The Shack

Author: William Paul Young
Genre: fiction, Christian
Publication info: Windblown Media, 2007
Pages: 248

The next several books I'll be reviewing will break away from my normal pattern a little bit, if I've been following a pattern at all. But don't panic—I'm doing this for a reason. For a class, no less. If you can believe it, a class I'm taking this term requires me to read some popular novels. Can you believe it? Me read popular novels? Okay, I admit that when I made my reading list, I became secretly excited for some of them. Everyone needs guilty pleasures, right?

Anyway, here's book #1: The Shack.

The title sounds like a horror story, doesn't it? And when you look at the cover from a distance, it looks like a horror story too. But it's not. Far from it, in fact. The Shack is a piece of Christian fiction. It happened to be a bestseller only recently. I first heard about it from a newspaper review. I was intrigued and thought that I might want to read this book when I could get around to it. Of course, I never thought I really would get around to it, but then I took this class, and now we see the result.

The Shack begins with a man named Mackenzie Allen Philips (most often referred to as Mac) receiving a strange note from someone that could possibly be God. The note invites him to come back to "the shack." After seeing Mac's incredulity, we are taken back a couple years to when his daughter Missy was abducted and apparently murdered. The most compelling evidence of murder was found in an isolated the shack—the same shack that someone claiming to be God invites Mac to come back to.

Mack is incredulous some more (and rightfully so), but he does end up going to the shack. And what he finds there surprises the heck out of him (excuse the pun). Without giving too much away, I'll say that at the shack he meets, well, God. That is to say he meets God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost—all three of them. Mac is going to have an unforgettable weekend.

Here Young gets pretty creative. If you are religious, particularly Christian, then prepare to see a very unorthodox depiction of God. It seems almost irreverent, but it's fascinating. I myself am a Christian, and I found it pretty interesting. Sometimes even funny. I particularly liked the idea that God has a sense of humor.

As for the more serious theology of the book, I have mixed feelings. The bulk of the novel is basically a framework for Mac to have discussions with one of the Godhead. Frankly, I'm amazed that one man could come up with so much material. I imagine he had a lot of help. Some of what he says is quite good, quite profound. But other points he makes I don't agree with. (I'm speaking this generally for two reasons: a thorough discussion would take too much space, and I'm way behind on this blog and I read the book too long ago to remember a lot of specifics.) In short, I don't consider this book scripture, and neither should you. But it may be a good vehicle to get you thinking about your relationship with God.

Young does make some good points about the meaning of human suffering. To find out what those points are, well, you know what to do.