The Shack

Have you read it yet? I picked it up this weekend and had it fully read in about 5 hours. I wouldn't emphatically say it's a page-turner... but it was interesting. I'm not sure it's worth all the hullabaloo it's receiving... but it's good.

Is it this generation's Pilgrim's Progress as Eugene Peterson touts? I wouldn't say so, but it does make you ponder the possibilities as it paints a picture of the author's version of what could be the trinity, life after death, God's omnipresence, and the spiritual realm.

I read where the author said the story was birthed out of conversations he had had with God; "nocturnal meanderings," he said. "...The first Saturday I started working on inputting was the first time I decided that a 'story' would be the right vehicle for these conversations. I didn’t have one (a story), but I thought it was a great idea. So I began to create characters in situations that would allow my conversations to occur. These conversations were very ‘real’ to me, buried in the experiences and processes of my life…mostly over the last fifteen years."

I was perplexed, at first, when Papa was introduced as a large, black woman. I thought, "oh no, is this going to have racial or feminist undertones?" But keeping an open mind, I learned later in the story why the author did that and it made sense.

It does beautifully display God's tender mercy; that's it's present... He is present, even (or maybe especially) when we are despairing.

So, if you've read it, I'd love to know... What was your impression?

BTW, click on the picture, above. There's a hyperlink to the book's website. There you can read the forward and first paragraph. (The forward is pertinent to the story.)