The Shack - Yet Another Review

It has only been recently that I have had the opportunity to do what I will lovingly call "unrequired" reading. During the past three and a half years in seminary, I was inundated with books and articles to read (I am quite positive that many of those still need to be finished!). During this time, many of the requests or suggestions of books to read from parishioners and friends began to stack up. Sometimes I would buy the book and put it on my shelf, while other times I would be given the book by someone and add it to the pile. Needless to say, after all this time, the book pile is quite large.

I thought that it would be interesting to share what I am reading in hopes that others who are reading the same or other materials may be able to participate in a dialog about those books.

Anyway, one of the many books on that pile was The Shack.

Let me begin this review by playing the role of captain obvious and restating that this is a work of fiction! It has the word fiction printed on the back cover above the bar code and is recognized in the reviews as a work of fiction. As such, although Christian in orientation, it should still be read as a work of fiction.

That means that it is not a theological treatise, although it deals with some pretty hefty theological elements. The subtitle, "Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity", acknowledges the books wrestling with theodicy (how to reconcile God's power, God's grace/love, and God's jusitice). It deals with both community and communion (the act, not the sacrament). It deals with mercy and grace. It deals with free will and sin.

I will tell you that if you are a supporter of predestination, this book will drive you absolutely batty. For those that have an Armenian, Weslayan, or similar bent, you will be more at home with the writing presented.

Putting theology aside for a moment, I will tell you that Young is a gifted story teller. While there were a couple of spots where the dialog appeared a little corny, those moments were limited in frequency and brief in length (two instances at less than 1/4 page each). The Shack is an easy and pleasurable read. Young's word choice and narrative style create such vivid word pictures that you actually feel like you are in the story.

The story unfolds with a family going on a camping trip. During this time of vacation, Missy (Mack's youngest daughter) is abducted and murdered. After four years of funk (referred to as the Great Sadness), Mack receives a mysterious note on a dismal winter day that invites him back to that place of great pain and sadness...The Shack. Against his better judgment, Mack goes to the shack seeking answers...what he finds is God. Mack's encounter with God leaves him changed.

But the answers that Mack receives during his encounter with God are not the only surprises of the book...in fact, the end was a complete surprise (another gift of Young's talented writing ability).

Since the book is fiction, I don't want to spoil the end of the book for those who haven't read it yet. I will tell you that the book is well worth the read. It is thought provoking and if nothing else, it just might cause you to ask better questions about why you believe what you believe.

If you have read the book, what do you think of it?