Partis,+Camille

=The Shack= By: William Paul Young

= =

William Paul Young
Young was born and raised in Alberta, Canada. His parents were missionaries of the church, and because of this he spent his childhood with them in the highlands of Netherlands New Guinea. At age six, he was sent to boarding school. //The Shack// is his first book. He now lives with his wife and four children.

= About the Book = The book opens with a forward, basically explaining that the story line is the author’s friend’s memory. It introduces the situation, and explains that the book is written in third person, although it is through memory. //The Shack// is about a father, whose daughter was brutally kidnapped and murdered. It starts off telling the background of what Young calls “The Great Sadness”. This is the period after Missy, the daughter who was just 5, was killed. The main character, Mack, receives a note in the mail. It has no envelope and simply states his name on the front. When opened, it says, “It’s been awhile. I’ve missed you. I’ll be at the shack next weekend if you want to get together.” It is signed Papa. The shack, we learn, is the place where the police found the little girls dress and bloodstains. Papa is what Mack’s wife calls God. The rest of the book is spent telling what happens when Mack returns to the shack. It travels down a path of great spirituality.

= Style = Young’s writing is not very advanced in this book. He used entirely too much dialogue, and not enough description. The characters are barely developed, and just pick up where the story does. Parts of //The Shack// seem forced. The novel starts off slow, and is not an easy read. The beginning is awkward and does not flow. There are parts throughout the book that should have just been left out. There is too much dialogue, and it becomes confusing after awhile. Parts of the dialogue was not necessary. Overall, Young is not a mature writer. He has the potential to become great, and with a little work I'm sure he could.

= My Review = In my opinion, //The Shack// has an interesting subject but is not written well. Young is a competent writer, but at points the book is just bad. The story captured me, but it was hard to hold my attention. The characters are not developed, and you get no history of the ones you follow. It is a Christian answer to a popular question and it gets you to think, but by using so much dialogue it does not have the power it is capable of. I think that if you are interested in Christian views, and an answer to the popular question, “Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?” this book is worth reading, although you should not expect too much from it.

= Reviews = []

-“//The Shack// does not have amazing character depth, and the dialogue sometimes seems forced; however, it is a thought-provoking book that is a worth reading as an entry into thinking about suffering and God's role in the world.”

-“This is a decidedly Christian answer in a somewhat shallow story with forced dialogue. It's not the best writing in the world, but I can easily see how if you read //The Shack// at the right moment, it has the power to change your life.”

[]

-“William Young shows himself to be a capable writer, though I would not have believed it through the first couple of chapters. The book began with far too many awkward sentences and awkward sentence constructs.”

-“The story itself is interesting enough, though certainly it lacks originality. The last chapter should have been left on the editing room floor and the final paragraph (before the “After Words”) was a ridiculously terse attempt to provide closure to remaining plot lines. But on the whole the book is readable and enjoyable.”

[]

-//"The Shack// has been received among Christians with decidedly mixed reviews. While many have acclaimed it as a groundbreaking story that brings to life heart-stirring theology, others insist that some of what it teaches is patently unbiblical."