The Monk - Matthew Lewis

The book was written way back in 1796 (that would explain the language) and it was completed in just 10 weeks. Not entirely sure how the book would have been received back in the day, but I found the story extremely believable (Surprisingly, even the parts about sorcery and conjuring).

The characters have been beautifully defined through out the book. The sub-plots seamlessly weave into the story, forming a rather disturbing combination of religion and superstition. At times the book seems crude… vulgar… even obscene! That said, it still doesn't seem out of place. Perhaps because of the language.