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A review by lukenotjohn
No Man Is an Island by Thomas Merton
3.0
Man, this one was tough. I LOVED [b:New Seeds of Contemplation|1145854|New Seeds of Contemplation|Thomas Merton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348656473l/1145854._SY75_.jpg|1133302] so, so much and would consider it pretty transformative for me...meaning I had very high expectations for this one going in. Unfortunately, I can't say they were met.
I can admit that some of that is me. I don't know if the loud, crowded busses of Philadelphia are the ideal place to read through such a dense work (and one that emphasizes silence nonetheless). Nor do I think February 2017 in post-Trump America is the best context to read it in, as so much of what he said smacked of apolitical privilege in ways that would typically perturb me less. Lastly, my beliefs on sovereignty and God's will have become increasingly complicated and because of that there was a god chunk of this that just felt like a loss.
However, I also don't know if I can say this is a great book. I was surprised to find that he provides essentially no "framing" for his content. As in, he does not introduce ideas or connect them or re-explain, it's literally just a stream of really dense, often rich insights one after another. This made for a choppy, overwhelming read - like drinking from a firehose that would turn on intermittently. And, in my opinion, some of what he shares demanded some further clarification and expansion to avoid sounding like a deliberately esoteric, unfounded idea he just came up with.
With that said, the chapters on Hope, Silence, and especially Recollection were phenomenal and easily bumped this up to a solid 3 stars. He's clearly brilliant and a deeply spiritual follower of Jesus with tremendous amounts of wisdom to share, some of the problem here is admittedly with me.
I can admit that some of that is me. I don't know if the loud, crowded busses of Philadelphia are the ideal place to read through such a dense work (and one that emphasizes silence nonetheless). Nor do I think February 2017 in post-Trump America is the best context to read it in, as so much of what he said smacked of apolitical privilege in ways that would typically perturb me less. Lastly, my beliefs on sovereignty and God's will have become increasingly complicated and because of that there was a god chunk of this that just felt like a loss.
However, I also don't know if I can say this is a great book. I was surprised to find that he provides essentially no "framing" for his content. As in, he does not introduce ideas or connect them or re-explain, it's literally just a stream of really dense, often rich insights one after another. This made for a choppy, overwhelming read - like drinking from a firehose that would turn on intermittently. And, in my opinion, some of what he shares demanded some further clarification and expansion to avoid sounding like a deliberately esoteric, unfounded idea he just came up with.
With that said, the chapters on Hope, Silence, and especially Recollection were phenomenal and easily bumped this up to a solid 3 stars. He's clearly brilliant and a deeply spiritual follower of Jesus with tremendous amounts of wisdom to share, some of the problem here is admittedly with me.