William P. Young
The Shack (2008)
Author: William P. Young
Genre: Literary/Inspirational (Christian)
Plot Summary:
When Mack Phillips took his three children youngest children, Josh, Kate, and Missy on a camping trip in the Oregon wilderness, he expected to have a fun time. The trip is relatively uneventful until his two eldest chidren capsize in a canoe. In a rush to save them, Mack abandons his youngest daughter, Missy, on the bank and jumps in the water. When Mack returns for Missy with the rest of the family safely in tow, he finds that she is missing. After several days of searching, a clue is discovered in a old, decrepit shack in the woods that leaves little doubt that Missy has become the fifth victim of a notorious serial killer. As the years go by, Mack struggles with his faith, while his wife Nan, becomes even closer to God. She hopes that "Papa" (Nan's personal name for God) will bring healing to her family, most of all to her husband and her daughter, Kate, who has been especially suffering. One winter day, Mack receives a note in his mailbox, inviting him to spend a weekend at the notorious shack in the woods. The note is signed "Papa." Mack decides to visit the shack, although he is skeptical as to who will be waiting for him. When Mack arrives, he finds that it is no longer winter, and he is being invited into the shack by three people, Elouisa (who is the spirit of God), Jesus, and Sarayu (the Holy Spirit). The entire weekend, the Holy Trinity explains to Mack that he needs to return to the Christian faith, by answering his questions about life and death, and showing him that Missy is alive and well in Heaven. They ask Mack to forgive Missy's killer, so he can truly return to God. Mack does, and vows to go home and ask his family for forgiveness, as well as to console his daughter Kate, who has been harboring guilt over Missy's disappearance. As a final gift, Jesus takes Mack into the woods, where he shows him the secret spot that Missy's body has been hidden all these years. As Mack returns home to tell his family about his weekend, he is struck by a drunk driver and wakes up in the hospital. He finds his family very receptive and open to his story, and when they return to the woods to recover Missy's body, authorities discover clues that lead to the arrest of her killer and the recovery of his other victims.
Geographical Setting: Rural Oregon
Time Period: Contemporary (2008)
Appeal Characteristics:
Young's piece is a thought-provoking novel that will appeal to scholars of scripture and spirituality. Readers that like a well-defined plot with a lot of suspense, and fun characters will find that this is not the book for them. As The Shack is really an exploration of faith in the guise of a novel, most of the appeal elements are not important. The pace is somewhat slow; Young's writing tends to focus more on the spiritual journey that Mack takes, rather than coming up with any surprises or shocks. Even Missy's kidnapping and subsequent murder are told in a matter-of-fact paragraph; that entire portion of the story only takes up a few pages, and isn't very exciting in a stand alone way. The frame of the Oregon wilderness is not really described in much detail; it could just as easily be set in any other rural location. The writing style is also conversational and unhurried; the theological points are made through character's dialogue, which also contributes to the slow pace of the novel. The characters, including Mack, are mostly undeveloped; the people in the book are more vehicles for different questions of faith. The reader does not discover much about their personality, excepting their different struggles with God and how they deal with certain crises in life. This book will appeal to those who like a spiritual plot, and like to see how the novel handles the subject of faith.
Read-alikes: Readers who liked the Mack's honest struggle with God might try Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope, an autobiographical tale written by a nun as she tells of her life story in the church, featuring her disappointments in life, and how she overcame them. This book uses personal experiences, as well as examples from the Bible to illustrate issues of faith, and the slow, reflective pace is similar to that of The Shack. For another almost allegorical exploration of how people should deal with problems in their life, Fireproof may be a good choice. Although the frame is different (Atlanta instead of Oregon), and the plot deals with marriage rather than loss, the main character of a firefighter struggling with committment to his marriage, and his wife is similar Mack's daily struggle with Missy's loss. The pace is somewhat faster, but it doesn't lose the thoughtfulness. If the reader enjoyed the prospect of an ordinary man meeting God, they may be intrigued by a book with a similar premise entitled Dinner With a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory. In Gregory's book, an average man with wavering faith has dinner with Jesus at a restaurant. The plot is similar to that of The Shack, deals with many of the same problems that Christians face, and the main character, again, is one ordinary man who gets the chance of a lifetime. A book suggested by FantasticFiction.com as a good potential read-alike is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, a novel about a woman author searching for a topic for her next book. She finds it, by a happy accident of fate, by a man contacting her from the Island ofGuernsey. In letters back and forth, the man describes Guernsey to her, and how World War II affected life there, until the author visits, and her life is changed forever. Although the appeal characteristics are completely different than The Shack, the gentle nature of the story, as well as the leisurely, literary pace that the many letters included in the novel bring the same sense of discovery that William Young's writing has. Finally, for those who like a bit more of a plot, and were able to deal with heavy subject matter of Missy's disapearance, Richard Paul Evans book, Grace: A Novel, might prove to be a good choice. Grace is about a young boy who discovers his friend from school hiding from her abusive stepfather. Although he tries to shelter her, he doesn't realize the enormous amount of pressure that he will feel as the whole town looks for her, and eventually he fails to keep her secret. As he grows older, the guilt he feels over Grace haunts him, and the novel is Eric's (the main character) attempts to make up for what he sees as his failing. This book has a faster plot and a more literary/fiction style of writing, but it wrestles with the notions of what makes people "good" and how they can continue to be better.
Red Flags: One murder, although it occurs off-stage.
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