The Shack

by William P Young

I know this book has gotten TONS of publicity and acclaim. And I know that when that happens I feel pressure to not only read it, but enjoy it too. I wish I could say I liked it, even a little bit. But unfortunately, I never got involved from the second I picked it up until I forced myself to finish it. I read a lot, so I shouldn't feel loyalty to a book just because of its exposure. But my dear friend gave it to me for my birthday and I hate to have to tell her what I thought of it. When a friend recommends a books to me, I am disappointed with myself when I don't like it the way she did.

In reading some reviews, I see that people call The Shack a "well-written page turner." For me that couldn't be further from the truth. At points I was actually laughing at how poorly written pieces were. And while I love my religion and wish I were better at it, this book was screamingly sacrilegious for me. I know that others were comforted by its message, but I have a really hard time reading a fiction novel about a man who gets invited to a shack by God. And that this God turns out to be a woman. I also felt that the description of Missy getting kidnapped was excruciating. Again, this is fiction, and I do not need to read such graphic detail of a child being abducted and finding her remains. Save that for real life; there's plenty of that on the news.

I don't feel that I really need to give a synopsis of the book here. Most people already know what it's about. And if it touched you, I am glad. I'm sorry that it didn't have an affect on me they way it did on my wonderful friend. Maybe a discussion with her will help me appreciate it a little more. As you can see, I really struggle when I dislike something so much.


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