Vol IV: #36 The Shack
The first person to suggest I read The Shack was a roommate’s girlfriend. She turned out to be a lady jerk and so I refused to accept her suggestion. Not long after, I read more praise for the book on Facebook, all by stupid and codependent, Christian women. And their praise served the narrative I created after the lady jerk’s recommendation, The Shack had to be shit book if so many shitty women loved it. How good could it be? (Don’t act like I’m the only one. We all have people in our lives that rub us the wrong way and we do the exact opposite of whatever they tell us to do.)
Fast forward to 2023, and I’m plowing through a book a week, or so. And after twenty straight secular novels, by the likes of Hemingway and Hughes, I was ready for something “Christian.” I chose to read The Shack mainly because I wanted to read a novel, and I was too lazy to look for another title. A copy arrived in the mail in late September, but collected dust until last week.
I’m not sure what I expected from The Shack. Certainly, my expectations were low. And the first two chapters didn‘t help. Sentences like “Soon the sounds of gentle snoring filled the air as the media tube turned its attention to a piece on high school senior in Zimbabwe…” Media tube?! What!? I get trying to be descriptive. Hell, I’m on that train too bro. But, media tube as for TV? That ain’t it.
And trust me. I get it. I’m barely a writer.
Like I said, after the first two chapters, I was ready to set the book down. What kept me going was the premise. The main character, Mack, is bitter and sad over the murder of his six-year old daughter. Naturally, he’s full of the hurt and questions all of us have in one form or another. I kept reading because I wanted to see how the author answered the questions, how he addressed grief. Would he offer the same tired answers I hear in church? I wanted to know. I wanted to hear Mack accuse God of being absent and cruel. But more than anything, I wanted to the answers.
It’s not fair to expect William Young, the author, to have all the answers. Still, I hoped for something new or original. Thankfully, Mack finds answers both old and new in his conversation with God. And I’m ok with that. There are moments of true Glory in The Shack. Somehow, Young cuts through what the world demands from the Lord and offers a totally different perspective instead. And if had to write one sentence about The Shack, a one summary statement, it’s this: Under pile of adjectives and rehashed theology, the Holy Spirit speaks directly to us when we read The Shack. The voice of the Lord is hidden in words and kindly beckons us to trust Him.
I hope my writing reaches that level one day.
