As always, the people on the back of this book have wonderful things to say about it. They are all bubbles and praise.
But I cannot bring myself to praise this book. I find it to be a Headache, but not in the way that the author wanted it to be.
First of all, I will dispense some advise: to anyone who is thinking about reading The Shack, is pretty sure they want to read this book, or is about to start reading this book. What ever you do, skip the Forward. The forward is a big hurdle for me. Something about how I read and interact with characters... it has presented the single biggest problem I have. In the forward, the character Mackenzie is told to be a very smart guy. Able to converse in a wide variety of topics well. He's smart, smart, smart and an all around cool guy.
But in the story, Mack is about as dumb as a salamander. His rain don't quite reach the ground. Mack's entire purpose in this story is to inanely ask the same question (on behalf of the reader) about a half a dozen times and still not quite get it. But always be blown away. There is not a time in the book when his head isn't filled, his processors overloaded. He's always about to blow a circuit. Always. Always.... Always....
It gets really tiresome. Mack is the source of my headache. I really cannot abide him. Look, I don't quite buy the book; I don't think it is the word of God! or anything. But I get it. I can follow most of the thoughts and the arguments. Don't agree with it all. I think Will thinks contradiction and conundrum equal wisdom. But I get it. I think most people will get it. I think most people have heard all of this stuff before. But Mack? Oi.
The entire book gets really tiresome. It's like Ishmael. I know there are a lot of people who were impressed by that book as well, and to those who are: you could quite possibly like The Shack.
But I didn't like Ishmale, in the end, I couldn't finish it. And I don't like The Shack. They are very similar books. They were created the same way and for a similar purpose, and both will be hard to finish if you don't like Choose Your Own Adventure books when you aren't even allowed to chose your adventure.
These books are a chance to preach. One of the characters in the book acts as a stand in for you. They are the audience and they ask a few questions and are told answers. The other character in the book is a stand in for the author. They set themselves up as some arbiter of good information that you should follow, they try to predict your questions and the difficulties you might have with the philosophies disposed, and they preach to you.
It is a hard thing to do with a book for a book is not a dialog. A book is static. What if you have a different question? You cannot ask the book it and expect a response.
But, oh, how I wish I could ask it questions. I would have a lot to say.
The Shack's existence is really an oxymoron. One of it's omnipresent themes is that we should not live by rules (Will seems to trust in anarchy...), and that God does not tell us how to live. But his book sure does.
Institutions are bad! Oh, and we created the Missy Project!
People tend to take their best characteristics, magnify them, project them, and assume that God is like that, but God is More Than That (says the God character in the book)....who is a projection of Will...
Mack is Smart! As eating lead paint.
Really, though, I am too hard on this book. It's because I'm at the end, and it's been going downhill for the last 100 pages. Earlier, it wasn't so bad. There are some good things in it; they just get horribly overshadowed by the end. Then the book falls apart. I'm a little regretful that I picked it up in the first place.
On the bright side, talking about religion always gives me a lot of philosophical exercise.
But I cannot bring myself to praise this book. I find it to be a Headache, but not in the way that the author wanted it to be.
First of all, I will dispense some advise: to anyone who is thinking about reading The Shack, is pretty sure they want to read this book, or is about to start reading this book. What ever you do, skip the Forward. The forward is a big hurdle for me. Something about how I read and interact with characters... it has presented the single biggest problem I have. In the forward, the character Mackenzie is told to be a very smart guy. Able to converse in a wide variety of topics well. He's smart, smart, smart and an all around cool guy.
But in the story, Mack is about as dumb as a salamander. His rain don't quite reach the ground. Mack's entire purpose in this story is to inanely ask the same question (on behalf of the reader) about a half a dozen times and still not quite get it. But always be blown away. There is not a time in the book when his head isn't filled, his processors overloaded. He's always about to blow a circuit. Always. Always.... Always....
It gets really tiresome. Mack is the source of my headache. I really cannot abide him. Look, I don't quite buy the book; I don't think it is the word of God! or anything. But I get it. I can follow most of the thoughts and the arguments. Don't agree with it all. I think Will thinks contradiction and conundrum equal wisdom. But I get it. I think most people will get it. I think most people have heard all of this stuff before. But Mack? Oi.
The entire book gets really tiresome. It's like Ishmael. I know there are a lot of people who were impressed by that book as well, and to those who are: you could quite possibly like The Shack.
But I didn't like Ishmale, in the end, I couldn't finish it. And I don't like The Shack. They are very similar books. They were created the same way and for a similar purpose, and both will be hard to finish if you don't like Choose Your Own Adventure books when you aren't even allowed to chose your adventure.
These books are a chance to preach. One of the characters in the book acts as a stand in for you. They are the audience and they ask a few questions and are told answers. The other character in the book is a stand in for the author. They set themselves up as some arbiter of good information that you should follow, they try to predict your questions and the difficulties you might have with the philosophies disposed, and they preach to you.
It is a hard thing to do with a book for a book is not a dialog. A book is static. What if you have a different question? You cannot ask the book it and expect a response.
But, oh, how I wish I could ask it questions. I would have a lot to say.
The Shack's existence is really an oxymoron. One of it's omnipresent themes is that we should not live by rules (Will seems to trust in anarchy...), and that God does not tell us how to live. But his book sure does.
Institutions are bad! Oh, and we created the Missy Project!
People tend to take their best characteristics, magnify them, project them, and assume that God is like that, but God is More Than That (says the God character in the book)....who is a projection of Will...
Mack is Smart! As eating lead paint.
Really, though, I am too hard on this book. It's because I'm at the end, and it's been going downhill for the last 100 pages. Earlier, it wasn't so bad. There are some good things in it; they just get horribly overshadowed by the end. Then the book falls apart. I'm a little regretful that I picked it up in the first place.
On the bright side, talking about religion always gives me a lot of philosophical exercise.
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