After his daughter’s murder, a grieving father confronts God with desperate questions — and finds unexpected answers — in this riveting and deeply moving #1 NYT bestseller. When Mackenzie Allen Phillips’s youngest daughter Missy is abducted during a family vacation, he remains hopeful that she’ll return home. But then, he discovers evidence that she may have been brutally murdered in an … she may have been brutally murdered in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness.
Four years later, in this midst of his great sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note that’s supposedly from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment, he arrives on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change his life forever.
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This is a wonderful book about forgiveness. It is not theologically accurate, but the story is well worth the read.
This book started out as most Christian books do, a crisis that tempts or undermines faith. I almost didn’t get beyond this portion of the book, but determined, I trudged onward. I never expected what was to follow. This is a must read, Christian or not.
An original, fictitious story of a look at what an inspiration, friend & Savior Jesus can be in your life if you allow Him.
I hated this book!!!
This is a haunting but inspirational story growing out of a tragedy. The grieving father is confronted in (and carried through) his grief by God, who appears to him in some very unexpected (and – to many – controversial) ways.
This changed the way I looked at things. It is a must read for all Christians! Especially people that have been through unthinkable life experiences. Highly recommend this book!
Although it was difficult to read at times it is a book that is terribly important for all to read. I’ve been a Christian for a long time but this book not only revived my relationship with my Heavenly Father but I think more importantly it provided me with a refreshing new look at each figure in the trinity.
So don’t miss this one. It is worth your time and the thought provoking it will provide!
Every year I start off with the determination to finish the Bible. Some years I come close. Some years I start from Revelation. Other years I start from Genesis. Regardless, I always come to a screeching halt in the book of Psalms. The eloquence of David halts me.
My journey through the bible reminds me of this book where the characters have many questions and are caused to stumble and pause. I met God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit in the pages of the bible.
The characters represented the Trinity in the book. I was somewhat confused by the events in the book. I met William Paul Young online speaking to me (a reader) in April 2018 after I read the book and still had some unresolved questions. He spoke about God and about his book, and I understood the book better because of his faith in God and because of his religiosity.
This creative work of art will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading it!
Thought provoking
I am so glad I read the book before I saw the movie…the book is FANTASTIC!! the movie not so much.
I’m a Christian and it kind of chocked me to see God portrait as a woman. That said the theme of forgiveness is big in the story of a father who want to find his little girl’s body; after she was kidnap and killed. Is heart wrenching but has great insides to life and forgiveness.
I have read this book 3 times. Even in this midst of pain and suffering, our Loving God is with us.
A great out- of-the-box book. I had to read it more than once, because there is so much deep theology in it.
Not what many would expect.
[I pulled this out for a third re-read after it was part of PBS Great American Read, and sparked a controversial give and take around its inclusion on the list. Very few of that group actually liked the book and it’s premise at all…]
I originally read it in Seminary when it was first released and met the author at a forum in Ohio many years later. My book is yellow with age and full of dog-eared pages. The setting always draws me in for that eastern edge of Oregon near Wallowa Lake is where my first parish setting was. I know the area quite well. It also reminds me of the fantasy book “What Dreams May Come”.
The book can be seen as a Christian fantasy and/or allegory. What gets me is the “down to earth, no bull theology” that it posits. A man-Mack- lost a child to “The Ladybug Killer” and Missy’s loss has obviously colored his and his family’s lives moving forward. His story of going back up to the scene and his encounter with The Living G-d in the form of three very approachable aspects and the discussions and actions related to it are both wonderful and transformative as he begins to let go of the nightmare his life reflects.
For me, this has always been a book of hope. It has always made me weep, and it has profoundly influenced my theology and interaction with people in my parish and hospital work, as well as my own life. And, I have to say, in this instance, don’t watch the film…read the book. Very highly recommended. 5+ Stars
I would highly recommend this book for a small church study group. It presents some pretty unique points of view and could lead to in depth discussions of how it compares to what the Scriptures say. Overall in the end, it leaves you with such a beautiful picture of God’s love that it may leave you saying, “Sign me up, Lord!”
This will really get you thinking about your life and what the Lord will do for you so captivating and a surprising ending
I have read this book twice. i had to retread it before I watched the movie. I loved it so much, I bought 5 copies and gave them to friends. I made sure to keep a copy for myself.
This book should not be confused with the Bible or anything taught in the Bible. I know many Christians like and recommend this book (and movie), but I cannot recommend it because of its many theological inaccuracies. One of the most striking statements by Jesus in this book is found on page 182 where he says, “Who said anything about being a Christian? I’m not a Christian” Again, the reader is supposed to view anyone who claims to be a “Christian” as a negative thing.
The Godhead that is described and illustrated in The Shack is not a God that is a consuming fire and holy. God the Father or “Papa” is a woman who kisses others on the cheek a lot and is a good cook. Jesus is a carpenter with a tool belt and flannel shirt who is unimposing. And the Holy Spirit is a wispy Asian woman who floats around and works in a garden. Another weird incident in the book occurs on page 95 where Papa shows Mack the scars on her wrists. This seems to indicated that God the Father suffered physically from the crucifixion, when clearly the Scripture teaches that only Jesus as the God-Man suffered and bled on the cross.
Another area of difficulty I had in this novel is the low view of the sovereignty of God and the exalted view of the free will of man. This novel was very man-centered in its theology and worked at great pains to nullify God’s absolute sovereignty.
These are just a few reasons I cannot recommend The Shack. Yes, it’s “fiction” but it strays from fiction into theology and the theology is very wrong and misleading.