The Shack

The Shack

Posted On: February 15, 2010
Posted In: Fantasy, Kristy, Thriller/suspense, William P. Young
Comments: 3 Responses

Reveiwed by Kristy: 9 out of 10.

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, ostensibly from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgment, Mack arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Macks world forever and quite possibly your own.

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. Youll want everyone you know to read this book!

It has taken me a while to get around to reading The Shack, partially because I’m a wee bit of a sook when it comes to sad stories (especially knowing that my ‘never hardly ever cries’ husband cried while reading this).  I was also slightly hesitant after hearing so many rave reviews alongside an awful lot of controversial ones.

Symon was intrigued by the fact that usually the people he knew that raved about The Shack were males and the females seemed to find it ‘okay’.  He wanted my opinion… so here it is:

For me, The Shack is a brilliantly written piece of literature.   William P. Young shows he is a gifted writer from the words he uses and the way he compels you to connect and empathise with the characters he has created.  There were many moments of action and suspense alongside deep and moving ones.   Yes, there were some aspects that were theologically debatable (and I did struggle slightly with these but pushed on through), but not enough to stone the poor guy.  Young had his reasons for portraying the characters as he did, and if people want to go on a crusade against him for these reasons, they will definitely cause others to miss out on some precious gems hidden amongst this story.

There were a few pages in this book where I was slightly bored – I felt some of the dialogue was too long winded and just wanted the story to continue on, but I realise that now all people will feel this way.   There were moments where I felt deep healing taking place in my heart as I read, and I know others have experienced this as well.

All in all I found The Shack to be an excellent book, one I would highly recommend for anyone to read, especially those who have suffered loss or hardship in their life.  It is a life-changing book and a heart-healing story.

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