Mary, I have never heard of it. Who is the author please?

Author is William P. Young and the book is one of the top best selling novels now in the USA. If you google it, there is a web site and lots of opinion on it.

This title seems to have burst out of nowhere and all of a sudden everyone I know is talking about it. My sister, who never does this, called me to tell me to read it, she was so taken with it. After checking it out on Amazon, I don't think it's really my kind of book, but I am curious about it.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Shack

I haven't read it yet, but my hairdresser was so enthusiastic about it that he has ordered three more copies to put in the shop for people to borrow.

I put my name on the library waiting list, and I'm something like No. 250.

All my friends have been excitably talking about it and eventually I'll read someone's copy when it gets to me.
I'm looking forward to it, anyway.
It's definitely being passed around.

Well, I read the blurb and a few reviews on Amazon. I also noted the books that it seems to be associated with.

I don't think I'll be reading it; I really don't need another book to tell me how I should feel about God. I have better things to do with my time.

I've checked out a few English comments on this book, and as Martin says I don't think it would be my 'cup-of-tea'.

Well, the book was written for the Christian market and those who read that sort of thing. No need to be snide about it.

I'm sorry bumblebeez that you found my comment snide. I just meant that the type of book wasn't my preferred choice of subject matter.

bumblebeez - I perhaps could have come over as a bit snide, however....apologies.

It'll be interesting to see how well the book does over here in the UK - I think that the Christian market (as you describe it) is not really so strong over here.

No problemo. I don't know if the Christian fiction market here is big or not...but our libraries have a section dedicated to it, which may only be indicative of my part of the country.

I finally finished it last night. I don't like labels, such as the "Christian market". The book is very thought-provoking in the universal issues it raises. Although I found it difficult to read, it certainly presented a fresh and original point of view for the reasons behind needless human suffering. Don't read it to get the so-called "Gospel Truth", but to expand your mind. I think even an agnostic could get something from it....

I'm supposed to read this for my book group, but I'm finding myself very reluctant to read it due to the subject matter of the little girl. I'm trying to skim over that part as best I can, but I'm not sure I'll be able to finish the book. If I hadn't already missed several meetings because of my schedule, I would probably just skip this meeting.

From what I have read so far, I'm not real impressed with the writing. It seems to be somewhat forced. I guess by that I mean that the writer makes me aware of the writing. A really good writer draws me in and I forget to pay attention to the writing. Does that make sense?

I wasn't at the meeting when they chose to read this book; I would have voted against it, just because I don't like to read books about bad things like this happening to children. That's just my particular bias. You may recall that I was not a fan of "The Kite Runner" for that reason.

My book group is a pretty homogenous group ethnically and economically speaking, but we have differing views on politics and religion. Because of this, at least one person is upset that this book was chosen. She feels that it assumes too much about religious agreement on everyone's part. It should be an interesting discussion.

sarahcanary, I understand perfectly your feelings about the subject matter. Fortunately, that part is not very graphically described and you can skip over it quickly. I would really be interested in hearing how your discussion of this novel turns out with your religiously and politically diverse group. I tried to read it with an open mind.

woodnymph - I'll report back on our discussion. We meet next Wednesday night ... immediately following the last presidential debate. :)

Reporting back on our book discussion: The Christians in the group all really liked the book and got a lot out of it. The Deist in the group found the book interesting, but thought there were many stereotypes. The person who had relgion "pushed down her throat" when she was growing up, couldn't finish it. One woman, who had missed the last meeting, read the wrong book (Jane Eyre). And I never got past the murder scene, so I couldn't really contribute much.

Those that liked it felt the important take-away message was less about organized religion and more about relationship ... Mack's relationship with his family, with Papa and with Jesus. They tied that to their own lives and relationships. They also found the message of forgiveness to be very meaningful.

Overall it was a good discussion, maybe not as in-depth as some might have liked, but I think each member got to have her say.

sarahcanary, thanks for reporting back. I would probably tend to agree with the Deist in your group. But I also agree that it is not so much about Theology but about healing powers of forgiveness and universal human issues. I found it a very fresh approach to age-old problems.