The Shack

The first was The Shack by William P. Young. Young gives us the story of a man who has an incredible encounter. Mack, a man stricken with grief for several years, receives a note inviting him back to the scene of his deepest personal tragedy. He goes, and finds the note is from God him(her)self. The next few days are full of both personal and theological discovery for Mack.

I found The Shack to be a powerful and challenging read. I don’t think that Young presents a complete picture of God, but I don’t think he gives an incorrect picture either. This is, instead, a snapshot. The God character points out several times that Mack’s perspective needs to be corrected; that is the point of the weekend and the book. Just as no one can fully understand God, no book can capture him. I’m alright with that – anything that is understood loses some of its power (think of the shark in Jaws – much scarier before you see it). It helps to remember this while reading The Shack. Several times I found myself starting to disagree with Young, only to realize that my picture of God needed to be expanded as well.

Science Fiction

The second book I was recently recommended is Science Fiction, a 1973 anthology edited by Sylvia Z. Brodkin and Elizabeth J. Pearson. When my friend Jon handed it to me, he said, “I found this book at a library book sale when I was in middle school. It’s the book that made me realize how great science fiction could be.” He added, “This is basically my science fiction bible.”

Science Fiction contains short stories, poems, and a variety of artwork. I’m about three-quarters through the book, and so far it’s pretty amazing. Many of the stories fall into the classic sci-fi-tragedy category. That is to say, the message is “All these scientific accomplishments, at the cost of our humanity.”

Contributors to the anthology include Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke, among many others. If you can find it, I highly recommend checking this out.