I rarely read classics because I have this image in my head that they're stuffy and you have to focus too much on what you're reading to really enjoy the story. I don't know why, but I've always been that way and so read very few "classics"... but this book is something else. I actually loved it. It is insane and I can only imagine the scandal when it was first published. You want evil nuns, you got it. You want murder, incest/rape (you probably don't want it), but you got it. You want yung luv, you got it. Honestly, just a wild ride.

Pocas veces me he topado con un libro tan entretenido, versátil e impactante. The Monk es un libro gótico escrito en 1796 que no tiene época. Escrito con una increíble prosa y unas historias entrecruzadas que te mantienen leyendo durante horas, te genera distintas emociones profundas. Mathew Lewis logra hacerte reír con comentarios demasiado bien pensados y chistosos, te transporta a una Madrid fanática y religiosa, y las historias te dan escalofríos, a pesar que tiene más de 200 años. Increíble imaginación, increíble libro.

this has its flaws (it really doesn’t like women) but the fact that this even exists is kind of crazy. it’s edgy by today’s standards and takes things to such an extreme that i can’t help but respect it. i can’t even imagine how shocking this must’ve been in 1796.

You ever watch a movie from 20 years ago and the humor makes you squirm and recoil and turn off the movie, uncomfortable and unable to take any of it seriously? This book has the silly plot and ludicrous twists of a movie like that, except the dialogue is incredibly funny when it's trying to be. It's a romp, and it works. The older women characters in the book are particularly grand. I love laughing at jokes from 1796 that still land, it's a magical and uplifting feeling; really makes me feel connected to something bigger and mysterious, a collective organism or a god, perhaps (sorta the opposite of watching a movie trailer for a new superhero movie?)

Excellent work of prose which also employs the various attributes of poetry and playwriting. The stories were thrilling and tragic—arousing, while giving rise to such disgust and fear. A true mirror of literature that examines human nature and the virtues that we work so faithfully to possess. A re-read for sure.

Wild content, though fantastically written.

absolute nightmare