Reviewed by Symon: 9 out of 10.

The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis is, without doubt, the most bizarre, and most theologically challenging book I have ever read.  It’s plot is as follows (courtesy of Wikipedia):

In The Great Divorce, the narrator suddenly, and inexplicably, finds himself in the “grey town”, representative of hell. He eventually finds a bus for those who desire an excursion to some other place (which eventually turns out to be the foothills of heaven). He enters the bus and converses with his fellow passengers as they travel. When the bus reaches its destination, the “people” on the bus, including the narrator, gradually realise that they are ghosts. Although the country is the most beautiful they have ever seen, every feature of the landscape is unbearably solid compared to themselves: it causes them immense pain to walk on the grass, and even a single leaf is far too heavy for any of them to lift.

Shining figures, men and women whom they have known on earth, come to meet them, and to persuade them to repent and enter heaven proper. They promise that as the ghosts travel onward and upward, they will become acclimated to the country and will feel no discomfort. These figures, called “spirits” to distinguish them from the ghosts, offer to assist them in the journey toward the mountains and the sunrise.

Almost all of the ghosts choose to return instead to “hell”, giving various reasons and excuses. Much of the interest of the book lies in the recognition it awakens of the plausibility and familiarity, along with the thinness and self-deception, of the excuses that the ghosts refuse to abandon, even though to do so would bring them to “reality” and “joy forevermore”.

As you can see in the overview, The Great Divorce pushes the boundaries (or perhaps brazenly steps outside) of Christian theology of the afterlife, and for this reason I must admit, I initially struggled with it. In the introduction, Lewis covers his theological bases by begging his readers to remember that this book is a fantasy.  Needless to say, if you struggled with The Shack, don’t even think about reading this book .

Having said I struggled with it, I also throughly enjoyed, and was surprisingly impacted by The Great Divorce.  Its description of heaven is worth the read alone.  In my opinion, Lewis’ imagination surpasses any author I have read. This book’s depth and insight into human-nature and its profound dissection of the human heart – is simply incredible.

Consider this excerpt as an example…

“Every poet and musician, but for Grace, is drawn away from love of the thing he tells, to love of the telling till, down in Deep Hell, they cannot be interested in God at all but only in what they say about Him. For it doesn’t stop… you know. They sink lower – become interested in their own personalities and then in nothing but their own reputations.”

In conclusion, this is a book that should be read more than once as I believe it will only get better with each reading.  If you are in search of a book which excels in engaging the intellect, the imagination and the soul, you won’t find much better than The Great Divorce.

Reviewed by Burton: 9 out of 10.

The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and those who are going to read them. (The Sunday Times)

I almost don’t feel worthy enough to review a book which won the ‘Millennium Children’s Book Award’ but here goes nothing…

I first read the Hobbit when I was 13. At the time, being far from the bookworm I am now… I struggled through it, and really didn’t see what all the hoo-har about Tolkien was. Not surprisingly, I never got to the Rings Trilogy.So, 22 years later I have revisited The Hobbit and what an adventure I had.

The Hobbit (written in 1937 by J. R. R. Tolkien) is the story of a Hobbit (surprise, surprise) called Bilbo Baggins, who is enjoying an uneventful life until it is interrupted by a visit from the wizard Gandalf. Gandalf invites himself to tea and arrives with a company of dwarves. They embark on a journey to recover the lost treasure of Lonely Mountain, guarded by the dragon Smaug. Their adventures include trolls, elves, goblin hordes, monstrous wolves, giant eagles, changelings, giant spiders, massive battles and so on. As you can see by my very brief synopsis (I don’t want to spoil the story), it is the classic fantasy tale.

To say that The Hobbit is anything less than a masterpiece of children’s literature would be to lie, so I’m not going to use this space convincing you to read it. Just do (before the movie comes out in 2011). Instead I wish to ask the question… are good wizards, using good magic appropriate in Christian fiction?

J.R.R. Tolkien was a devout catholic who also had a huge interest in pagan mythology, and Middle earth is a marriage of the two… a world full of mythological creatures and magic with vague Christian undertones.

Personally, I struggle with Tolkien’s mixture… always have and probably always will. Although the Narnia Chronicles are similarly fantastical, the Christian message stands out clearly for all to see, unlike Middle earth where unless one is looking (very studiously I might add) the Christian themes are as hard to find as a Gollem in the Misty Mountains. But I digress.

My experience of the classic children’s book, read as a kidult that sees more in black and white than in grey-scale when it comes to sorcery, The Hobbit is a very near masterpiece… 9 out of 10 it is.

Reviewed by Kristy: 9 out of 10.

God has a university. It’s a small school. Few enrol; even fewer graduate. Very, very few indeed. God has this school because he does not have broken men and women. Instead, he has several other types of people. He has people who claim to have God’s authority… and don’t – people who claim to be broken… and aren’t. And people who do have God’s authority, but who are (mad and) unbroken.  In God’s sacred school of submission and brokenness, why are there so few students? Because all students in this school must suffer much pain.

A Tale Of Three Kings has been around for quite some time, and is very popular… but for some reason I only discovered it recently, and am so glad I did! This book is a difficult book to categorize. It’s fiction and non-fiction at the same time. Regardless of the genre, every Christian needs to read it.

A Tale Of Three Kings explores the life of the Bible Kings’ Saul, David and Absalom. I found it extremely interesting to read Edward’s profound insights into these ‘three kings’ and it was very impacting on my views and thoughts regarding relationships and what I considered to be right or wrong. You could even say there was a slight twist in the book which gave an impacting blow to my soul… ouch, but very appreciated.

This is one book that every Christian should read, as it will relate to any relationship dynamic. I do wish I had discovered this book earlier. This is the kind of book you want to own a few copies of as you will want it to lend to others! A quick and impacting read I would highly recommend.

Click here to visit Gene Edward’s website.

Reviewed by Symon: 9 out of 10.

God has a university. It’s a small school. Few enrol; even fewer graduate. Very, very few indeed. God has this school because he does not have broken men and women. Instead, he has several other types of people. He has people who claim to have God’s authority… and don’t – people who claim to be broken… and aren’t. And people who do have God’s authority, but who are (mad and) unbroken.

A Tale Of Three Kings by Gene Edwards is considered a modern classic of Christian literature. It was published in 1980 yet still often appears on the list of the top 100 sellers of Christian books. It has become assigned reading in Bible schools and seminaries worldwide, and has been translated into thirty languages. Funny thing is that I never knew this book existed until a wise mentor friend of mine encouraged me to read it recently. I’m so glad he did.

A Tale Of Three Kings does not fall easily into any genre. It is a study in brokenness, but is written as a first person narrative delving into King David’s struggle with Saul and Absalom (and the reader’s comparison to each of the three kings). It contains many fictional conversations by David so I guess the closest genres would be historical fiction/classic.

Perhaps it was just a very timely read, or where I currently am in my Spiritual walk, but I can say that this book ministered to me on a level no other fictional book has thus far. I cannot recommend this book more highly to any person in ministry leadership, especially those who have at times struggled with the authority God has placed them under. To the casual Christian however, this book may not have the same impact, nor the relevance, nor the revelation… then again, it just might.

Click here to visit Gene Edward’s website.