The Monk
A Romance
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3.9 • 15 Ratings
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Publisher Description
In his introduction, Christopher MacLachlan discusses the novel’s place within the Gothic genre, and its themes of sexual desire and the abuse of power. It in the sinister monastery of the Capuchins in Madrid, this is a violent tale of ambition, murder, and incest. The struggle between maintaining monastic vows and fulfilling personal ambitions tempts its main character into breaking his vows.
Customer Reviews
Well written but very dark
I began reading this book at the hesitant suggestion of my English teacher as study for the contextual aspect of a writing project I was engaged with at the time. It is beautifully descriptive, though the story takes a while to really kick off, and the interwoven stories of each character is extremely satisfying.
Unfortunately, the book was quite dark in places, and it’s description only added to the vivacity of the mental images produced of rape, murder and the supernatural arts of hell.
Overall, this novel was a well-written and satisfying exploration of the ability of passion to disfigure human beings. Despite this, I only hesitantly recommend it, due to its dealing with extremely dark and unwholesome topics.