The Seven Storey Mountain
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- Author：Thomas Merton
- ISBN：0156010860
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Summary
One of the most famous books ever written about a man’s search for faith and peace。
The Seven Storey Mountain tells of the growing restlessness of a brilliant and passionate young man， who at the age of twenty-six， takes vows in one of the most demanding Catholic orders—the Trappist monks。 At the Abbey of Gethsemani， "the four walls of my new freedom，" Thomas Merton struggles to withdraw from the world， but only after he has fully immersed himself in it。 At the abbey， he wrote this extraordinary testament， a unique spiritual autobiography that has been recognized as one of the most influential religious works of our time。 Translated into more than twenty languages， it has touched millions of lives。
The Seven Storey Mountain tells of the growing restlessness of a brilliant and passionate young man， who at the age of twenty-six， takes vows in one of the most demanding Catholic orders—the Trappist monks。 At the Abbey of Gethsemani， "the four walls of my new freedom，" Thomas Merton struggles to withdraw from the world， but only after he has fully immersed himself in it。 At the abbey， he wrote this extraordinary testament， a unique spiritual autobiography that has been recognized as one of the most influential religious works of our time。 Translated into more than twenty languages， it has touched millions of lives。
Reviews
Jeffrey Romine
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Wonderful。
R。
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It took me a long time to finish it but it is excellent。 Thomas Merton is a beautiful writer and so insightful。 My Kindle version has so many sections highlighted。 Well worth your time。
Jerry Goodwin
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Beautiful writing about the authors experience with gaining grace and eventually joining an order of monks in the Catholic Church。 The family was artistic， international， and intellectual， and the author had lost both parents， and then the grandparents who took him in， before he finished at Columbia University。 He planned a career in writing and teaching， when his reading and restless spirit drew him toward religion and a more contemplative life。 It is， of course， more complicated than that， and Beautiful writing about the authors experience with gaining grace and eventually joining an order of monks in the Catholic Church。 The family was artistic， international， and intellectual， and the author had lost both parents， and then the grandparents who took him in， before he finished at Columbia University。 He planned a career in writing and teaching， when his reading and restless spirit drew him toward religion and a more contemplative life。 It is， of course， more complicated than that， and the beauty of the book is in this complexity as he embraces God， Jesus， Mary and many Saints in the Catholic tradition。 This all comes to fruition in the time leading up to WWII， and one wonders how much the times effected his feelings。 Completely missing is any mention of sexuality。 I especially enjoyed the celebration of a more contemplative and spiritual lifestyle。 。。。more
MaryAnn （EmilyD1037）
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This was a good book but it bogged down for me thru the worldly life and the ego。
Annette Hill
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Listened to on Audible。 Should be required reading for the T。 Merton class I am taking。
Mike
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I suppose it was fitting that I started this spiritual autobiography on the first day of Passover and finished it on Easter Sunday。 Merton is an excellent writer， and I loved the first hundred pages， with its vivid depiction of his childhood and itinerant adolescence， following around his artist father。 The material about his college years， which sound pretty wild， reminded me of Augustine's saying: "God make me good， but not yet，" and Merton is unattractively judgmental about his behavior durin I suppose it was fitting that I started this spiritual autobiography on the first day of Passover and finished it on Easter Sunday。 Merton is an excellent writer， and I loved the first hundred pages， with its vivid depiction of his childhood and itinerant adolescence， following around his artist father。 The material about his college years， which sound pretty wild， reminded me of Augustine's saying: "God make me good， but not yet，" and Merton is unattractively judgmental about his behavior during that period （I got the sense that his judgment was directed more at me than at himself， though I didn't have nearly as much fun in college as he did）。 His doubts about conversion and eventually his vocation were really moving， but my favorite part of the book is his meeting with Catholic social worker Catherine Doherty， who tells him that inner doubt and quiet piety is all very well， but what he is he doing for the poor kids in Harlem？ You tell 'em！ 。。。more
Olivia Riddle
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The parts about his childhood dragged a bit， but overall wonderful
Kathy
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At the end of the day， we are all human， no better and no worse。 This book is the unfinished story of Merton's life。 I can't help but wonder if he was oblivious to the consequences of his life before handing it over to God， there were some big ones。 Then his final years played out in a far different manner than I imagine he envisioned during the book's writing。 I would be curious to read an afterword if he had lived into his seventies or eighties。 It would tell the tale of his life's journey whi At the end of the day， we are all human， no better and no worse。 This book is the unfinished story of Merton's life。 I can't help but wonder if he was oblivious to the consequences of his life before handing it over to God， there were some big ones。 Then his final years played out in a far different manner than I imagine he envisioned during the book's writing。 I would be curious to read an afterword if he had lived into his seventies or eighties。 It would tell the tale of his life's journey which would have been every bit as human and flawed as everyone else's。 He had a wise and brilliant mind but this is just one chapter in the bigger story of his life。 Taken in isolation， it is brilliant。 But it can't be taken in isolation。 。。。more
Phoebe Lim
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It has taken me over two years to finish this book。 I don't know how to write about it because there is just so much of it。 Merton is an engaging， if often verbose， writer， intermingling passages of incisive clarity and aptness with lengthy descriptions。 It has helped me a lot personally with understanding Christian spirituality and vocation。 I would definitely recommend it in spite of how long it took to read。 It has taken me over two years to finish this book。 I don't know how to write about it because there is just so much of it。 Merton is an engaging， if often verbose， writer， intermingling passages of incisive clarity and aptness with lengthy descriptions。 It has helped me a lot personally with understanding Christian spirituality and vocation。 I would definitely recommend it in spite of how long it took to read。 。。。more
Margaret Denbow
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Well written， but repetitious。 His description of himself prior to his conversion gives little insight into himself， but does give an excellent portrayal of someone who comes from money， and has no self-discipline when it comes to living a real life。His story of his conversion gives a lot more insights。 He seems to have a very bigoted， pre-Vatican II， view of Catholicism as the only way to God。 His source of reference materials seem to be from the late days of Rome up until the Enlightenment， wh Well written， but repetitious。 His description of himself prior to his conversion gives little insight into himself， but does give an excellent portrayal of someone who comes from money， and has no self-discipline when it comes to living a real life。His story of his conversion gives a lot more insights。 He seems to have a very bigoted， pre-Vatican II， view of Catholicism as the only way to God。 His source of reference materials seem to be from the late days of Rome up until the Enlightenment， which is in keeping with his general tone of equating his religion to the pre-Vatican II dogma of the Church。 He often references his devotion to the Little Flower， St Therese of Lisieux， but gives almost no references to her writing。Some of his insights into the contemplative life are interesting， if sometimes contradictory。 His balance between contemplation and Christian action give one something to think about， even though I don't come to his conclusions。 His bashing of the other Catholic orders calls into question a lot of what he says， forcing this reader to try to separate what are his stated facts and what are his prejudices and those of his order。A warning to any reader。。。 have the Google translator app close by！ He makes quotes in foreign languages， particularly Latin， but is quite careless in translating them。 The quotes are worth looking up， in most cases， but translating them breaks the train of thought。All in all， I gained some insights into my Catholic faith， but I get far more out of reading Bishop Robert Baron， St。 Theresa of Calcutta， and other more action and service oriented writers。 。。。more
Katherine Scott
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3。5 stars rounded up。 Everyone said I needed to read this book and I'm glad I did。 Now， I don't have to read it again。 Long-winded telling of Thomas Merton's early life and his journey to faith and a does he/does he not have a vocation。 There are some good parts to this book， but overall I felt it needed an editor to cut some of the random details out。 3。5 stars rounded up。 Everyone said I needed to read this book and I'm glad I did。 Now， I don't have to read it again。 Long-winded telling of Thomas Merton's early life and his journey to faith and a does he/does he not have a vocation。 There are some good parts to this book， but overall I felt it needed an editor to cut some of the random details out。 。。。more
Aaron
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This book is one of those that will go on my all time list。 After reading it I now understand why it has been called a 20th century version of St。 Augustine's Confessions。 While Father Merton went a different route than the contemplative monastic later in life， this book was very inspiring and certainly leads me to look at my own life more deeply。 This book is one of those that will go on my all time list。 After reading it I now understand why it has been called a 20th century version of St。 Augustine's Confessions。 While Father Merton went a different route than the contemplative monastic later in life， this book was very inspiring and certainly leads me to look at my own life more deeply。 。。。more
Rod Van Meter
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I wanted to like this a lot more than， in the end， I do。It took me three serious tries over several years to finally read the whole thing， restarting each time。 At the paragraph level it's written well。 The language is evocative and touching。 And the outline of the story is good -- American-English boy grows up in an itinerant lifestyle， with a father who is a landscape painter， moving to rural France and to Bermuda fully a century ago。 He tries college in the UK， before winding up at Columbia （ I wanted to like this a lot more than， in the end， I do。It took me three serious tries over several years to finally read the whole thing， restarting each time。 At the paragraph level it's written well。 The language is evocative and touching。 And the outline of the story is good -- American-English boy grows up in an itinerant lifestyle， with a father who is a landscape painter， moving to rural France and to Bermuda fully a century ago。 He tries college in the UK， before winding up at Columbia （his grandparents are in Long Island） for undergrad and entering the Ph。D。 program before dropping out to become a Trappist monk in Kentucky。 It's an unusual and compelling story。I really wanted him to try to reason with me， to try to convince me to believe in his God and take up his way of life。 But it's just that he feels God calling him in an increasingly compelling voice， which isn't very satisfying if you don't hear the same voice。 Merton recognizes the importance of questions such as whether all major religions lead to the same Heaven， how we know whether God is talking to us， and most importantly in the last third of the book whether God calls people to a cloistered life of study or an activist life trying to make a community better， with writing and teaching falling somewhere in between。 This last question he addresses with his own ambivalence。 He feels called to the contemplative life， but obviously this book （as well as numerous poems and later a whole string of books） comes out of him， presumably because that's what God wants for him。Like I said， it's very good at the paragraph level， and very quotable。 But somehow the page number doesn't advance rapidly。 It's only a 400 page book， but I felt like I read and read and read， only to see the page number grow by perhaps 20。 I don't know， maybe each page in the print edition has a lot of words （I read the Kindle edition） and it's actually a very long book， or perhaps it just caused me to stop and think or to read slowly and savor words much more than I was aware of。 But frustration with the slow progress toward finishing it caused me to put it down a couple of times， so that it languished over a period of several years。 Start date in this review is just an estimate， and might be off by a year or two。Ultimately it's a good chronicle of one man's path to faith and acceptance， but the core of the story doesn't seem to really offer a path to others。 At least， not a reasoned， logical one， which is what I'm looking for。 Perhaps that's asking too much， though。 。。。more
Leah
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I loved his how he tied his experiences to his spiritual growth and relationship with God。 So much that I underlined。 But I also felt bogged down at times with detailed descriptions to events and places that didn’t ever seem to tie into his story
Melanie
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This book has changed me in ways I can’t yet articulate- it’s a case of being unable to not-know。 I’m not sure what I expected， but it wasn’t that I’d be wholly captivated by this beautifully written memoir。 Truly inspiring stuff， regardless of ones views on religion。 Father Louis now has a seat at my imaginary dinner table。 I think I’ll put him opposite John O’Donohue and right next to Mary Oliver。
Cheryl
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What to say about this book。。。 it is definitely the most theological and philosophical book I’ve ever read， rather difficult in places to keep going， but oh so worth the time and effort to read。 I’ve never had an opportunity to experience the spiritual struggle so thoroughly of one man and his desire for union with God - the questioning， self-examination， the complexities of determining which form of religious order he’s being called to， the continuing questioning as a monk if he’s still pursuin What to say about this book。。。 it is definitely the most theological and philosophical book I’ve ever read， rather difficult in places to keep going， but oh so worth the time and effort to read。 I’ve never had an opportunity to experience the spiritual struggle so thoroughly of one man and his desire for union with God - the questioning， self-examination， the complexities of determining which form of religious order he’s being called to， the continuing questioning as a monk if he’s still pursuing God properly or if his old self is compromising his dying to God。 So much richness， so much to think about， and feel。 Thomas Merton has done a real service for Catholicism and Christianity in general to let us into his experiences， thoughts， and insights。 I’m really glad that his Trappist superiors encouraged him to write his autobiography else this would have been lost to those of us who will benefit from reading this book。 。。。more
Susan Torres
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Thomas Merton takes you on his travels through his lifetime recalling every possible inch of his memory， which I can really respect。 But at the same time， it was a long， dense read that， for me， was consistently unwavering。 With that said， the pulse of the book was like a silent hum where you had to hear his message by reading carefully with measured thoughts。 I would give it 5 stars but I wanted a bit more punch along the way and in the end。
Mary-Jane Wood
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A remarkable autobiography。 Loved the writing style。
Kirstin Dobson
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I loved this book。。。 the writing， the vocabulary， the places， the experiences， and especially the depth of spiritual insights。
Michelle
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I have such mixed feelings about this book; some pages I underlined nearly every word and other stretches seemed like a lot of detail I didn't need。 I'm not Catholic， so there were a lot of terms I had to look up。 I also wished he'd spent more time on things he eluded to in his pre-conversion life and less time on lots of details of vacations。 I really enjoyed the thoughts he and his friends shared on being being young， single men just as America was entering WWII。 I also thought his spiritual i I have such mixed feelings about this book; some pages I underlined nearly every word and other stretches seemed like a lot of detail I didn't need。 I'm not Catholic， so there were a lot of terms I had to look up。 I also wished he'd spent more time on things he eluded to in his pre-conversion life and less time on lots of details of vacations。 I really enjoyed the thoughts he and his friends shared on being being young， single men just as America was entering WWII。 I also thought his spiritual insight and process was engaging and insightful。 A lot of those struggles seemed universally relatable。 I appreciated the hope he provided。 。。。more
Jill
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very good！！！ wish I had more time to read—this book deserves contemplation and unfortunately I had a deadline
Michael Audet
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do you guys think i would be a good monk ha ha
Sarah Hui
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Since I heard Bishop Barron recommend this book and talk about the influence it had on him， I've wanted to read it。 I don't think it was what I was expecting （don't ask me what I was expecting）， but I deeply enjoyed reading The Mountain， especially getting to discuss the material weekly with peers。Merton's prose is beautiful and detailed。 It's not the kind of writing where you want to quote from it， but the kind you want to experience。 He's great at exposition and placing you into what he was ex Since I heard Bishop Barron recommend this book and talk about the influence it had on him， I've wanted to read it。 I don't think it was what I was expecting （don't ask me what I was expecting）， but I deeply enjoyed reading The Mountain， especially getting to discuss the material weekly with peers。Merton's prose is beautiful and detailed。 It's not the kind of writing where you want to quote from it， but the kind you want to experience。 He's great at exposition and placing you into what he was experiencing。 Never is his detail overwhelming or boring; it makes for a thoroughly enjoyable read。 He captures daily lived experience in a way that is at times comforting and at times revelatory。 I very much appreciate Merton's Catholic worldview that is evident from the beginning。 Unlike Augustine in Confessions， Merton somewhat detaches the theology and expounds on it directly and in greater detail while Augustine weaved it into the narrative。 At least that is my impression。 Merton can be more appealing in his modern-ness but I think both writers are relatable， in their own ways。 There are plenty of laugh-out-loud lines in Merton， however。I will remember this book， but I'm not so sure I'll refer to it for "spiritual reading"。 I would highly recommend reading The Mountain， however， as it is convicting on multiple levels。I definitely could have written this review with greater thought and dedication， such as referring to my notes taken on each chapter。 But， I consider it a success I even took the time to put down some thoughts。 I will say that Merton's descriptions of his monastic life， especially the setting， makes me remember fondly my experience staying at a Benedictine monastery in the Belgian countryside when I was 10 years old。 I still remember the great peace that suffused that place。 。。。more
Erin Nugent
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An interesting look at a pre-Vatican 2 discernment to a Trappist monastery。 Favorite quote: "This means， in practice， that there is only one vocation。 Whether you teach or live in the cloister or nurse the sick， whether you are in religion or out of it， married or single， no matter who you are or what you are， you are called to the summit of perfection: you are called to a deep interior life perhaps even to mystical prayer， and to pass the fruits of your contemplation on to others。 And if you ca An interesting look at a pre-Vatican 2 discernment to a Trappist monastery。 Favorite quote: "This means， in practice， that there is only one vocation。 Whether you teach or live in the cloister or nurse the sick， whether you are in religion or out of it， married or single， no matter who you are or what you are， you are called to the summit of perfection: you are called to a deep interior life perhaps even to mystical prayer， and to pass the fruits of your contemplation on to others。 And if you cannot do so by word， then by example。" 。。。more
Terry Burger
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A wonderful testament for all Christians， not just Catholics。
Bill W
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Almost unreadable。 Here’s my alternative summary: a privileged， unhappy and judgmental young man finds succor in dogmatic thinking。 He slowly imprisons himself ever more rigidly in delusional religious beliefs as his imagination wastes away。
Debra
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Introduced to Merton through a Devotional Classic Publication， I decided to read this much touted book。 I am not a Catholic， so much of the liturgy and processes left me somewhat confused。 I am going to use some passages from the book to give you a flavor of the book。 I loved this passage as I always thought it was circular reasoning and had to laugh to see it so well exposed:"I had several different Masters in the one hour a week devoted to religious instruction。。。 The second， a tough little Y Introduced to Merton through a Devotional Classic Publication， I decided to read this much touted book。 I am not a Catholic， so much of the liturgy and processes left me somewhat confused。 I am going to use some passages from the book to give you a flavor of the book。 I loved this passage as I always thought it was circular reasoning and had to laugh to see it so well exposed:"I had several different Masters in the one hour a week devoted to religious instruction。。。 The second， a tough little Yorkshireman， who had the virtue of being very definite and outspoken in everything he said， once exposed to us Descartes' proof of his own and God's existence。 He told us that so far as he was concerned， that was the foundation of what religion meant to him。 I accepted the Cogito ergo sum with less reserve than I should have， although I might have had enough sense to realize any proof of what is self evident must necessarily be illusory。 If there are no self-evident first principles as a foundation to reasoning to conclusions that are not immediately apparent， how can you construct any kind of a philosophy？ If you have to prove even the basic axioms of your metaphysics， you will never have a metaphysics， because you will never have any strict proof of anything， for your first proof will involve you in an infinite regress， proving what you are proving what you are proving and so on， into the exterior darkness where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth。 If Descartes thought it was necessary to prove his own existence， by the fact that he was thinking， and that his thought therefore existed in some subject， how did he prove that he was thinking in the first place？ But as to the second step， that God must exist because Descartes had a clear idea of him - that never convinced me， then or any other time， or now either。 There are much better proofs for the existence of God than that one。 （p。 83-84， Part One， Chapter II）This is such a beautifully written passage on the foibles of man and the exclusion of God in our lives:" It is only the infinite mercy and love of God that has prevented us from tearing ourselves to pieces and destroying His entire creation long ago。 People seem to think that it is in some way a proof that no merciful God exists， if we have so many wars。 On the contrary consider how in spite of centuries of sin and greed and lust and cruelty and hatred and avarice and oppression and injustice spawned and spread by the free wills of men， the human race can still recover， each time and can still produce men and women who overcome evil with good， hatred with love ， greed with charity， love and cruelty with sanctity。 How can all this be possible without the merciful love of God， pouring out his grace upon us。 Can there be any doubt where wars come from and where peace comes from， when the children of this world， excluding God from their peach conferences， only manage to bring about greater and greater wars the more they talk about peace？ （Part 1， Chapter 3， p 142）Discovering the emptiness of sin:“Here I was， scarcely four years since I had left Oakham and walked out into the world that I thought I was going to ransack and rob of all its pleasures and satisfactions。 I had done what I had intended and now I found that it was I who was emptied and robbed and gutted。 What a strange thing！ In filling myself I had emptied myself 。 In grasping things， I had lost everything。 In devouring pleasures and joys， I had found distress and anguish and fear。 : （Part One， Chapter 4， p。 181）On Grace:“What is ‘grace’？ It is God’s own life， shared by us。 God’s life is Love。 Deus caritas est。 By grace we are able to share in the infinitely selfless love of Him who is such pure actuality that He needs nothing and therefore cannot conceivably exploit anything for selfish ends。 Indeed， outside of Him there is nothing， and whatever exists exists by his free gift of its being， so that one of the notions that is absolutely contradictory to the perfection of God is selfishness。 It is metaphysically impossible for God to be selfish， because the existence of everything that is， depends upon His unselfishness。 （Part Two， Chapter 1， p 186）I disagree with some of Merton’s views。 Not having a background in Catholic doctrine puts me at a disadvantage。 While I enjoyed the richness of his writing， I struggled with the idea of living a separated life in an enclosed monastery。 I agree with taking time to come apart for evaluation， whole days of prayer， and an ongoing study of scripture， but it seemed like so much of the day was involved in ritual and being busy。 While Merton was allowed by his order to engage in using his talent by writing his books， it seems that even he puzzled over how this felt like stricture。 For a contemplative order， he was on the go a great deal， delivering messages and traveling。 It seemed at odds with his desires。 Although I read that later on he got into disagreements with his superiors over his repeated requests to travel。 This is not a fast read， but very interesting and well written。 I hope that the passages I share gave you a flavor of the book。 Note that the first part of the book is very much a look at Merton’s early life， growing up in an artist on the move family， losing both parents， and living a very dissipated life style。 。。。more
Jim Rademaker
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I loved the journey of this great man of faith。
Gilbert Jimenez
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I just finished “The Seven Storey Mountain” by Thomas Merton。 I had a little problem identifying with Merton in the first part of the book。 His life experiences are so different from my own experience。 However， the questions he asks in the second half are very similar if not the same questions I’ve asked about religion and vocation。 This is a wonderful story about a personal journey to faith and religious life。 Anyone embracing the journey to faith， salvation， or vocation should read this book。 I just finished “The Seven Storey Mountain” by Thomas Merton。 I had a little problem identifying with Merton in the first part of the book。 His life experiences are so different from my own experience。 However， the questions he asks in the second half are very similar if not the same questions I’ve asked about religion and vocation。 This is a wonderful story about a personal journey to faith and religious life。 Anyone embracing the journey to faith， salvation， or vocation should read this book。 I have to admit that I started and restarted reading Merton’s book several times。 There just seemed to be so many things getting in the way of getting into this story。 I think Merton would say that it was Providence that allowed me to finish it。 。。。more
MG
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