by William P Young....Where do I begin? I was recommended this book by several friends and library patrons. So...the back of the book states (according to Amazon.com) Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!
So, I wondered if this book would be similar to THE ALCHEMIST by Paulo Coelho, which was recommended to me by several people a few years ago. I read it...and while it definitely had some religious overtones...it could be read as an independent story. And, I would recommend reading it if you haven't already! This book definitely is not like that. This is definitely the book for you if you need a boost in your faith, or have been plagued with questions about why there is tragedy in the world...it is definitely a Christian based book...so other religions aren't necessarily discounted...but they aren't necessarily embraced either.
So what did I think? If you are easily offended...quit reading now!
I have had a tough relationship with religion...I grew up in a strict, nondenominational Christian home...when I say strict...I mean long hair, skirts, no makeup, no dancing of any kind, no instrumental music of any kind and especially not of a religious nature...could only sing religious songs...with the instrument of your voice. No mixed swimming, no drinking, no cussing, no drugs or sex of any kind...okay so not a bad lifestyle at all. I attended church services three times a week and often went to weekly gospel meetings. NOTHING could interfere with this...not school, not vacation, nothing. So, was I exposed to other beliefs, yes, I was, my parents felt I should be a believer because I believed not because it was expected of me...It is hard to explain it to people who haven't ever grown up in this type of background. Not to be confused with other restrictive Christian religions. And...from about birth to age 24 I was very much into it, was baptized, taught Sunday school...and then something happened...something that shook my faith to the core...I am not sure if I should explain that here...and in fact I won't, but in simple terms, I guess I would explain it as the world got hold of me and drug me out of the church...or something like that. And now, for as much faith as I thought I had at age 20, I am the opposite now. I wrestle with it constantly. I am not necessarily judging those who do embrace it...but I have difficulty with religion now,and have had difficulty for the last 15 years or so...maybe not so much with the idea of God...or Buddha or Allah, or anyone who is the higher power...but what our fellow man does with that idea. So, reading this book was like looking back into my past...and explanations of things that I already know are there...but written in a different fashion. A man who wrestles with his faith meets, the holy trinity...and that is explained as well. I am not sure what I expected to happen as I read the book...but it didn't suck me in and I wasn't feeling a renewed sense of faith when I finished. However, I will bet more than 80 percent of those who read it will feel that. I did like the part about the judging...people judging each other, God...it was a great chapter. So, I recommend this book to my religious friends...read it and embrace it! For the rest of you...you may or may not like it, understand it or even want to read it.
2 comments:
Well, as you can imagine...I was sucked in by reading the BACK of the book...serial killer? CSI type story? Which made me NOT finish even reading the blurb on the back of the book - I even BOUGHT it (i was traveling & was a book short for the trip home...a 4 hour flight). MUCH to my dismay....it was about religion. Since I was returning from SIN CITY at the time...i very much struggled with the book. Seeing how I believe "the Bible" is a work of fiction and "organized religion" is nothing more than a cult....i quickly got mad at my choice of books. I tried, i really did - to just read it as fiction & maybe I'd have an awakening... I think I made it to page 150? I just couldn't do it anymore... so when I got home, I passed it off to Eric's mom...telling her she may enjoy it but it wasn't "what I thought". So...at least someone may enjoy it.
Now i'm on the search for a new (real) serial killer book to read...HA!
Apparently many people in various stages of religious belief are reading it and recommending it like wildfire!
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