The book really drew me in right from the start...but then, it got weird--really, really weird. Sorry, but my God is not a big black woman who loves to cook and laugh. I just couldn't force myself to get through this book fast enough. For some this book may border on blasphemy. I even skipped pages of dialogue. This book was definitely not for me!

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I hear this book in controversial. I don't know why. Unfortunately I have to say it fell into that smarmy Christian-lit category for me. At about the halfway mark my internal narrator switched to Sunday School voice and it never stopped. For a good read on all things theology spend your time with G.K. Chesterton (Orthodoxy) or C.S. Lewis (The Screwtape letters).

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I love that this book focused on the RELATIONSHIP we should have with God and not necessarily the RELIGION we may or may not have with God. I am a Christian and I was very moved by this book and it didn't sway me from my beliefs in any way, but it did reaffirm for me that God is in all things and that faith comes in many different forms.

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I loved this book! I coudn't put it down! Passed it on to Mom who went out and bought copies for all of her friends when finished! Very thought provoking, some details very hard to endure being a mother especially but keep reading! I could read this book again and again and I believe I would pull something more from it everytime. Loved the characters! I hear how some Christians have problems identifying with the characters and I have to say that I am a Christian and I loved the Characters! They were great! Wheather you are a Christian or not, have dealed with a loss or not, this is a GREAT book, don't pass it up!

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This fiction book was enjoyable, and at times brought tears to my eyes. I believe the purpose of the story is to help Christians have a closer relationship with Christ, or to bring people to a relationship with Christ. That being said, there was a part in the middle that got very bogged down with explanations and concept-explaining and I actually skipped a few parts because it was just to complicated. For this reason, I feel new Christians or those who are seeking, would probably put the book down feeling confused and never continue reading it. The basics of a relationship with the Trinity is simple and pure...and I feel this book complicated it way too much. It did give me pause about my relationship with Christ and the Trinity, and nudged me in ways that give me a desire to seek a closer bond. One author who reviewed it claims it to be the "Pilgrim's Progress" for this generation, but I don't see that...the way it is written is totally different. Bottom line is that it is a very good fiction book, with some effort at bringing people to Christ, but there are also some things in it that don't really adhere to what the Bible says, which also is a negative in my mind. I feel if you are going to attempt to draw people to the Trinity, then you should present Biblical truths in the proper way, but this book veers off course here and there regarding that.

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This book has forever changed my perception of God and the Trinity (for the better). Like many others, I found Chapter 4 too painful to read. However, skipping the chapter did not impair my understanding of the story line. The writing style is sophomoric, i.e. excessive adverbs, overuse of thesaurus. Yet I found numerous passages inspirational. That being said, I also felt like the author was on a soap box spouting his self-made theology.
I would recommend the book to a friend, with a reminder that the book is fiction.

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Great book. Really makes you stop and think.

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I found The Shack when I was at a very... hard part of my life. This book was a lifeline for me. My views changed, for the better in my opinion. Each turn in this book had me holding my breath. I would recommend The Shack to be read at least once in everyone's lifetime.

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This is a book that I would highly recommend as a "must read" for anyone who has any spiritual thoughts or believe in some higher level of spirit. Amazing.

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Mackenzie Allen Phillips had never considered himself a particularly religious man; he was always fairly content to leave the life of prayers and heavenly praise to his wife of almost thirty-five years - Nanette. Mackenzie - known as Allen to acquaintances, and Mack to family and close friends - had endured a difficult and painful childhood. Living with an abusive, alcoholic and tyrannical father had forced him to mature quickly, and he had become estranged from the rest of his family at age thirteen. Mack had reconciled with his family as an adult, but his relationships with his mother and sisters were never the same as before.

Mack and Nan themselves had lived a relatively trouble-free life together: Thirty-three mostly happy years of marriage, and five unusually beautiful, yet terrific children. Secretly, Mack had always considered that Nan had paid a high price for loving him; however, he cherished his wife and family immeasurably. Their love was what sustained him and gave him the greatest joy in his life.

Then, tragedy strikes. The Phillips' youngest daughter, Missy, is abducted during a family vacation to the Oregon wilderness. After a desperate and exhaustive search, evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in a ramshackled, abandoned shack. However, the child's body is never found. The entire family is sent into an unending maelstrom of grief and despair that threatens to overwhelm them completely.

Four years after Missy's disappearance, Mack is still trapped in the period of what he terms his 'Great Sadness'. He is utterly heartbroken and benumbed by the loss of his daughter, still unable to fully grasp the enormity of what has happened to himself and his entire family. This is when the most mysterious event occurs: Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that infamous shack to spend the weekend. Mack is alternately stunned and enraged by what he clearly reads as irrefutable evidence of someone's demented sense of humor.

However, on a bitterly cold wintry afternoon Mack decides to return to the place where his family was so irrevocably changed. Against his better judgement, he will come back to the same shack that holds such tragic memories for him; deliberately stepping back into his worst nightmare. What he finds there - in the place of his darkest torment - will ultimately change Mack's world forever.

In my opinion, this was a remarkable book to read. It was very well-written and thought-provoking; and I avidly wanted to find out what would happen to Mack and his family. I can certainly understand why this book became so popular with so many readers. However, while I did enjoy reading this book very much, I'm not exactly sure if it was my cup of tea. I would still give this book a definite A!

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one of the BEST books ever

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A beautiful read.

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Great Read

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This has got to be the best spiritual book I've ever read! It describes God in the way I've always known Him to be! A MUST READ for ALL, christians and non-christians alike! Not to mention that the story itself is intensely entertaining! A gripping story of suspense with a twist at the end to really make you think!
I will read it over and over!

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I definitely enjoyed The Shack. It was surprising and exciting God, Jesus & Holy Spirit took the forms of ordinary people. I was very surprised with the ending.

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