The Seven Storey Mountain

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Summary: Thomas Merton: Climbing the Mountain
Review: After reading Thomas Merton’s “The Seven Storey Mountain,” and being amazed at what I read, I want to set down the reaction I had to this powerful book. Merton’s story of his faith, from its virtual nonexistence to conversion and then finding his true vocation deeply touched my spirit and enabled me to reexamine a portion of my spirituality that, like the author’s at my age, was severely neglected. I hesitate to say that Merton’s personal “confessions” changed my life, because that phrase is so cliché. However, as a fellow convert, journeying from uncertainty and darkness to light and joy, I connected on that level with him immediately. The sentiments I share with him are best expressed through his words. I hope to convey some sense of the pervasive effects of faith and love on life, which Merton explored. The masterful unity, coherence, and balance of his words can only come from a life of faith...

A question remains: why does Merton’s story continue to fascinate and speak to so many after 50 years? The fact that his works remain in print and are available in over 20 languages suggest that it is at least profitable to keep them on bookstore shelves and inventories....Merton’s works are not dated, but continue to affect millions. They are classics, even when viewed on a purely economic scale, discounting substance and material. Robert Giroux, a personal friend of Merton, quotes Mark Van Doren, an influential professor in his and Merton’s life, in his introduction to “The Seven Storey Mountain:” “A classic is a book that remains in print” (xviii). I agree with [a reviewer] to an extent when he skeptically questions, “But I doubt that any of us would have heard of him or his writings if he hadn’t become a monk. As a lay writer, he would have been forgotten long ago.” Robert Giroux addresses this quandary in the introduction: “Why did the success of the Mountain go so far beyond my expectations as an editor and publisher?” (xvi). The spiritual yearning and search for peace in a nuclear age and cold war, where small children in innocence were taught to duck under their desks in case of an attack, certainly plays a role, as Giroux notes. But, “Merton’s story was unusual – a well-educated and articulate young man withdraws – why? – into a monastery” (xvi). Why indeed would a man deny a lucrative career as professor, writer, and intellectual to perform continual penance in an isolated abbey? This intriguing question and unique situation provides the initial draw to the “Mountain.” To modern middle-class America, the idea that someone would give up “profit and financial security for asceticism and penance seems strange. Perhaps readers were awkwardly convicted by the notion that something more substantial existed than a cold beer and hot shower in order to be happy, and that someone had found this something more. However, after curiosity attracts, Merton holds the reader’s attention on his own merits. After the head-turning surprise, arresting the passer by in mid stride, he must or, as so many carnival attractions, rapidly relinquish their hold as soon as it is established. Merton’s belief he places in the Church is humbling, and provides a draw much stronger than gaudy language or verbal theatrics, even if the reader does not agree with his philosophies. The passion he displays in his words and the yearning for spiritual union with God is so plain in his heart that he propels the reader like the promise of an oasis drives a nomad through endless deserts. Merton gives his reader, a fellow spiritual pilgrim, whether they know it or not, a clear draught to refresh and fortify. And, as Merton ends his story and takes leave, he offers a final piece of advice: “Sit finis libri, non finis quaerendi – Let this be the end of the book, but not the end of the search” (462).

I have written a longer essay on this book - if you want to read it, send me an email at [e-mail]

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Summary: My favorite book
Review: I read this book several years ago during a time of great spiritual crisis. A very dear friend gave me a first edition copy several months ago. I found the book inspirational because of Merton's humanity throughout his dark night of the soul. He admitted his sins not to avoid punishment but to draw himself closer to God.

I wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience?

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Summary: A book that you were meant to read
Review: If you read Seven Storey Mountain, you were probably meant to read it. One of the customer/reviewers said "I doubt that any of us would have heard of him or his writings if he hadn't become a monk. As a lay writer, he would have been forgotten long ago." That's true, I'm sure. But thanks to the Holy Spirit, Thomas Merton became a Trappist Monk, wrote this and other spiritual works and now many are brought to God through his writings. The book doesn't have to be "great literature" to get across a good message. I don't think Merton was setting out to write a literary masterpiece and the book should not be judged as such. It should be judged as the story of a man's life. As for Merton's spiritual dabblings... why does the scope of his journey make his journey any less valid? We are all searching - should we search on only one road? If you don't want to read this book, fine. If you do want to read this book it's because you are meant to.

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Summary: Dated and extravagantly over praised
Review: After World War two, the Catholic church in the USA was at its zenith. The vast immigrant populations were racing into the middle and upper classes and were soon to produce the first Catholic president in JFK. Allegiance to the church's doctrines was strong, its cultural presence was widespread and respected. It was also an intellectually vapid era. Most writers were Thomists and seemed unaware of any other philosophical movement or approach except when they took a few moments to publicly paint them as diabolic and/or heresies. Catholic life in the US was optimistic, cozy, insular, increasingly prosperous. When Thomas Merton, a man with moderate talents as a writer, left the world of jazz nightclubs and literary aspirations to join a monastery where speech was forbidden, and then wrote the story of his conversion, it was praised as if it was a renaissance of culture for Catholics. He was a poet (a bad one), an interpreter of Eastern philosophy (more like a misinterpreter), a monk with such a restless soul and mind that his committment to the trappists was more in word than in deed. This is a flat, wooden spiritual autobiography. Even when one takes into account the fact that his life story was censored by the powers that were (an illegitimate child, among other things), the book is still written with a good deal of distance from its subject, who was the author himself. It never soars and the telling of the events that led to his conversion are spiritually uneventful. To hear him tell it, all that happened is that he experienced some ennui and lack of direction and found a cause in the church where he would live happily ever after. Not so fast! Actually, Merton no sooner made his vows than he was off searching again for another spiritual and emotional solution to his sense of incompleteness. In fact, he experimented with every spiritual viewpoint that was available to him at the abbey. One can well imagine him trying out EST, New age, Christian Science, and even reading Shirley Maclaine, if they had been available to him in the abbey. It is not surprising that he would sneak out of the monastery on many occasions as the life he chose was not a good fit for someone who was a spiritual pilgrim. I predict that Merton will fade as his writings are products of his times and appear more and more dated with each passing year. For myself, I never get the sense that Merton is convinced of the very things of which he writes. He seems to be trying to convince himself, and sometimes it shows in his coyness. It is as if his writing skills have gone into automatic and whether or not he sincerely believes what he writes is irrelevant. Each book that followed seemed to be nothing more than his scribblings about his latest pet spiritual enthusiasms - which could be expected (and predicted) to change as soon as the ink on the pages had dried. A heck of a nice guy, I am sure. But I doubt that any of us would have heard of him or his writings if he hadn't become a monk. As a lay writer, he would have been forgotten long ago.

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Summary: Gems of divine inspiration sprinkled across a long tale
Review: 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.

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Summary: Merton for the Common Man
Review: 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.

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Summary: very readable conversion story
Review: 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.

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Summary: Great Book, Well Worth Reading, But, Merton's Not Mature Yet
Review: 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."

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Summary: Strong Perspective that you may be too young to understand
Review: 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.

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Summary: Each Read Encourages Me In My Faith
Review: The Seven Storey Mountain is my favorite book. I've read it several times. Any time I feel distant from God, I pick up this book. Without fail, my faith increases, I contemplate God more often and I feel the interiorly peaceful warmth of union with Christ.

Even though that last paragraph may have been a bit "sappy," consider the fact that Merton is a lot like you and I. He drifted from one ideology to the next. He explored humanism, communism, and a lot of other isms. Merton had several failings. He was ambitious, and at times during his journey, he was an arrogant intellectual.

The beauty of The Seven Storey Mountain is that, with God's help, Merton became a great lover of God. He overcame these faults, and in so doing, he has paved a road for the rest of us.

Merton, if he were alive, would be the first to tell you that you don't have to join a monastery to find happiness in God. But that was Merton's joyful calling.

The Seven Storey Moutain follows Merton's life as he followed his artist father around the world from France to Long Island to the Carribean to England and back to New York.

All can profit spiritually from this book. Like many, Merton was successful in secular ways and, in taking stock of his life, found that he was still unhappy. Merton found his place with God and, perhaps, this book will help you do the same. Buy this book and read it several times over.