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 enlarge | Author: William P. Young
Creator: Wayne Jacobsen & Brad Cummings
Publisher: Windblown Media
Category: Book
List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $7.40
You Save: $7.59 (51%)
New (73) Used (39) from $6.29
Avg. Customer Rating:  1582 reviews
Sales Rank: 1
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0964729237
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780964729230
ASIN: 0964729237
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 The Shack October 15, 2008
This book is life changing! As we have been taught, God wants a personal relationship with us. It is that simple. I know that many people have had a hard time with the characterization, that is not the importance of the book, the story is. I read the book and reread it again. I have purchased several copies for gifts also. It is an awesome book.
A 21st Century Screwtape like novel October 15, 2008
I devoured most of C.S. Lewis's works in the late eighties and began teaching classes on Mere Christianity, Narnia, Screwtape, and the Great Divorce. I beleive that the Shack does a wonderful job of covering basic tenets and complex theology in a simple and compelling fictional work. The question to Jesus, "there are many roads to you" is answered in a way that is clear and I beleive correct. Screwtape does not flow as smoothly as The Shack but both convey the complex theology in a simple and thorough manner. I commend this book to you.
A moving story October 15, 2008
For some this book is just that, a story, albeit a deeply moving, tragic and uplifting one. For others it affirms their faith, and others it challenges it. I think this story is something of a Rorsach ink blot. You see in it what you feel. At minimum it is great fiction.
Intriguing story, but don't accept it as gospel truth... October 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
OK... So I'm a bit behind the curve on this one. Already nearly 1600 reviews out on Amazon for The Shack by William P. Young. Needless to say, it took a bit of time before I got to the top of the library hold list. It didn't take me long to read the story, as I found it intriguing. It's a different slant and method for looking at how God works. Theologically, I can't say I fully agreed with it. Still, I think it was a worthwhile read.
Mackenzie Allen Philips, or Mack to nearly everyone, has lived through a trauma that every parent fears and dreads. While on a camping trip with his kids, he has to dive into a lake to save two children from drowning in an overturned canoe. But while everyone is focused on that, a serial child killer grabs his young daughter from their campsite and disappears. The authorities are able to follow the trail to an abandoned cabin deep in the woods, where they find the girl's bloodstained dress. But beyond that, nothing... Mack has no real closure, and "The Great Sorrow" weighs heavy on him over the following months and years.. During a winter trek to his mailbox, he gets a note inviting him back to the cabin to meet with "Papa", which was his wife and daughter's nickname for God. He wants to write it off as a cruel hoax, but he can't let it die. Either he'll go up to an empty cabin, meet with the killer, or come face to face with God.
Once he arrives at the cabin, he finds it totally undisturbed from the last time he was there. In frustration and anger he lashes out, but a strange thing happens. The site is instantly transformed into a spring day, a tidy cabin, and three visitors who are there to show him things he can't even imagine. Over the course of the weekend, Papa, Jesus, and Sarayu reveal the power of God in ways that bring Mack to a point where he can finally heal and forgive. He's still not sure how he can explain all of this to people when he gets back, especially given the twist at the end of the story...
From a fiction perspective, I really liked the book. Mack seemed very real, and you could easily understand his anguish at failing to protect his family. I also appreciated some of the "color" that Young was able to add to theological concepts that too often remain more abstract than practical. It made me think more than I normally do when reading fiction. Unfortunately, some of that colorful theology seemed to be more new-age'ish than traditional. Casting God the Father as an African-American woman who is cooking in the kitchen was a scene right out of the Matrix. Using The Shack as a Bible replacement would *not* be a good thing...
For me, I'd rate it a bit higher than I might rate some other book that tried this approach. I wouldn't hesitate to read it again knowing what I know now. It'll challenge many of your mental images and mindsets of who God is and how He works. Just remember that you *should* challenge it...
Spiritual high! October 14, 2008
Purchased this book on recommendation of two friends, and was not disappointed. Made me re-think my conception of God, and desire a stronger personal relationship with Him. I'm buying copies as gifts for this Christmas for friends and family!
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