A close-up of Merton's intimate life during his early years as a Trappist monk. Not long after his conversion to the Catholic faith, Merton left New York City's Greenwich Village and his post at Columbia University on a quest that culminated in his entering the Cistercian Abbey of Gethsemane in rural Kentucky. Here we have remnants of Merton's lost noviciate journal, which record the impressions of his first five months at the monastery; a brief memoir of Abbot Frederick Dunne; and a long journal covering the years 194652, extracts from which were published in 1953 as The Sign of Jonas, but which we can now read for the first time exactly as Merton wrote it. The previously unpublished passages contain the monk's most personal soliloquies and prayers, and they also deal with his conflicts surrounding the publication of The Seven Storey Mountain, which brought him worldwide fame just as he was seeking to enter more deeply into a hidden life of prayer and silence. We are given new light on his thoughts of leaving Gethsemane for the solitude of the Carthusian Order and on how the writings of St. Louis de Montfort enabled him to develop a profound devotion for the Virgin Mary. Whether he is recording his reactions to the recent publication of Dylon Thomas's poems or his thoughts at the time of his priestly ordination, Merton writes with an amazing immediacy, as if he were talking to a friend. These journals are full of details of Trappist life that have largely passed into oblivion since the 1960s, such as the severe manual work and the sign language. The single-mindedness of the writings strongly evokes an era when American Catholics were eager to show that they, no less than Europeans, could appropriate the Church's ascetic and contemplative tradition. Essential reading for Merton fans.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-06-065476-7
Page Count: 528
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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