Book Seventeen

8/27/2008 – The Shack by William P. Young ***
Why: Stacey Prestegaard gave it to me when she was out for my mom’s funeral
First Impressions: This was my first religious genre book and I was intimidated before I started to read it. That said, I was completely caught up in the story. I’m not sure I liked how they kept referring to the “Great Sadness” as if it was some sort of cliché and yet I understood how Mack felt and how overwhelmed he was in the years after Missy’s death. Emotions Felt: Surprise at how modern some of the religious thought seemed to me: that God would be depicted as a humorous African American women and that Sarayu was an Asian women and Jesus a homely Middle Eastern man. I appreciated the discussion on God’s perspective on following rules instead of living in him. A lot of it just really made sense. The middle of the book was a bit dense for me and I feel like I would have to re-read the passages with a highlighter if it were my book. While this book was clearly trying to get across a message, the message resounded with me. He’s not an incredible author and yet he did something profound. His book made me feel like I could have a different, more intimate relationship with God.
Remaining Questions: Wish I could hear a pastor’s perspective on the book and how it would be interpreted by the ELCA.
Favorite Quotes: pg. 56 “In one day, he had spent a year’s worth of emotions, and now he felt numb, adrift in a suddenly meaningless world that felt like it would be forever gray.” Pg. 80 “I’m done God. I’m tired of trying to find you in all of this.” My favorite quote said again and again, I am exceedingly fond of you.
Who Would Like This Book: Anyone who shares my spiritual thought. Sarah, I guess.