The Shack by William P. Young
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Windblown Media; 1st edition (July 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0964729237
ISBN-13: 978-0964729230
From Amazon.com:
Product Description
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!
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WARNING: SPOILER

It’s hard for me to talk about this book without giving a spoiler. I had mixed feelings about this novel for several reasons. First off, it just seemed weird for the author to make God, the Father, an African American woman. William P. Young (the author) also portrayed the Holy Spirit as an Asian woman and Jesus as a Middle Eastern man. A few people commented on this blog post that they either didn’t want to read the book because of what they’d heard about it, or didn’t want to finish reading the book.

I felt strangest when reading the scenes with Mack and Papa (the African-American woman). I guess because when I think of God personified, I automatically think of Jesus. I just can’t imagine being in the kitchen with God, The Father, as an African-American woman, asking questions about suffering while she bakes a pie!

Reading about the Asian Holy Spirit felt a little bit “off” too. It’s hard to explain why, but it just felt a little strange. My being in the garden with the female Asian Holy Spirit, while helping to plant flowers while I ask her questions about mankind and suffering is just a little bit hard to imagine.

I believe that’s where some of the controversy arises with this novel. By having the African-American woman and the female Asian Holy Spirit, the author MAY be trying to explain the trinity in an understandable way to Mack and to the reader as well?

The scenes that felt more “normal” were the ones where Mack was interacting with Jesus. I guess it’s because we have somewhat of a mental image of Jesus since we know He was here on earth, personified. I’m not sure why the scenes felt more normal when reading about Jesus, but I’m assuming this is why. Also, Jesus was a carpenter on earth, and the author shows Jesus working with tools, making a coffin for Mack’s deceased daughter.

When Mackenzie’s (Mack’s) daughter is abducted and killed, he can’t seem to shake the Great Sadness that has descended upon him. He receives a letter from Papa, asking for a meeting at the shack (where his daughter was taken before she was killed). The letter and the visit from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together, are God’s way of reaching out to Mack, helping him to heal from the grief and bitterness he’s been harboring for the last four years.

He has thought-provoking conversations with all three of his “hosts” for the weekend, demanding answers as to why his innocent daughter was brutally murdered. Papa answers Mack’s question, and in the end, Mack is able to bury his pain, both emotionally and physically. He knows his daughter still lives and is now happy. Jesus allows Mack to get a glimpse of his deceased child, now happily enjoying her afterlife.

Although this book was strange, I do think it MAY help to minister to those who have lost a child. I have a 3 year old, and if something similar were to happen to him, I know I’d suffer from Great Sadness. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit explain why evil things happen to innocent people on this earth.

I also wanted to point out that if I were to write this book, or if I were an acquiring editor, I’d suggest that the author redo the story without the African-American woman Papa and the Asian Holy Spirit in the story. I’d just have Jesus to visit Mack, and have the two of them chat about what had happened with Missy (Mack’s murdered daughter). Of course, several scenes would have to be redone in a different way, but if the book were written the way I’ve suggested, I think it may have been more effective and less controversial.

The concept used in The Shack of Jesus, coming to us directly as a person today, reminded me of a book I read a long time ago called Eli. In Eli, Davis Conrad has an accident, and when he wakes up, it appears he’s in another time and he rushes to escape from the police who are trying to catch him. A man named Eli is born, and Davis is confused because Eli claims to be the Son of God. Also, when Davis looks at the Bible, the New Testament doesn’t exist. But then he flashes back to an alternate time and sees himself hooked up to machines in a hospital (resulting from his accident). This book has science fiction qualities as it tells of a parallel universe. However, it reminded me of The Shack since it uses this scenario: what would happen if Jesus were to come today instead of two thousand years ago?

This same concept was used in Dinner With A Perfect Stranger. In Dinner With A Perfect Stranger, the main character receives an invitation from Jesus, kind of like Mack did in The Shack. This workaholic character with a troubled marriage accepts the invite and dines with Jesus at an Italian restaurant. During this dinner, he asks God about why there is so much pain and suffering in the world, demanding answers, kind of like how Mack confronted God, The Father, and Jesus, and The Holy Spirit in The Shack. However, I felt the way it was done in Dinner With A Perfect Stranger was more realistic than The Shack.

These are the ONLY THINGS in The Shack that reminded me of these two other novels! I’m in no way saying that Eli and Dinner With A Perfect Stranger are as controversial and “strange” as The Shack.

I’d be interested in hearing readers’ thoughts about this book. Leave a comment along with your EMAIL ADDRESS in this post if you’d be interested in winning this novel! If you comment and you are NOT interested in winning, then just say that you DON’T want to be entered into the drawing. I’ve heard so many positive and negative things about this novel for a long time, so I had to read it myself to see what all the fuss was about!

~Cecelia Dowdy~