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booklady's Reviews > The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity
The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity
by Wm. Paul Young, Wayne Jacobsen, Brad Cummings
by Wm. Paul Young, Wayne Jacobsen, Brad Cummings
booklady's review
bookshelves: 2008, fantasy, fiction, philosophy, psychology, sci-fi, health, favorites, religion, grief
Feb 09, 11
bookshelves: 2008, fantasy, fiction, philosophy, psychology, sci-fi, health, favorites, religion, grief
Recommended to booklady by:
Rosemary
Recommended for:
anyone suffering loss
Read from August 05 to 09, 2008
The Shack is a book you will thank yourself for reading. While it can be a bit didactic at times, it is not overtly so. It’s more a story of journey and relationship—discovering who you are through learning more about who God is to you. I’m no theologian, but I do like to imagine myself as the Theophilus Luke is writing to in the Book of Acts. So I read the book as a God-Lover and I write this review in the same vein.
It begins with an unspeakably horrible tragedy happening to a loving father. (By way of explanation, I cannot write this review without at least giving that much away.) It’s the sort of nightmare every devoted parent dreads and secretly fears. In the aftermath of the disaster, the main character, Mack, attempts to put his life back together but finds he cannot. The devastation is too great; the chasm created by his loss is so unfathomable, his faith in a loving God is shattered.
Mack receives a strange and seemingly preposterous invitation to meet God at the very site – the shack – the scene where the unspeakable crime against his loved one occurred. The rest of the story is about Mack’s meeting with God which is unlike any other fictional description I have ever read of a Divine encounter. If you have ever longed to see God you will certainly appreciate this book. If you have experienced – or are going through – your own 'Agony in the Garden' time in your life this book may be a very cathartic aid. It's my belief that this is The Shack's real purpose. As such, God is presented most beautifully as Relationship-in-Love. God is three distinct persons whose love for each other is One and yet extends to each of us, His creatures. Mack heals as we may also heal to the extent to which we open to God’s love.
As I mentioned early on, I'm no expert in Theology and I have no doubt there are theological errors in The Shack.
God as God, The Almighty, Our Creator, Savior, Redeemer, the Holy Spirit, etc. who has been worshipped, studied, prayed to, fought over and died for – for millennium, was not just suddenly figured out in 2007 by William P. Young and explained in 248 pages of fiction. This book is by no means definitive nor the last word on God. It is however, wonderful. It is a moving and a loving tribute to getting to know Him better. It is a helpful way to look at how God views the tragedies that happen in our lives. He does not inflict them on us. He suffers right along with us ... just as He did 2000 years ago.
For those looking for a more 'catholic' perspective on The Shack, here is an excellent review by Fr. Robert Barron. Thanks Karina for this link!
It begins with an unspeakably horrible tragedy happening to a loving father. (By way of explanation, I cannot write this review without at least giving that much away.) It’s the sort of nightmare every devoted parent dreads and secretly fears. In the aftermath of the disaster, the main character, Mack, attempts to put his life back together but finds he cannot. The devastation is too great; the chasm created by his loss is so unfathomable, his faith in a loving God is shattered.
Mack receives a strange and seemingly preposterous invitation to meet God at the very site – the shack – the scene where the unspeakable crime against his loved one occurred. The rest of the story is about Mack’s meeting with God which is unlike any other fictional description I have ever read of a Divine encounter. If you have ever longed to see God you will certainly appreciate this book. If you have experienced – or are going through – your own 'Agony in the Garden' time in your life this book may be a very cathartic aid. It's my belief that this is The Shack's real purpose. As such, God is presented most beautifully as Relationship-in-Love. God is three distinct persons whose love for each other is One and yet extends to each of us, His creatures. Mack heals as we may also heal to the extent to which we open to God’s love.
As I mentioned early on, I'm no expert in Theology and I have no doubt there are theological errors in The Shack.
God as God, The Almighty, Our Creator, Savior, Redeemer, the Holy Spirit, etc. who has been worshipped, studied, prayed to, fought over and died for – for millennium, was not just suddenly figured out in 2007 by William P. Young and explained in 248 pages of fiction. This book is by no means definitive nor the last word on God. It is however, wonderful. It is a moving and a loving tribute to getting to know Him better. It is a helpful way to look at how God views the tragedies that happen in our lives. He does not inflict them on us. He suffers right along with us ... just as He did 2000 years ago.
For those looking for a more 'catholic' perspective on The Shack, here is an excellent review by Fr. Robert Barron. Thanks Karina for this link!
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Skylar
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rated it 2 stars
Aug 11, 2008 05:18pm
I've been thinking of reading this but have been hesitant because I wasn't sure if it would fall into that typical "Christian literature" category that is so often overly didactic. Your review has renewed my interest.
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No, it doesn't fall into that category. I've read the type of book and I'm not fond of it either. While
The Shack
will teach you things, it doesn't preach at you and the story is always paramount. I related to the main character's loss of faith because I underwent something similar when my brother died--not of the same magnitude--but many of the same thoughts, feelings and attitudes. Some of the conversations, and parts of conversations, between Mack and God struck me deeply. It would be very interesting to read/discuss this book with a group. Hope you like it!
Thanks Homeschool Mama and Wanda! I'm glad you liked it; I hope you like the book even more. WARNING: One thing which bothered me initially with this book was God the Father portrayed (for a period of time) as a black woman. I almost quit reading the book when I came to that. However, as I read on, God explained that He could have chosen to take on any form but chose the form best suited to eliminate 'head' problems/issues for the particular man (the character Mack) he was interacting with. Since the character had been abused by his own white father, this seemed both plausible and sensible and not just some 'liberal statement' by the author. In any event, be forewarned this is a book to touch the heart and bypass the head. If you focus too much on the 'head' issues with this book, you will miss its beauty.
Hmmmm...that reminds me a bit of Stephen King's The Stand, where the black woman was the representative of God's side (though not God per say) vs. the evil side.
I have this on my "to read" list and now I REALLY want to read it! I wonder if this might be a good adult Sunday school discussion book?
I think it would be an EXCELLENT discussion book! My husband just finished it last night and he said it moved him to tears in places and he's not the emotional type, well except where his girls are concerned... It's a very moving story. Like I think I mentioned, if you've ever longed to see and converse with God, you will truly enjoy Mack's visit with God--all three persons of the Blessed Trinity!
Young presents a refreshing aspect of God which could heal many who deem Him as an old, insensative, judgmental, mean tyrant with a big stick-divorced from our pain and in some cases, causing it. Despite some awkward sentences and obvious theological loopholes, the work is riveting. I love the message of forgiveness which I believe is a universal problem with most people-save and unsaved alike. It is FICTION- so that covers the many Biblical misinterpretations- and is vastly creative. Young really kicks down our sacred cows in this work. A work of equal value is "A Step Into Deliverance" by Toni Pugh. Its autobiographical content about a pastor's spiritual journey with God is a real page-turner!
I have this book on hold at the library and I'm number 368 in line. I may have to actually buy the book since you are all making me want to read it even more. Maybe I can check out the Pugh book as a consolation prize for while, heheh.
Thanks Ray for your comment! I'll definitely check out the Pugh book! Wanda,
"The Shack" is one of those books I don't think you'd regret buying, but I'll bet you'll be able to pick up used copies of it very soon.
Well, I didn't end up liking it after all, though I'm glad I checked in to see what all the fuss is about. It was honestly way too didactic for me. I would have preferred if the author wrote a nonfiction book that began, "This is my understanding of the Trinity...." I do appreciate what he was trying to achieve with this, which was to overturn religious stereotypes and emphasize that God is love, but I just don't think it was a very well written book as a work of fiction.
Sorry you didn't like it Skylar, but I'm not entirely surprised. As time has gone by and my initial enthusiasm for the book has subsided, I realize that compared to "great works" of literature it doesn't measure up. I need to learn to hold off writing my reviews for certain books awhile. I tend to "fall in love" rather easily... Also, I guess I enjoy learning -- and figure I have so much to learn...and relearn anyway -- that books which include lessons don't bother me. Hmmmmm...do you recall J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis taking opposite sides of a similar coin? Tolkien disliked allegory, and thought the Narnia tales too allegorical. Lewis protested they were not an allegory but an analogy. But Tolkien disliked allegory so intensely because he felt it was too didactic. To him, allegory leaves no possibility that any other levels of meaning in the work could exist. Tolkien understood the writer, to be something of a creator -- producing a work of the imagination that functioned best when it followed God's own complex action of creation. I've always thought the Tolkien/Lewis divergence of opinion on this topic fascinating.
After re-reading The Shack, I liked it less but couldn't deny that it was a powerful statement on reconcilation, forgiveness, closure, love and relation with God.
Well, I think it would be nice to be able to fall in love with books more easily. I think I tend to be overly critical and it can sap the simple joys of pleasure reading.C.S. Lewis's books are didactic, but I still like them, because they are didactic in a fashion that clarifies by analogy, rather than simply outright didactic, as was The Shack. That is, there was no real analogy or allegory in The Shack: it was simply the representatives of the three persons of the trinity issuing long (albeit dumbed down) explanations of theology in response to the leading, seemingly staged questions posed by Mack.
That said, I have never appreciated C.S. Lewis as a pure writer; I don't think his novels, from a literary perspective, would stand up well against great literature; but I have respected and appreciated him specifically as a writer who can make Christian theology more understandable to me by analogy. The author of the Shack doesn't do this; he just spews his theology, putting it directly into the mouth of God, and he offers no new insights, nor does he phrase the old insights in a better way. He lacks the subtlety of, say, Lewis's Screwtape Letters, or the clarifying analogy of, say, the Great Divorce.
And I agree with Lewis - it is more analogy than allegory. Allegory has a one to one correlation with the thing being represented, as we see in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, but Lewis's works are really usually only analogous, not directly coordinated, with the Christian story. Aslan in the Chronicles clearly represents Christ, but pretty much everything else is by way of analogy rather than allegory. It's pretty close to allegory, however.
Lewis was didactic, no doubt, but he's an example of how didactic novels can be done well. Tolkein wasn't at all didactic, but to me he was boring. That's a genre taste issue...if I'm going to put that much effort into learning the history of a land, I want it to be a land that really existed.
Hi Katie!I really enjoyed The Shack and I saw benefit in reading it. I'm not sure I would say that anyone should read it however. It is not a great work of Christian literature and I doubt it will become a classic, but it is moving because it addresses the longing for God in every human heart. Also, it helps those struggling to believe in a merciful God in a seemingly random and uncaring world. I hope that helps.
I'd like to introduce you to Alcatraz, a deeply troubled, teenage, tattoo artist on a spiritual quest to find God. www.lovegodandtattoos.com
