Hi,
Since I've had time to actually r.e.a.d. lately, I thought I would share a review with you. A few days ago I both started and finished William P. Young's The Shack.
You can read the summary and reviews at Amazon, but in a nutshell, the story is about a man who suffers a grave loss and then has the opportunity to meet with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to discuss not only the loss, but matters of his heart and faith.
Things I lurved:
- Despite the prologue and first chapter, the book went at a good clip and left me anxious to hear more.
- I really enjoyed the fact that Young challenges us to give up on preconceived notions of God and faith and legalism.
- I loved the depiction of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in the novel. It was a great picture for me to hold onto as I watched Mack through his journey in this book.
- I loved the triune relationship-loving and serving one another.
Not as much love:
- In a book about God and a man's journey of faith, it was disconcerting to me that Satan was not mentioned by name (to my recollection).
- There's a significant event in Mack's life toward the end of the novel which felt very "tacked on" to me. I felt it was an unnecessary rabbit trail and it left me feeling that the novel could've finished much stronger than it did. Of course, how many books have I written???
Things I think about:
- Will folks read this book and accept it as Biblical Truth? I hope not. I mean there are a lot of Biblical truths tucked in and assumed in the story, but there.is.no.substitute.for His Word. I know many folks read and believed in Brown's The DaVinci Code. S-c-a-r-y! While I agree that The DaVinci Code was an interesting read, it's fiction. So is this. Fiction. A story. Something to read about and think about and ponder and share, but not a life-giving/decision-prompting book.
- Would I recommend this book to a new Christian/seeker?
To Recommend or Not To Recommend?:
You know, I do recommend it. Very much, actually. It's an uplifting, real-feeling novel, and I think it does force us to think about our faith and where we might get stuck in our perceptions of what/who God is. My hope is that people will finish this book and thirst for The Book. I know I did.
15 comments:
I've enjoyed reading your review! :) Thanks for sharing.
Angela at Lighten Up talked about this book today and her connection to the author. Very interesting!!
Now between the two of you I don't have a choice but to read it. :o)
Thanks for the review sweetie.
I absolutely LOVED this book. It is now one of my all time favorites. God used it to confirm some things in my life.
Thanks for sharing it.
I also heard 2 cd's of the author and his testimony. Very, very powerful
Hugs,
Julie
Gretchen - I'm so tickled to see you reviewed this. I bought it and my daughter promptly borrowed it so I havent read it yet. It's really generating a lot of talk, and I'll for sure read it now, but maybe with more careful eyes.
Love that. "It's a book that makes me hunger for The Book." That's the only kind I like to read. And, this one does qualify.
Thanks for sharing.
gretchen ... this is one of those books that i would admonish any potential reader "not to throw the baby out with the bath water!" meaning that while it is not jot and tittle theologically accurate (whatever that means!!) God can, has, and will continue to use the story to speak into the hearts of His kids. Abba is more than happy to assist us in separating the wheat from the chaff as we read ... all we have to do is ask.
how unfortunate it would be, i think, not to receive our brother, William Young, and the gift he has laid before us.
I have heard good things about this book, and I would like to read it sometime. (BTW, what did you do to find time to r.e.a.d.? I need to get some of that! *grin*)
I appreciate your caution to remember that the book is fiction, and cannot substitute for the Word of God.
Having said that, I love it when God uses a novel to draw me closer to Himself, and to make me love Him more.
Someday - when I find some of that thing you called time - I would like to read this book.
I have heard much the same about this book. Some people love it, some not so much. I may have to give it a go.(Although, it's weird. I'm a Christian, but don't read a lot of Christian fiction. I read more Christian nonfiction. I have found that I am very picky about the quality of the writing in a novel, and am usually not as satisfied. That said, though, I may have to try this one out.)
The book was actually talked about quite a bit at the Christian writers conference I spoke at earlier intthe summer. The author self-published the book and then had it picked up by a big publisher. Kind of a rare thing to happen!
okay, okay, i'll read it.
;)
I loved this book... because it was soooo much about love...
and I think God is about love...
you point out some good points..
This author gave his testimony and he shares what his shack is... and how it came to be... basically analogies... just as Christ used through his Life...
knowing a little bit about that and his intent makes things a little clearer....
hopefully,,, if we have Christ... we won't worry about Satan... amen??
I love how you did your review... very good....
I have read it several times and recommended it...
I wish I could attach his testimony...
have you gone to his blog??
duh?? after writing this.. Julie said the same thing...
Nice review. I've never read a Christian novel. I will email you when I'm ready to.
Even though I have a million books on my "to read" shelf, I am always adding more to my book "wish list." I will definitely have to add this one to it. It sounds interesting. And recommended books always end up being the best ones to read.
SEVERAL of my friends have either read or are reading this book. They've all said that it's hard to put it down.
I'm not much of a book person. But maybe one day, I'll read it. Maybe that's a good thing to do in the car pool line, now that school is back in.
Thanks for your input on it.
Hi Gretchen - I am playing catch up on your blog today.
I had heard mixed reviews about this book so I have not read it yet. But my S-I-L recommended it this weekend so your review helped reinforce her opinion. Thanks for the review. :o)
Post a Comment