Matthew Gregory Lewis
Paperback | Pages: 431 pages Rating: 3.8 | 21310 Users | 1605 Reviews
Point About Books The Monk
| Title | : | The Monk |
| Author | : | Matthew Gregory Lewis |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 431 pages |
| Published | : | October 29th 1998 by Penguin Classics (first published 1796) |
| Categories | : | Classics. Gothic. Horror. Fiction. Literature. 18th Century |
Relation Supposing Books The Monk
'He now saw himself stained with the most loathed and monstrous sins, the object of universal execration ... doomed to perish in tortures the most severe'Shocking, erotic and violent, The Monk is the story of Ambrosio, torn between his spiritual vows and the temptations of physical pleasure. His internal battle leads to sexual obsession, rape and murder, yet this book also contains knowing parody of its own excesses as well as social comedy. Written by Matthew Lewis when he was only nineteen, it was a ground-breaking novel in the Gothic Horror genre and spawned hundreds of imitators, drawn in by its mixture of bloodshed, sex and scandal.
Specify Books Concering The Monk
| Original Title: | The Monk |
| ISBN: | 0140436030 (ISBN13: 9780140436037) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Matilda, Agnes, Ambrosio, Antonia Wyndham, Raymond, Lorenzo |
| Setting: | Madrid(Spain) |
Rating About Books The Monk
Ratings: 3.8 From 21310 Users | 1605 ReviewsCrit About Books The Monk
When I was younger, I avoided this book because the literary snob in me--a much more insistent voice back then than now--had decided, on the basis of informed opinion, that The Monk was a calculated exercise in sensationalism, a device for producing horrific thrills through the deliberate, exploitative use of cheap effects and anti-Catholic stereotypes. Now that I have read it, I see that the literary snob in me had a point. The Monk is all of these things. But it is also more.I think the youngRendered nearly senseless by the impact of reading words so breathlessly written, she nonetheless persisted in reviewing a book whose attractions she could not have resisted, had her mind not been steeled by the remembrance of a 1000 other works more artfully written. ---- If you like that sort of writing, go read this book. It's got lots and lots of pages of it.
I think Wilkie Collins has spoiled me when it comes to this type of Victorian/Gothic/Thriller because it's so hard to match his writing and storytelling skills. That being said, I'll add that The Monk was a fun read. While it's clearly an attack on organized religion - the Catholic church in particular - a close reading makes it also clear that Lewis found a significant difference between organized religion and a personal relationship with a Supreme Being. While he provides several interesting
Does character redemption exist in Lewiss world? No, I think not. The vile protagonist degrades himself on every level. Heres a list to show how messed up he is:1. He lusts after his sister. 2. He becomes obsessed.3. He tries to rape his sister.4. He goes insane. 5. He tries to kill his sister.6. He yields his soul to Satan.7. The end He's just a little bit too creepy; hes a complete sex pest with stalker like tendencies. This is incredibly Gothic, more so than most Gothic classics. But, is that
considering Lewis's age and the early date of publication as opposedtothe well known 19th cent penny dreadful authors such as Reynolds and even
O Father Ambrosio, stop Monking around!This book was quite a surprise. Yes, there are all sorts of hypocritical Monk-y debauchery and lustful, euphemism-filled scenes. But there are also two romantic subplots that filled with action, swashbuckling heroes, damsels in distress and deceit. All three stories end up intertwining in unexpected ways.Did more people in olden times have prosopagnosia, or what? Why was it so damn easy to disguise yourself?I had all sorts of naughty fun reading even more
This novel is all about Christian, specifically Catholic, sexual hysteria. Sex seems to determine everyone's motivation in the first volume. This makes sense when you consider that it was written by a nineteen year old for whom these obsessions were no doubt a daily occurence. Fortunately for us, he has managed to sublimate them into the form of a novel. (Which puts me in mind of E.M. Forster, who, when touched on the ass by an admirer at a tender age, promptly went home and wrote Maurice.) A
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