shacked up

I'm a literary snob. It can't be blamed entirely on my private school English Lit degree; even as a child I eschewed Nancy Drew for Agatha Christie (thus learning words like "eschew") and the passing years have only made me more selective. Life is too short to read bad books, so I usually avoid Christian fiction.

Thus I planned to skip The Shack, even when people I respect began endorsing it and my church in California invited the author to speak at weekend services. But when it escaped the Christian bubble and millions of secular readers launched its current climb up the best seller lists, it became more than a paperback--it became news, and a book I needed to read.

Unfortunately, it doesn't change my mind about Christian fiction. As I skimmed the book this week I found myself mentally editing unnecessary phrases and tightening sentences. I thought back to meditations on vision by Annie Dillard (a Pulitzer winner who also happens to be a believer) just before stumbling across a pointless description of eating too much fiber on page 129 of The Shack. No contest. 

But this isn't the first acclaimed book (Christian or non) with subpar writing, and like many others in that category it's the content, not the wordsmithing, connecting to readers. And I have to admit I liked much of the content: new slants on Jesus' ability to work miracles, the nature of his life in ours, burdensome responsibility vs. joyful response in relationship with God--there's some good food for thought here. And I love the author's take on male and female--the woman was "birthed" from man, creating a circle of relationship between men and women to echo relationship in the trinity, then all males birthed through women in an ongoing cycle.

Theological insight, not fiction, seems to be Young's talent, but if you're looking for some new ways to think about God and his interactions with us the book is worth a quick read. Although you can skip page 129.