C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce is a classic Christian allegorical tale about a bus ride from hell to heaven. An extraordinary meditation upon good and evil, grace and judgment, Lewis’s revolutionary idea in the The Great Divorce is that the gates of Hell are locked from the inside. Using his extraordinary descriptive powers, Lewis’ The Great Divorce will change the way we think about good and … way we think about good and evil.
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I’ve read The Great Divorce so many times I’ve lost count, and still I get something new from it every time I read it. This is CS Lewis at his best.
Love, love, love. I read this years ago but recently picked it up again because I remembered it was such a keen description of the different kinds of psychological “blinders” people wear, and a truly fascinating take on the concept of heaven and hell.
An incredibly insightful speculation on the way we think, and the barriers to our true well-being. Theologically sound. There is a Hell, and no one will be there who doesn’t choose to be, even were they offered Heaven.
Deep, deep, deep. I will read this over and over. Each time I get more and more.
It is an excellent story that tackles many of the tough philosophical questions about heaven and hell and how our decisions have eternal consequences. The imagery of heaven is the most unique in any writing and shows the genius of C.S. Lewis.
A book you’ll remember reading for a lifetime.
My favorite of all CS Lewis’ books.
A unique and helpful classic.
My favorite book by C S Lewis. Sure puts heaven and earth in perspective in an unusual way.
This book is flush with CS Lewis’ abounding wisdom. It is certainly relevant for our time.
Wow…that was pretty intense. I usually avoid religious content like the plague, but this book appealed to me and it was amazing.
I love the overall message and the difference between Heaven and Hell. It’s not the cut-and-dry Good = Heaven, Bad = Hell…it’s so much more complicated than that. Good people end up in hell and bad people end up in Heaven. It’s all about the ability to let go and give up unnecessary feelings and emotions. Hell is not fire and brimstone, but a place of isolation and self-imposed unhappiness. Those in Hell CHOOSE to be in Hell, as they don’t see it for what it is and they are unable to let go of their earthly emotional constraints.
I’m so glad I read this. Has it changed my opinion on religion? No. I still stand firm in my beliefs, but I absolutely appreciate it for the work of art that it is. The writing is just beautiful.
I have to say that ‘The Great Divorce’ is my favorite book. This journey from the shadowy, morose, grey town of hell to the bright, impermeable world of heaven is ripe with characters that make the reader cringe, cry, scream, and rejoice. Every shadowy or bright person that is met hits the reader directly where it hurts the most, the soul. This book challenges the deepest parts of its reader. When you read ‘The Great Divorce’ you will either tuck your head and head back to your hell, or you will gallantly raise your head and boldly ride to that greater, truer world of heaven.
Great parallel both with the book of Revelations, and Lewis’s own The Last Battle. The world building is amazing.
Incredibly deep content packed into a very intriguing story
This book takes a good hard look at the ways we choose to live from the standpoint of seeing them from a place where it’s too late to change it. Only if you can read it you still can change !! C.S. Lewis at his best !!
C.S. Lewis stuns us again with a tale of damned souls taking a vacation to heaven–and shows us the reasons why, even though they can stay in heaven if they chose, many decide to go back. It reads like a novel but is full of gut-punching revelations. It’s short but pithy, and well worth any reader’s time.
Though I do not hold the belief of purgatory, I must admit I was surprised by the depth and insight into the choice that is before all humans. Lewis is a master at explaining complicated concepts in ways that many people can understand.
In this short little book, Lewis takes on the idea of what is happening in our lives on a spiritual level while we are on Earth. Setting the story in context of the long dusk/dawn of now and what we must decide between then and the rising/falling of the sun as we move into eternity, the author poses some harsh truths about humanity, laying out pet sins and seemingly ‘little’ things that could ultimately tilt the balances of a person’s eternity to either Heaven’s bliss or Hell’s torments.
Frank and revealing, this small story shows the big impact of life’s decisions and just how damaging some habits are. It really makes you consider what the future holds and what will come in the New Earth.
I am a big fan of “The Chronicles of Narnia”. This book is not part of that series but of a similar vein. Lewis creates a brilliant and visual universe to explore the results of choices we make. It follows one man taking a bus from The City of Gray, Hell, to Heaven. He must make many choices and face many temptations along the way. Does he make it or not? I will not spoil the ending. This is my favorite book of all time. This is like a very large dream.
Brilliant! Anything C. S. Lewis wrote is brilliant.
A great expose’ of the false beliefs that can keep us from the truth.