Raids on the Unspeakable, by Thomas Merton
Minor but worthwhile Merton miscellany
(Review posted 23 Mar 2005 01:34:10)

"Raids on the Unspeakable" seems to be a sort of ragtag collection of short pieces by Thomas Merton on a variety of subjects, most (all?) previously published somewhere or other else. But Merton is good enough that that's okay, and even this rather unconnected miscellany is well worth reading.

At his best Merton is a deep and interesting thinker, a contemplative soul with insight from both his Christianity and his studies of other practices. At his not so best he strays into the sort of muddy and mysterious morass in which Christian apologists often find themselves when they get too near certain basic contradictions; or in a somewhat other direction he gets a bit smug and a bit strident about how empty and soulless modern society is and how superior artists and people who sit in cabins listening to the rain are. But he does it so earnestly and generally with such fondness for humanity that it makes me smile even when he strays.