The Shack: a helpful book review?

The Shack was first published in 2007 by a small publishing house Windblown Media. It has since been translated into 30 languages and sold over 6 million copies. At the time of this post it has been #1 on the NY Times paperback fiction bestseller list for a remarkable 38 weeks.

There have been plenty of book reviews both positive and negative. This is probably one of the most helpful reviews on the negative side of the fence (via Brant Hansen) is shown in this screenshot from Amazon.com…

Despite the review it isn’t a bad a book. But it isn’t necessarily the book that many people may think it is when they pick it up to read it. The book clearly has a market proven by the number of sales. This book is definitely in the ‘viral book’ category as it has spread quickly, being sold mostly because of personal word of mouth recommendations.

It is a book that is highly acclaimed by some people yet has also attracted a lot of criticism and vitriol from some sectors who have condemned the author for heresy. There are even stories of leadership in some faith communities banning members from reading the book. You would think it that Harry Potter had made a guest appearance in the pages.

William P. Young has been interviewed by Drew Marshall (a really cool dude with a radio show worth listening to) who has managed to get some really good insights to the person behind the story. If you listen to the interviews you will probably want buy the book. The interviews, and my interest as to why the book was so popular, were the primary reasons as to why I decided to buy it.

Although there is a lot to cringe about in this book, I found The Shack to be an easy but predictable read. I don’t think it is as profound or significant as perhaps some other people appear to believe it to be. The book clearly has deeply touched a number of people. For me the read was a little like what the character, played by Sean Connery, in Finding Forrester describes as having dessert.

Of course everything we do (not) speak about God is heretical. But, for what it is worth, my opinion is that it isn’t really that heretical. Of course, even if it was heretical, if someone tells you not to read a book, it becomes a must read.

I found The Shack provided a reasonably distinctive and creative, yet still traditionally orthodox, take on the nature of the Trinity. I appreciated how Young personified each of the persons of the Trinity, especially the person of the Holy Spirit.

Someone asked me if I would be willing to give a copy of book to someone. Yes. But, I would never give it to a person who was not already part of the church community. Especially if they were Australian.

Definitely one of the best things about the popular book is that it is non-utilitarian and has nothing about people having a purpose. Not that the book isn’t trying to sell you something – it clearly has a story it wants you to make your own. Culturally speaking, it is quite a ‘preachy’ book so would probably get up the nose of the average punter in Australia. I think it is clearly a book for people who have (at least sometime in their life) been a part of the church.

A quick comparison of sales between the USA and Australia are a pretty good and interesting indicator of the status of religion and religious culture in each country. The Shack is a bestseller pretty much everywhere in the USA. However, only really makes a significant presence in the Christian bookstores in Australia.

For a better review of the book you might want to read what Al Hsu (author of a a really good book, The Suburban Christian) had to say.

Buy this Book

Buy this Book