The Shack | Paperback

I was recommended this book and began reading with little idea of the plot.

The Shack is a book of fiction, but it can be misconceived that it is based on real people.

The book is about Mack, a middle aged man struggling to come to terms with the abduction and suspected murder of his 6 year old daughter. Following this Mack experiences 'The Great Sadness' and his anger and hurt devour him. Whilst his daughters body is not found, her last known location is a 'Shack' deep in the forests of Oregon. Some years later Mack recieves a note in the post which invites him back to the Shack. Not knowing whether it is from God or some sick joke Mack sets off to the Shack.

This book is an easy read but is very American in language which I found a bit frustrating at times. However the core content is uplifting and challenging. It breaks preconceptions about our image of God and the relationship we have with him.

An imaginative and rewarding read.

I have seen and heard critiques of 'The Shack' on YouTube which have shocked me. They seem to be from folk who have either pre-judged the book, misunderstood it, or failed to recognize it as allegorical fiction.
I warmed to the booked quickly as it is well-written, but occasionally found its natural Americanisms in sentence structure disconcerting.
Accepting its theological limitations - it IS an allegory, a parable and not a theological treatise - I found the answers to Mack's questions and fears and confusions heartwarming and encouraging.
Whether one begins the book believing in God or not I believe it offers some intriguing and challenging food for thought.
I shall be commending the book widely. It's a terrific read.

I bought this book in the airport quickly before boarding my flight. I was in a hurray and had already picked up another crime novel and skim read the back of the blurb of The Shack. It sounded promising enough. And even if it was rubbish I still had another book.
The holiday went by and I barely bothered to dip into it. It was on the flight back with nothing else happening I decided to give it a try. When I started I was sorry that I had not started reading sooner! The Shack is a methaphor for people's innermost sadness in a world that devaules, mocks and disregards religion. What the book is not is a piece of propoganda, although some will choose to interpret it in this way. What it offers are theological and alternative argumets from that of infinite knowledge of secularists in a world filled with uncertainty.
Mack;s youngest daughter Missy was believed to be abducted and brutally murdered by a serial killer. A few years later and still subdued with his distress, he receives a note, allegedly from God asking to meet at the very shack thought to be the crime scene.
As a weakness-the book is not perfect-it is very American and to some this may prove irksome. But put aside that-some may even be charmed by it-on the surface what looks like a lightweight read by the end is a compelling and very deep novel.
Whether it will change your outlook on religion in general, it is hard to say. If you do not have an enquring mind and have solidly formed your opinions that God does not exist, I doubt this book will do much for you. If you are interested in God, separated from popular conceptions and secular media, this does offer an intriguing story.
Well written, thought provoking discussions to be had with every chapter and sentimental, The Shack, to me, is a work of brilliance.