Book Review for "The Shack"

"The Shack" was a book that I was very excited to start reading. Now that I have finished it, I must say that I am disappointed. I went into the book expecting a nice mystery novel, with a lot of suspense and a lot of adventure. William Paul Young did not, at least to me, deliver in this book.

One of the things that irked me was that religion was the biggest topic of the book. I don't know why an author, or why a publishing company would advertise the book so as to make it seem like a mystery novel. Nowhere on the cover of the book, or in the description of the book, is it explained that the majority of the book discusses God and religious beliefs and whatnot. When you get to the point in the novel where God, Jesus, and Sarayu are introduced, you can't help but feel your heart sink like the Titanic. How could a book that had such a good beginning (good start of a mystery) turn out to be nothing but religious talk for the next 200 pages?

Granted, the book would be enjoyable if you are incredibly religious. It touches on some of the fundamental laws of Christianity, and really would make you more of a believer than you already are. It would definitely hit home if that's what your life is devoted to... If not, put down the book and choose something else.

Yes, the book is fictional. But the way the author writes it makes it seem as this man is really experiencing something that he's obviously not. If the book was about a topic that isn't so widespread, and is a completely original topic, I would be okay with the fact that everything is completely unrealistic. This, however, is a little overboard with everything.

*SPOILER ALERT*
C'mon now. You're going to put the protagonist in a position where he has no choice but to have a reconciliation with his dad? You're going to have God, for God's sake, looking over him while he looks into his father's eyes and apologizes? This particular event really annoyed me, and as emotional as it is, it is not something that I personally enjoyed reading.

This book is intended for Christians. If you are not Christian, but you want a spiritual story, then this book is for you, too. I'd give this book a 4/10 because it was written about something I am not passionate about.