The Shack

Four years ago, Mack's little daughter was brutally murdered in a crumbling old shack. Since then, he's been consumed by The Great Sadness, which has distanced him from his wife and other children. Now Mack receives a cryptic note inviting him to the scene of the crime. Little does he know he'll come to terms with his anger and grief - and the Holy Trinity.

This unusual book is part riveting drama and part Christian philosophy. The parts about Mack's terrible childhood and the loss of his daughter are very well-written - edge-of-your-seat scary and grab-the-tissues sad. But they're only the bookends around the main part of the book which is an explanation of the nature of God and his relationship with Man, as explained by some very folksy people who happen to be the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The problem I had is that the ethereal conversations between Mack and God were so drawn-out, tedious, and repetitive that I grew impatient for them to end and for the fictional story to resume. The same platitudes are repeated ad nauseum for 150 pages, told in (to me) an annoyingly homespun manner. It would have been much better and more effective if this section of the story had been massively reduced, because the endless droning could really be reduced to a simple, "God is Love."

The fiction part of the story about Mack's coming to terms with his past is excellent - taut and tear-jerkingly tragic; but the endless cutesy theology was tiresome for me. I do think this would make a good movie, though, and hope to see it one day. (3.5 stars)

I read this book over the course of three days. About half-way through I started to get bored, but finished it. Nonetheless, I can understand why many people would love it. For people who aren't familiar with spiritual concepts due to not going to church or other life experiences, and they want these questions answered, this is the book for them. For people like me, who were raised in church and/or have an active spiritually-seeking mind, there's not going to be a lot in this book that knocks the socks off. None of the concepts or conversations in this book were new to me. In fact, one thing I realized is how many people there are who don't understand God at this level. To these people, I highly recommend it, but don't base a spiritual path on a work of fiction.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. This is a wonderful book to give as a gift.

I thought this book was stupid! I started to happily read thinking I had come across another joy of a book and then felt profoundly let down by the author's stage play of the Trinity. Any number of other ways this could have been written.

Up until the time Mack returned to the shack, I was fairly interested in the story. But Young's attempt to humanize the religious figures made them laughable. The writing turned amateurish, with lines of dialogue followed by he chuckled, he yawned, she sighed. One cannot chuckle, yawn, or sigh a sentence. I began scanning the pages just to find out what happens. And then, when I read about The Missy Project, I felt I'd been had. What a way to promote and sell books. But I guess it has worked. I got my copy at the library so I hadn't shelled out $$ to this scheme.