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.
