The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity
by William P. Young
Published by Windblown Media
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Reviewed by Julie Failla Earhart
The Shack by William P. Young has been one of the most touted books to be released this fall. It’s the story of Mackenzie (Mack) Phillips, his descent into the great sadness, and his ascent into a more powerful relationship with God.
The story opens with a note from Mack’s friend, Willie. Mack has asked him to write the story because he is a stronger writer than Mack. However, Willie’s narration leaves a lot to be desired. The sentence structure is awkward in the beginning. As a reader, I felt I was held at arm’s length from the action.
The action begins with the arrival of a mysterious note inviting Mack to spend the weekend in the shack where it is believed his youngest daughter, Missy, was murdered three years earlier. The note is signed ‘Papa,’ his wife Nan’s nickname for God. The note must be from God, as it arrives in the middle of an ice storm and no one can get in or out of the rural landscape where the Phillips family calls home.
Mack is determined to go meet whoever is playing this cruel, cruel joke. He wonders if the note writer might really be God and, in Mack’s opinion, He’s got a lot of explaining to do. There’s a flashback that explains what happened to Missy. Her disappearance and the subsequent frantic search were stiff and stilted. I couldn’t care about the characters no matter how hard I tried.
After Mack tricks his family into going away for the weekend and sets out to find what the note was all about. When Mack arrives at the shack, the heavy snow disappears and the dilapidated structure is replaced by a well-cared for home. Inside are three beings: A fat black woman who says her name is Papa, a carpenter named Jesus, and a wispy woman named Sarayu.
Once Mack’s arrives at The Shack, the dialogue between the foursome is simpy and repetitive. I could only take another fifty pages of that nonsense before I gave up on this disappointing novel.
Armchair Interviews says: Heed this reviewer’s comments.
Author’s Web site: http://www.TheShackBook.com