by GeniustoBurn

Created on: November 16, 2009   Last Updated: November 17, 2009

This book was recommended to me by a friend, who said it was "harrowing, but worth it." Given the subject matter - a man whose young daughter had been brutally abducted and murdered - I was prepared for the worst.

The story begins with a little background - Mack is a father of five children, and after taking his eyes off his little girl for a few moments on a camping trip, she is lost to him forever. The resulting grief and guilt creates "the great sadness" from which he believes he can never escape. Reading this book raises unanswerable questions - how do parents cope in these situations? The pain they must endure is unimaginable.

The crux of the story is that Mack receives a mysterious note inviting him to "The Shack" for the weekend - the very same place where his daughter's bloodstained clothing was found - his last contact with her. It could be a sick prank of course, or even a note from the killer himself. But it is signed Papa - the name that Mack's more devotional wife Nan uses for God. How could anyone else know that? Mack decided to take the risk, and secretly heads to the weekend home.

And here's where it gets crazy. I don't think it will be a spoiler to say that he meets God - the trinity - in human (sort of) form. I have to admit, the way the three characters were portrayed grated on my nerves ever so slightly. It's basically what the BBC would have come up with in one of their "diversity" kicks. I didn't find the ideas themselves offensive, just slightly patronising. The idea that "God isn't an old man with a white beard, you know," is not all that original, or even new.

If I were being really critical, I would add that I found the laughing, joking, exuberant God slightly... facetious? It's not that I think God wouldn't be like this; it's just that when the heart of the book is a grieving father, it seems a little insensitive to just bypass his pain and go straight for the "But God is wonderful!" line. Ok, so Mack is angry, and as the book goes on, some of his questions are answered, or at least appeased. But I couldn't help imagining that some parents who have lost children might turn to this book for some comfort or illumination and find themselves having to wade through prose about Jesus being a really funny guy. It didn't feel appropriate to me.

The theology veers towards new age beliefs: "Those who love me have come from every system that exists. I have no desire to make them Christian." But it always neatly side steps this before it goes

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