. This must have been extremely hard on a young boy--he essentially never had anything to ground him in his life--family, place, friends, beliefs, etc. Yet, Merton is extremely hard on himself for the choices he makes, for his attitudes, and for the ways that he did not accept God sooner. Yes, there are moments where he sees grace, and he is certainly thankful to others throughout, but he never really comes to grips with how his difficult his upbringing was and how this would have affected him.
So to me, the story of his coming to the Catholic Church and then of coming to finally become a monk is the story of his finally coming home. He never really had a home until he found it with God and with his fellow monks. But Merton never portrays it this way--for him it was all so much more mystical and cerebral. I suppose that is just the sort of person that he was, and hopefully that appeals to some people out there. But even as a new Catholic, he is already so far advanced in his theology and mysticism that even for someone like me who has been a Christian my whole life and who had done a good bit of Christian reading, I often did not know where he was headed. Sidetracks into Thomism, devotion to saints, or modernist literature are not infrequent, and to me these are much less important to his spiritual biography than are things like providing more details about important conversations he had with his friends that moved him towards faith in God.
I guess overall, the book felt like it was waiting for a resolution that I think it never had. Probably, I should read some of his other works, which certainly this book was good enough to make me want to do. No doubt he knows how to write, is extremely well read, has a deep understanding of theology, etc. Ecumenism is not really one of his strong suits, although I cannot expect that really from a pre-Vatican II Catholic.
This book is part of my overall goal of reading more about Catholicism and Orthodoxy so that I can be a more knowledgeable and understanding Christian, and I feel that this book did that, but Merton does not come anywhere near the Inklings for me (whether Catholic or Protestant), nor does he approach other Orthodox writers that I like much more, such as Metropolitan Kallistos Ware.
In some ways, I would say this book compares to Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis. Lewis was born before Merton, but not by that much. And both of these books are spiritual autobiographies. Lewis' work, and I don't think this is just because I am also an Anglican like Lewis, went much farther than Merton's toward helping me see my own spiritual walk and God's own pursuit of me.
The Seven Storey Mountain is essentially the story of a young man who grew up in the early twentieth century while moving constantly in both Europe and the United States. His mother died when he was young and his father died when he was a teenager, both of his parents were free spirits and lacked connection with the church, and he barely spent any time with his brother while growing up because of the constant moves. This must have been extremely hard on a young boy--he essentially never had anything to ground him in his life--family, place, friends, beliefs, etc. Yet, Merton is extremely hard on himself for the choices he makes, for his attitudes, and for the ways that he did not accept God sooner. Yes, there are moments where he sees grace, and he is certainly thankful to others throughout, but he never really comes to grips with how his difficult his upbringing was and how this would have affected him.
So to me, the story of his coming to the Catholic Church and then of coming to finally become a monk is the story of his finally coming home. He never really had a home until he found it with God and with his fellow monks. But Merton never portrays it this way--for him it was all so much more mystical and cerebral. I suppose that is just the sort of person that he was, and hopefully that appeals to some people out there. But even as a new Catholic, he is already so far advanced in his theology and mysticism that even for someone like me who has been a Christian my whole life and who had done a good bit of Christian reading, I often did not know where he was headed. Sidetracks into Thomism, devotion to saints, or modernist literature are not infrequent, and to me these are much less important to his spiritual biography than are things like providing more details about important conversations he had with his friends that moved him towards faith in God.
I guess overall, the book felt like it was waiting for a resolution that I think it never had. Probably, I should read some of his other works, which certainly this book was good enough to make me want to do. No doubt he knows how to write, is extremely well read, has a deep understanding of theology, etc. Ecumenism is not really one of his strong suits, although I cannot expect that really from a pre-Vatican II Catholic.
This book is part of my overall goal of reading more about Catholicism and Orthodoxy so that I can be a more knowledgeable and understanding Christian, and I feel that this book did that, but Merton does not come anywhere near the Inklings for me (whether Catholic or Protestant), nor does he approach other Orthodox writers that I like much more, such as Metropolitan Kallistos Ware.
steller0707's review against another edition
4.0
Merton is most eloquent in describing his soul- searching and the contemplation of his faith. The writing of the events of his life, though very interesting, is choppier. In his Epilogue he is very eloquent. He doesn't call for following his choice of vocation in becoming a monk - he's not a "recruiter" and he is not doctrinaire. His message calls for everyone to seek his or her own relationship to God through both action and contemplation, thereby spreading the word of faith.
jbmorgan86's review against another edition
In order to get to Paradiso, Dante must climb the seven story Mountain of Purgatorio. This is also the story of the Trappist monk, Thomas Merton. This is the story of all Christians.
In this spiritual biography, Merton (in the style of Augustine's _Confessions_) recounts his pilgrimage to the monastery.
There are nuggets of wisdom scattered throughout the book. My minor review of this classic is not enough to do it justice.
In this spiritual biography, Merton (in the style of Augustine's _Confessions_) recounts his pilgrimage to the monastery.
There are nuggets of wisdom scattered throughout the book. My minor review of this classic is not enough to do it justice.
madisonboboltz's review against another edition
5.0
462 pages is a bit long for an autobiography of faith. At times it felt drawn out and boring, but by the end I was so invested it was worth the length. I've never read something where I felt so strongly that the author had written it just for me. I'm sure a lot of people feel that way when they read it. It's so beautiful, profound, relatable, challenging.... It brought me to tears, it brought me to my knees in prayer, and it brought peace to my scattered brain. I would love to read more of his poetry. So good! So, so, so good.
jenwestpfahl's review
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
So slow with so much unneeded detail. I was expecting a lot more insightfulness than I got from this famous conversion memoir, especially toward the end. But it wasn’t there. All in all not a very memorable story.
lindseygwilson's review against another edition
5.0
I tried re-reading it this Lent (2013) and got bogged down. Maybe I'll finish a second-read-through in the future.