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| The Shack | 
 enlarge | Author: William P. Young
Publisher: Windblown Media
Category: Book
List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $7.13
You Save: $7.86 (52%)
New (82) Used (46) Collectible (1) from $7.13
Avg. Customer Rating:  1895 reviews
Sales Rank: 8
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0964729237
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780964729230
ASIN: 0964729237
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Good Golly! Aunt Jehmima! November 23, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I give my wife 5 stars for getting me this book. It was a sweet jesture. But I am sure she will not be happy when my head explodes from me reading all of these theological reviews. I THINK I know what the author wanted to get across while writing The Shack, but I am curious if the heat worked alright in the '69 Volkeswagon Van he wrote it in? Cheap attempt at a metaphore for his brain when he takes scriptural ideas from the HOLY bible and interprets it into his book to make the story flow. Sorry... I like to have fun recommending this book to others who believe they get some kind of spiritual awakening from it just to realize when they do actually READ (whether they have believed the Holy bible or not) the Holy bible they realize The Shack isn't really THE book needing to be read. It was the Holy bible the whole time. Ha ha ha! Who would of thought?
 The Shack- A Good Message for ALL November 23, 2008
After much arm-twisting, a friend of mine finally convinced me to read William Paul Young's The Shack. My passion for reading having been on hold for well over a decade now, I'm quite surprised that I not only finished the book, but that I did so in just four days. What may be even more important to note is that I am not at all a religious person, which is why I find myself in disbelief at the fact that I have been all-but-completely consumed in a #1 New York Times Bestseller that owes its great success chiefly to a devoutly religious audience.
The Shack tells the story of a man who, after experiencing a life-shattering tragedy, spends a weekend with God in a shack, the same shack where his whole life had come crashing down around him. Upon arriving at the shack, the main character sees God in three forms: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In his brilliance, Young paints a very different -and wonderfully refreshing- picture of God as the Holy Trinity. Much controversy has been stirred by God the Father appearing as a very large, very African American woman. Moreover, Jesus is portrayed as an unattractive middle-eastern man in blue jeans. Oh, and the Holy Spirit is an Asian woman.
I'll be honest, the atheist in me delights in the thought of so many stubbornly religious folk thumbing their indignant noses at these off-the-wall characterizations, but I'll not limit myself to gloating here. What I truly admire about Young's ideas is that he penned them with an admirable purpose -to force his readers to cast aside their religious indoctrination and free their minds to focus on the deeper, more intimate aspects of a relationship with God. The God of The Shack is not judgmental or vengeful; he loves every single being in Creation without condition or expectation. Young presents a God that, despite popular belief, does not condemn the evil because, believe it or not, evil is a relative term. Now that's the kind of God I would like to see represented by the faithful masses.
While I personally take from this book a fresh, new outlook on relationships of all kinds, I can only hope that reading The Shack will open the eyes of the self-righteous and lead them to conduct their faith with a more personal approach, leaving others to make their own decision to build or reject a relationship with God. While I'm certainly not the "why can't we all just get along" type, I'd like to believe that something like a well-written and altruistically intentioned literary work can effect a positive change in its audience; and I do believe that The Shack is one such work. Kudos, Mr. Young, for spreading a message of cooperation and understanding that can appeal to people of all beliefs.
Part of you "journey" reading... November 23, 2008
As a psychotherapist, I find people on various parts of their journey. The story line of this book may deeply sadden you, but their is a clarity of the actual relationship God has with father in this book that is not to be missed. As the "Catholic" kid growing up, the Trinity was not something that I clearly grasped after 12 years of parochial school... The description of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit and how they are together as one...but separate...is the best and clearest I have known. Why did Jesus choose to die on the cross for us? Read the book and find out. This is part of your journey. Holly K. Klein LSCSW/LCSW
 stay out of "the shack" November 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
(((( if you're planning to read this book, then be careful how far you go because i'm going to give away some info that you might not want to know)))))
the premise of "the shack," by william paul young, is truly frightening, especially to anyone with children. i have two girls, and when i glanced at the blurb on the book cover, i did not think i could read it without either crying or personalizing the experience.
"mac," a nickname that's about as trite as you can get, and his family are very religious, so much that they call God "papa," as if they're having him over for thanksgiving dinner. however, mac's faith is tested when his young daughter falls prey to a serial killer who might also be a child molester as he only attacks children.
mac retreats from the world, as does one of his other children, the victim's older sister, who also retreats and blames herself for what happened. then mac is summoned by God, with a note in his mailbox on a very snowy day, to an old shack in the woods. mac goes and finds not only evidence of his daughter's murder but also a very spiritual experience with the holy trinity.
*******spoiler alert now************
there are three things that bothered me about the book. first, i didn't get the religious "vibe" when i browsed the cover, and i would not have read it if i had because i thought the story was a little too preachy. second, i'm sure anyone who has ever lost someone, especially a child, would have two very painful questions to ask god: why? why did you allow this to happen to my child? and, could you have stopped it? mac asks exactly that to God, and the answer was just plain wrong. after everything that mac deals with in his healing process, he gets the chance to ask god both of those questions. when he asks God, why didn't you stop it? why did you let it happen when you could have stopped it if you wanted to? God's answer is basically, "you wouldn't understand." hey, God, guess what? try me. humor me. tell me, and let ME decide if i understand. help me out a little, and at least let me know that my child's death at least contributed to something good.
i also don't like books that present a fantastic situation, and then it's all taken away. after mac spends a weekend talking to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, he wakes up in a hospital bed where facts show that the entire experience was only a hallucination. that's also wrong. if you're going to write a book that suggests a conversation with God is possible, then don't take it back. don't pull a "Dallas" ending where it was all a dream. stand up for what you started and let it stand on it's own merit. don't give me "it's all a dream."
another thing i didn't like was one particular part which, i think, was unintentionally hilarious, but the book is far from a comedy. mac is talking to Jesus and tells him that he expected Jesus to be more handsome and attractive. Jesus says, "it's my nose, isn't it." and then adds, "well, i am Jewish, you know." that's a line i'll expect on Saturday Night Live, but not in a suspense story.
i bought the CD's, not the actual book. on the last CD there's an interview with the author in which he goes on and on and on about his personal religious journey and all his blah blah blah preachy messages. we got more than enough of the message from the book, so please save the sermon at the end.
The Shack by William P. Young November 22, 2008
Reading this book is akin to going on a pilgrimage, only with more drama packed in than the average pilgrim would experience! I emerge from "The Shack" with such a "wow" feeling, I know this has been life-changing. The story is gripping, and the characterisation totally original and off the wall. How can you see God as....well, I don't want to spoil the story. The writer certainly has courage, to tackle subjects which are almost taboo, and to carry it off without a hitch. I am left hungry for more. But that is now up to me, I guess.
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