The Shack is a novel by William P. Young, a former
office manager and hotel night clerk, published in 2007.The novel was self-published but became a
USA Today
bestseller, having sold 1 million copies as of June 8, 2008. It
has also maintained its status as #1 Paperback trade fiction
seller on the New York Times best sellers list since June 2008.
Young originally wrote The Shack as a Christmas gift for his
6 children with no intention of publishing it. After letting
several friends read the book he was urged to publish it for the
general public. Young and his two partners (former pastors from
Los Angeles) had no success with either religious or secular
publishers, so they formed Wind Blown Media for the sole
purpose of publishing this one book. The Shack has
achieved its #1 best selling success via word-of-mouth and with
the help of $300.00 web site; nothing else has been spent on
marketing.
The title of the book is a metaphor for “the house you build
out of your own pain”, as Young explained in a telephone
interview. He
also states to radio host talk show Drew Marshall that The Shack
"is a metaphor for the places you get stuck, you get hurt, you
get damaged...the thing where shame or hurt is centred."
Plot
The novel is set in the American Northwest. The main
character is Mackenzie Philips, a father of five, called "Mack"
by his family and friends.
Four years prior to the main events of the story, Mack takes
his three children on a camping trip to Multnomah Falls and
Wallowa Lake near Joseph, Oregon. Two of his children are
playing in a canoe when it flips and almost drowns Mack's son.
Mack is able to save his son by leaving his youngest daughter
Missy alone at their campsite. After Mack returns, he sees that
Missy is missing. The police are called, and the family
discovers that Missy has been abducted and murdered by a serial
killer known as the "Little Ladykiller". The police find an
abandoned shack in the woods where Missy was taken, but her body
is never found. Mack's life sinks into what he calls The
Great Sadness.
At the beginning of the book, Mack receives a note in his
mailbox from "Papa", saying that he would like to meet with Mack
on that coming weekend at the shack. Mack is puzzled by the note
- he has no relationship with his abusive father, who left when
Mack was young. He suspects that the note may be from God, who
his wife Nan refers to as "Papa".
Mack leaves his family and goes alone to the shack, unsure of
what he will see there. He arrives and finds nothing, but as he
is leaving the shack and its surroundings are supernaturally
transformed into a lush and inviting scene. He enters the shack
and encounters manifestations of the three persons of the
Trinity. God the Father takes the form of an African American
woman who calls herself Papa, Jesus Christ is a Mideastern
carpenter, and the Holy Spirit physically manifests himself as
an Asian woman named Sarayu.
The bulk of the book narrates Mack's conversations with Papa,
Jesus, and Sarayu as he comes to terms with Missy's death and
his relationships with the three of them. Mack also has various
experiences with each of them. Mack walks across a lake with
Jesus, sees an image of his father in heaven with Sarayu, and
has a conversation with Sophia, the personification of wisdom.
At the end of his visit, Mack goes on a hike with Papa, who
shows him where Missy's body was left in a cave.
After spending the weekend at the shack, Mack leaves and
immediately is nearly killed in an automobile accident. After
his recovery, he realizes that he did not in fact spend the
weekend at the shack, but that his accident occurred on the same
day that he arrived at the shack. He also leads the police to
the cave which Papa revealed, and they find Missy's body still
lying there. With the help of forensic evidence discovered at
the scene, the Little Ladykiller is arrested and put on trial.
Reception
The Shack went largely unnoticed for over a year after
its initial publication, but suddenly became a very popular
seller in the summer of 2008, when it debuted at number 1 on the
New York Times paperback fiction best sellers list on June 8.
Its success was the result of word of mouth promotion in
churches and Christian-themed radio, websites, and blogs.
The publishers, Windblown Media, initially spent only about $300
on marketing for the book.
As of January 2009, The Shack had over 5 million copies
in print, and had been at number 1 on the New York Times best
seller list for 35 weeks.
The Shack was also released in hardcover, and translated
into Spanish as La Cabaña.
The book was endorsed by several high-profile American
Christians. Biblical scholar Eugene Peterson (author of The
Message) said that the book would be as influential as The Pilgrim's Progress.
Christian recording artist Michael W. Smith called it "the most
absorbing work of fiction I've read in many years".
Singer Wynona Judd said "this story has blown the door wide open
to my soul".
Criticism
The book is also the object of ongoing—and sometimes
high-profile—criticism, typically from theologically
conservative evangelicals. For example, evangelical author Chuck
Colson wrote an influential review called "Stay Out of The
Shack," in which he criticized "the author's low view of
Scripture" and certain "silly lines" spoken by the book's God
characters.
Evangelical leader R. Albert Mohler, Jr. called The Shack
"deeply troubling" on his radio show, saying that it "includes
undiluted heresy".
Leading apologist Norman Geisler has also weighed in with a
stern critique outlining 14 theological "problems" with the
book. A
negative review by evangelical blogger Tim Challies was read by
tens of thousands of people.
In his 'Doctrine' series, Mars Hill Church pastor Mark Driscoll
repudiated The Shack's use of "graven imagery" and
Sabellianism in regards to God's image.
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Comments |
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William P. Young book is superb. I couldn't put the book down and read it in 3 days. It talks about the great issues of life in a thoughtful and enjoyable way |
