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William Young's novel, The Shack, centers on dialogues between a miserable main character, Mack, and three unorthodox characterizations of the Holy Trinity: God the Father, embodied in a sassy black woman, incongruously called "Papa," ; Jesus, a big-nosed Middle-Eastern carpenter with a close-cropped beard; and the Holy Spirit, called Sarayu, an Asian Sylph. Mack's three year accumulation of secrets, lies, pain and fears over the kidnapping and murder of his six-year-old daughter, Missy, are swept away in a 48-hour encounter in the woods at- you guessed it- the shack where she was killed. Readers views of The Shack, and its message, are varied and, at times, contentious. Some critics argue that Young's book promotes universal salvation; as free to anyone as an open bar at a party. They understand his book to say that people can discover Jesus' love inside themselves, turn their life over to him, and they are on their way to eternal bliss. Some hard-line fundamentalist Christians view The Shack's message as deeply subversive, scripturally incorrect, and downright dangerous. Some ministers, like Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, say "it misrepresents God. Young misses the big E on the eye chart." To Driscoll, doctrine is essential, like a fence the Almighty erects to safeguard the saved from error. But the Shack also has fans. Many readers say that they have found solace and inspiration in The Shack. They overlook the clichés- "Religious machinery can chew up people," Jesus says at one point-, stereotypes, like the Jewish Jesus' big nose, and Young's awkward writing: the black female God tells Mack, "Don't just stand there gawkin' with your mouth open like your pants are full." Steve McVey of Tampa, author of Grace Walk, praises The Shack. McVey says Young connects with people outside of, or unhappy with, institutional churches that "tell us what we ought to do for God, while grace focuses on what God has already done. A person discovers grace when you come to the end of your own self-sufficiency and realize that you have been made acceptable through Jesus Christ and him alone. You can't score points with God." According to Young, the book is a vision of joy, however far it strays from evangelical dogma. He says he clarified the focus of his narrative by ripping out pages of theological jargon. The author posits that he has "a lot of freedom by knowing that you really experience God in relationships, wherever you are. It's fluid and dynamic, not cemented into an institution with a concrete foundation." Before posting this review, I spoke to a number of people who had read The Shack and, to a person, they all found the "Dallas"/"Bob Newhart Show" swoon ending confusing. If Young's goal was to present a parable for our times, why have the novel end with a question? For me, the book started off with a concept that was quite interesting and then devolved into exactly what a reader might expect from a religious writer trying to gain an audience. The Shack is a fast read and certainly inspirational in its own way, but not among the short-list of books that I would want to carry to a deserted island.Read full review
It's very hard for someone who has suffered loss to get through the 1st part of this book, but if you can just push through it it will change your life! The authors did a great job of putting you in the characters shoes, and you feel everything he does. He's angry at the beginning of the book, and frankly wants to give up on the journey before him just like you will want to stop reading. In the end you're very sad the book is over, and you will think about the book often. It's been over a year since I read this book, but I think about it at least twice a month. I bought 5 copies for my friends as Christmas presents. Some things in the book are criticized, but as you grow in Christ you learn to chew up the meat and spit out the bones. If you can't do that then you can really miss out on opportunities to really grow.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Keeping in mind that this is fiction I truly enjoyed this book. The hurt this man was feeling over a lifetime was portrayed so well, I could feel where he was and why he was having such an attitude towards God. I enjoyed the humor especially when he and the Trinity sat down to eat and he automatically bowed his head to say grace and after an uncomfortable silence he raised his eyes, only to see them looking and smilimg at him, so he said softly.... thank you. I am so used to saying grace myself it made me chuckle as if I were in that situation. It would seem silly to ask God's blessing when he was sitting there with me. Their explanation as to why we have to go through painful times was very well analyzed. Making me rethink my painful moments in life. Although I loved the cute personification of the Holy Spirit, I thought she came off as a ditsy airhead, even though when she wanted to she was quite intelligent. This is the only thing I would have liked to be different as the Holy Spirit should have been awesome. I am amazed at how this author was able to create such an interesting concept of the Godhead. I loved the idea of God being a large black woman who was so loving and compassionate in spite of his bitter retorts at times. It showed God expects us to feel this way when we try to have all the asnswers to lifes problems. I thougth it was so enjoyable I have bought and given away 6 books already. As to the clergy who pooh pooh this book calling it a heresy..... trying to replace the Bible of all things, I say get real......you can't compare apples to oranges and you should never compare fiction to non-fiction. I actually read it 2 times in a row and if you can take this book as fiction I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy it. And at the same time, make you rethink and accept lifes disappointments with a healthier outlook. If there is one thing in this world that really gets me is blaming God for all the bad that comes along. Although when I lost my soulmate at a considerably young age I was angry with Ggod and disappointed for some time. It really touched my heart when this man poured out his heart, I actually wept in understanding. I feel this author Wm. Paul Young has an amazing talent and even though I didn't see anything written about his faith, I truly believe God is very close to him, and has inspired this fiction, making it real food for thought. I know it made me do alot of rethinking, for the good. Kudos Mr. Young!!!!!Read full review
Written with all the candor and fluff of a Lifetime Network movie, this is a very entertaining book written by an author who has descriptive narratives down to a science. You can practically smell the flowers. Like a good novel, it holds your interest with a "what happens next?" suspense, which does not disappoint. However...the very subject matter immediately places it square in the lap of the Christian community, who believes they own the story, and many resent the retelling of it in anything other than the context of whatever their brand of Christianity believes. For some reason unbeknownst to me, there seems to be a love-hate relationship with hell and eternal damnation with a good many of these folk, and since they have paid up their "fire insurance" premiums in full by being good church-going folk, they are more than happy to announce that you who have fallen short of their belief system have reservations at brimstone pit-side, courtesy of their concept of the "anrgy, jealous" God. Unfortunately, you will have that when you insist on anthropomorphizing the Creator of the known universe. Conversely, you will also have folks like our author, who are willing to think beyond the book-box, and paint a new and different picture of what that kind of manifestation that Power might indulge in. Maybe if we could see the trinitarian God as a little more people-friendly, and not having so many of what are uniquely human flaws (the whole jealous and angry thing...)we might be inspired to see God as something we, in fact, can run to, rather than something we must run from at any point in our existence here on earth. You just have to love a book where God is the Good Guy(s). If you can set down your own personal preconceived ideas about what a "human" god is/would be, you will find much food for thought, much to uplift a weary soul, and perhaps even peace in the midst of a life that is full up with injustices. If you are reading this with the mind of a textural critic, perhaps you should spare your blood pressure and stick to those books that only agree with what you believe. I would personally recommend this book to anyone dealing with injustice, death and dying, who is struggling with the answers within the Christian church.Read full review
My teenage son used my account at Ebay to buy this book for me for Christmas. I had read it once before, and couldn't decide how I felt about it. If you are reading this book at strictly fiction for entertainment, it is excellent. But if you are looking for insight to the character of God, beware. It does a masterful job of showing the love of God, but it fails to show His holiness and the fact that He is a judge. It carelessly takes away the diety of Jesus when talking about His time walking on the earth. Now, there are sections of the book that are beautiful, and make you think, and that do give some insight as to how God really sees us, but there are many more that water down salvation, and the fact that we can't get to God without first accepting Jesus Christ as Lord, and repenting of our sins. After I received the book, I began looking online for authoritative reviews, and found that most of the people whose opinion I respect (i.e. Chuck Swindoll, Chuck Colson, Dr. Dobson...) caution readers to avoid this book. If I could have, I would have given this book a double rating of excellent/poor because it is a well-written work of fiction. But it needs to be read by those who have a rock solid understanding of what the Bible teaches us about God.Read full review
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