I have a long list of books that friends and colleagues have helped me to read over this year.The Shack by WM Young is the first and as promised with each of these books I am writing my review.
I actually really liked this book. taking it at face value its a beautifully written story told from a mainly Christian world view, how the protagonist Mack, learns to deal with a tragic loss in his life. Without wishing to spoil the story too much the things that stood out for me most were
a) the simplicity of the way the story is told
b) the way the story turns a number of paradigms, including our concept of God, on its head
c) the principle that we spend so much energy on being independent and chasing things rather than just being
d) God is a Verb. This chapter alone made it for me.
One of the most powerful things about myths and legends are that they are vehicles for truth. Both literal and contextual. What the writer did for me especially in this book was to use this myth as a vehicle for redemption, forgiveness and self awareness. I loved the way the language used in describing not just humans but the external world we live in.
That said I can understand how both those of faith (Christian or non) could take umbrage with this kind of story. Sure you will here challenges of bad theology (questions of Divine gender, Universal Restoration, Purgatory?)but me thinks that those who immediately jump on that band wagon have missed the point. Like say the Chronicles of Narnia there is a deeper story but couched in there is a willingness by the author to imagine God in conversation. I wouldn’t take To Kill A Mocking Bird as the blueprint of race relations in America but a view into another world. I also think the comparisons with Pilgrim’s Progress is a bit of a stretch. Only after finishing it did I realise it was a book surrounded by a lot of hype also, which to be honest is not always a bad thing, but as it was recommended by my good wife.
There are a number of themes I wanted to run through in my head but I didn’t because it was fiction. A chance to see how someone else perceives God and through the eyes of faith what could restore us to a sense of peace. That God loves me beyond measure was a central theme and for that I love this book. I would only recommend it to those who are open minded to the story and the truth it conveys. A nice gentle and restorative read.
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