Footprints in the sand... (The Shack - William P. Young)

Member Name: burtybookworm

Product:	The Shack - William P. Young
Date:	26/03/09 (201 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some comforting thoughts, a nice idea

Disadvantages: Felt a bit too much like being told a religious story in church - not my idea of enjoyable reading

Mackenzie Phillips and his family are struggling to come to terms with the disappearance of their young daughter Missy. Years later, and presumed dead, Mack is still haunted by her disappearance and a lot of his blame lands at the door of himself and God for letting it happen.

A strange note appears in his letterbox one day which asks him to return to the shack in which Missy's blood soaked dress is found and it is signed by the affectionate name his wife has for God - Papa.

Is someone playing a nasty trick on Mack? Is the note really from God? This is the story of what happens when Mack arrives at the shack - who is there to greet him and what he learns about himself and what has happened to his daughter.

My Thoughts
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An intriguing summary huh? This is what my dad thought when he bought this book. He bought a couple of books, so I picked this up whilst he started another. As usual, there are several quotes on the cover of the book stating how wonderful it is and that is always enough to persuade me. I didn't know anything about the author, about the story and I hadn't read any reviews so I went into this story with a completely open mind - and open heart. I was drawn to read it due to my own circumstances with losing my Nan - religion, death and heaven have been at the forefront of my mind so this seemed like a book worth reading.

The story of Mack's circumstances is told by his friend Willie, who mentions at the beginning that this is a story he doesn't know if he believes himself. Mack loses his daughter, and as a result, becomes a sad man lost in his own grief and guilt. When he returns from his weekend at the shack, he is a changed man so Willie finds it hard to conclude that this episode in his friends life is anything awful.

Mack's family tragedy and the note is an intriguing one, and for the first few chapters which lead up to the disappearance of Missy, the arrival of the note and the arrival at the shack were gripping and I was fully absorbed in Mack's story.

I won't reveal what happened when Mack arrived at the shack but some might know by now that this book has some serious religious overtones (a bit of an understatement!) so it might be obvious who is there to greet him. At first this story was just as interesting; it brought up some interesting theories about religions, which I found myself open to and the characters were easy to warm to. Added to this, the book is easy to read - at least at the beginning - and the story flows quickly.

However, this soon changed in my opinion. The religious aspect of this book became too much even for me. As I mentioned, many of the ideas that are talked about in Mackenzie's story were a kind of comfort to me, but I am aware that it is my present state of mind that made me even open to these suggestions. As the book wears on, I felt the author took on an almost preaching tone. The story was sometimes lost and it was more like the author was telling you what to feel about religion and God. I realise that the book was trying to explain how God and faith is needed in this life but I felt it was just a bit like I was in Church listening to a sermon. As well as this, sometimes I became lost in some of the religious jargon and ideals that certain characters used to illustrate their points. Often, Mackenzie is clueless too, but I still felt a little lost even after it was explained in more layman terms for his benefit!

I became more and more disillusioned by the end of the book, and felt that the author had forced his point across too much. It didn't feel like a gentle broach on the subject of religion at all, and some of the chapters on forgiveness were hard to swallow given Mackenzie's situation.

Overall, I'm not sure I would recommend this to friends - I already told my dad not to bother reading it because I know he would hate the massive religious overtones that this book has! I would perhaps recommend it to my Christian ex housemate but even she might think it was a bit much. This book has a nice sentiment, and I have to admit that it did give me some comfort in places. I also have to point out that although some of the beliefs expressed in this book are quite intense, the author does make some valid points that I wouldn't expect a person of one certain religion to make; that God doesn't approve of religious "institutions" as they cause arguments and sometimes war, and that God doesn't believe that one religion is better than another religion. I might have that wrong - I'm not overly religious but that was my gut feeling that the author did try and get something right and fair. Its an interesting book and although the original subject matter of a child abduction is tough, it has a nice message that will appeal to some people - just not really to me! (Dry eyed at the end I'm afraid!)

Summary: Interested in different religious opinions? This is the book for you.