THE SEVEN STOREY MOUNTAIN

by Thomas Morton ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Any frank tale of an individual's spiritual pilgrimage has a certain amount of fascination for the reader. And when the pilgrimage itself is of an unusual nature and is related with wit, wisdom and real literary skill it is apt to command wide and favorable attention. The title of this book unfortunately gives no indication whatever of its contents. For this is the life-story of a young man of brilliant prospects who has won something of a name for himself as a poet and who, having fully immersed himself in the world, decided at 26 to withdraw completely from the world and enter a Trappist monastery. Born in France of Protestant American parents, he spent his early childhood there and his later childhood in England. Orphaned at age 20, he came to America and was a student at Columbia University. There he became involved in organizations and movements aimed at doing away with social and economic injustices and even for a time joined a young communist group. His final disillusionment with materialistic solutions to life's problems, his conversion to Catholicism and his decision to become a monk are vividly described. This is a book which could be classified as autobiography, as well as religious. Its appeal will not be exclusively to Catholics.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harcourt, Brace

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1948

Categories: NONFICTION