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The Shack (Young novel)

November 10, 2023

This article is about the 2007 novel. For the film that is based on the book, see The Shack (2017 film).

The Shack is a novel by Canadian author William P. Young that was published in 2007.[1]

The Shack
AuthorWilliam P Young
Cover artistDave Aldrich
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction
PublisherWindblown Media, FaithWords, Hodder & Stoughton
Publication date
May 2007
Media typePrint, e-book, audiobook
Pages256 pp
ISBN0-9647292-3-7
OCLC166263178
Websitehttp://theshackbook.com/

The novel was self-published but became a USA Today bestseller, having sold 1 million copies as of June 8, 2008.[2] It was the No. 1 paperback trade fiction seller on The New York Times Best Seller list from June 2008 to early 2010,[3] in a publishing partnership with Hachette Book Group USA's FaithWords imprint (Hodder & Stoughton in the UK). In 2009 it was awarded the "Diamond Award" for sales of over 10 million copies by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.[4]

The title of the book is a metaphor for "the house you build out of your own pain", as Young explained in a telephone interview.[5] He also told radio host talk show Drew Marshall that The Shack "is a metaphor for the places you get stuck, you get hurt, you get damaged ... where shame or hurt is centered."[6]

Plot edit

The novel is set in the American Northwest. The main character is Mackenzie Allen Phillips, a father of five called "Mack" by his family and friends. Four years prior to the main events of the story, Mack takes three of his children on a camping trip to Wallowa Lake near Joseph, Oregon, stopping at Multnomah Falls on the way. Two of his children are playing in a canoe when it flips and almost drowns Mack's son. Mack is able to save his son by rushing into the water and freeing him from the canoe's webbing but unintentionally leaves his youngest daughter Missy alone at their campsite. After Mack returns, he sees that Missy is missing. The police are called, and the family discovers that Missy has been abducted and murdered by a serial killer known as the "Little Ladykiller". The police find an abandoned shack in the woods where Missy was taken: Her bloodied clothing is found, but her body is not located. Mack's life sinks into what he calls, "The Great Sadness".

As the novel begins, Mack receives a note in his mailbox from "Papa", saying that he would like to meet with Mack that coming weekend at the shack. Mack is puzzled by the note—he has had no relationship with his abusive father since he left home at age 13. He suspects that the note may be from God, whom his wife Nan lovingly refers to as "Papa".

Mack's family leaves to visit relatives and he goes alone to the shack, unsure of what he will see there. He arrives and initially finds nothing, but as he is leaving, the shack and its surroundings are supernaturally transformed into a lush and inviting scene. He enters the shack and encounters manifestations of the three persons of the Trinity: God the Father takes the form of an African American woman who calls herself Elousia and Papa; God the Son, Jesus, is a Middle Eastern carpenter; and the Holy Spirit physically manifests as an Asian woman named Sarayu.

The bulk of the book narrates Mack's conversations with Papa, Jesus, and Sarayu as he comes to terms with Missy's death and his relationship with the three of them. Mack also has various experiences with each of them. Mack walks across a lake with Jesus, sees an image of his (earthly) father in Heaven with Sarayu, and has a conversation with Sophia, the personification of God's wisdom. At the end of his visit, Mack goes on a hike with Papa, now appearing as an older Native American male, who shows him where Missy's body was left in a cave.

After spending the weekend at the shack, Mack leaves and is so preoccupied with his joyous thoughts that he is nearly killed in an automobile accident. During recovery he realizes that he did not in fact spend the weekend at the shack, but that his accident occurred on the same day that he arrived at the shack. He also leads the police to the cave that Papa revealed, and they find Missy's body still lying there. With the help of forensic evidence discovered at the scene, the Little Ladykiller is arrested and put on trial.

Publication edit

Young originally wrote The Shack as a Christmas gift for his six children with no apparent intention of publishing it. After letting several friends read the book he was urged to publish it for the general public. In 2006, Young worked with Wayne Jacobsen, Brad Cummings (both former pastors from Los Angeles) and Bobby Downes (filmmaker) to bring the book to publication after a period of sixteen months and four rewrites.[7] They had no success with either religious or secular publishers, so they formed Windblown Media for the purpose of publishing the book. The Shack achieved its No. 1 best selling success via word-of-mouth and with the help of a USD$300.00 website; it is often reported that nothing else had been spent on marketing up to September 2007.[8] Additional startup funds were supplied by Brad Cummings, president of Windblown Media, who spent the maximum credit limit on 12 personal credit cards in order to publish the book.[9][10]

Reception edit

The Shack went largely unnoticed for over a year after its initial publication, but suddenly became a very popular seller in mid-2008, when it debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times paperback fiction best seller list on June 8.[3] Its success was the result of a "word-of-mouth, church-to-church, blog-to-blog campaign" by Young, Jacobsen and Cummings in churches and Christian-themed radio, websites, and blogs.[2]

As of May 2010, The Shack had over 10 million copies in print, and had been at No. 1 on The New York Times best seller list for 70 weeks.[11] The Shack was also released in hardcover, and translated into Spanish as La Cabaña.[11] In June 2009 a German translation with the title Die Hütte – ein Wochenende mit Gott (The Hut – a Weekend with God) was released.[12] It was also translated into Croatian as Koliba and became very popular in Croatia and also in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[citation needed] The book was also translated into Polish as Chata and published in 2009. There were re-editions in 2011 and 2017 due to its popularity.

However, former Mars Hill Church pastor Mark Driscoll criticized The Shack, saying that "it misrepresents God"[13] and called William P. Young "a heretic".[14] Evangelical author Chuck Colson wrote a review, called "Stay Out of The Shack", in which he criticizes the attribution of "silly lines" to characters representing the three Persons of the Trinity, and the author's "low view of scripture".[15] R. Albert Mohler Jr. called The Shack "deeply troubling" on his radio show, saying that it "includes undiluted heresy".[16] Apologists author Norman Geisler and William C. Roach published a critique in 2012 detailing their 14 points of theological disagreement with the book (including "unorthodox", "false", "classic heresy", "non-rational", "psychologically helpful ... doctrinally harmful", and "very dangerous").[17]

Pastor Sean Cole of the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Sterling, Colorado, offered yet another critique appearing in Pulpit and Pen. He provides six major arguments against the content of the book and Young's portrayal of the Trinity, and offers them as major problems.[18]

Theologian Randal Rauser has written a generally sympathetic guide to The Shack in his companion volume Finding God in the Shack (Paternoster, 2009). In the book Rauser responds to many of the objections raised by critics such as Colson and Mohler. Brad Robison, a psychiatrist and family therapist who used The Shack in his practice, wrote The Shack Study Guide (Windblown Media, 2016) to assist his patients on their healing journey. It is co-authored by William P. Young. Wayne Jacobsen, one of Young's early collaborators, wrote a detailed response to several common points of criticism. His column "Is The Shack Heresy?" was published online by Windblown Media.[19]

Legal dispute edit

In July 2010, the Los Angeles Times reported that The Shack had "spawned a tangle of lawsuits over royalties and even the book's authorship".[20] Young said that he was owed $8 million in royalties, Jacobsen and Cummings filed a suit against Young,[21] Young asked the court to dismiss or stay the claims,[22] and Jacobsen and Cummings responded.[23] Hachette, the commercial publisher involved, asked the court to determine to whom it should pay royalties from the book.[24] On January 10, 2011, the court declared that it had been advised that the case between Young et al. and Jacobsen et al. "has been settled or is in the process of being settled" and the case was dismissed.[25][26]

Film adaptation edit

Main article: The Shack (2017 film)

A film adaptation of The Shack, directed by Stuart Hazeldine and starring Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, and Tim McGraw, was released on March 3, 2017, to negative critical reviews. Audience response was more positive.[27]

References in other works edit

The Shack was referred to by Stephen King in his 2010 title Full Dark, No Stars, which is a compilation of four novellas. In the final novella, A Good Marriage, the protagonist recalls that her husband recommended she read The Shack and he said the novel was "a life-changer".[citation needed]

It is also cited in the introduction to Richard Rohr and Mike Morrell's The Divine Dance for encouraging people thinking about the Trinity again.[citation needed]

References edit

  1. ^ Rich, Motoko (2008-06-24). "Christian Novel Is Surprise Best Seller". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  2. ^ a b Aim at 'spiritually interested' sparks 'The Shack' sales USA Today, 2008-04-30
  3. ^ a b Schuessler, Jennifer. "Books – Best-Seller Lists – New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  4. ^ Gold / Platinum / Diamond Book Awards Winners, Christian Book Expo, Retrieved 2012-02-12
  5. ^ "The DREW MARSHALL Show – Listen Now to Previous Shows – 2008". Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  6. ^ Relevant Magazine
  7. ^ Rich, Motoko (24 June 2008). "The New York Times- Christian Novel Is Surprise Best Seller". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  8. ^ "The Drew Marshall Show – Listen Now to Previous Shows – 2007". Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  9. ^ Streib, Lauren (2009-06-22). "Paul Young's Publishing Miracle". Forbes.
  10. ^ Advancing the Cause
  11. ^ a b Windblown Media Official Website
  12. ^ Die Hütte on the German Wikipedia
  13. ^ Grossman, Cathy Lynn (May 28, 2008). "Shack opens doors, but critics call book 'scripturally incorrect'". USA Today.
  14. ^ Mahoney, Tyler (September 9, 2010). "Paul Young, Bestselling Author of The Shack, Challenges Seattle Pastor Mark Driscoll to "Man Up"". HuffPost.
  15. ^ Colson, Chuck (8 May 2008). "Stay Out of The Shack". Religion Today. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
  16. ^ The Albert Mohler Radio Program, "A Look at The Shack", April 11, 2008
  17. ^ "The Shack: Helpful or Heretical?". Defending Inerrancy. 28 December 2016.
  18. ^ "The Shack: A Pastoral Review of the Popular Novel". Pulpit and Pen. February 23, 2017.
  19. ^ Wayne, Jacobsen. "Is The Shack Heresy?". Windblown Media. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
  20. ^ Weinman, Sarah (13 July 2010). "The flak over 'The Shack'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  21. ^ "Case no. CV 10-3246 JFW (JCx) First amended complaint ..." US District Court, Central District of California, Western Division. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  22. ^ "Case no. CV 10-3246 JFW (JCx) Memorandum of points and authorities in support of defendant Young's motion..." US District Court, Central District of California, Western Division. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  23. ^ "Case no. CV 10-3246 JFW (JCx) Plaintiffs' opposition to defendant William Paul Young's motion to dismiss the first amended complaint". US District Court, Central District of California, Western Division. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  24. ^ "Case no. CV 10-03534 JFW (JCx): First amended complaint-in-interpleader". US District Court, Central District of California, Western Division. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  25. ^ "The Shack Gets Sued". The Steve Laube Agency. 15 July 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  26. ^ "Case No. CV 10-3246-JFW (JCx) Order dismissing civil action" (PDF). US District Court, Central District of California. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  27. ^ "The Shack (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 1, 2019.

External links edit

  • Official website  
  • Interview with William P. Young by broadcaster Sheridan Voysey

November 10, 2023
shack, young, novel, this, article, about, 2007, novel, film, that, based, book, shack, 2017, film, shack, novel, canadian, author, william, young, that, published, 2007, shackauthorwilliam, youngcover, artistdave, aldrichcountryunited, stateslanguageenglishge. This article is about the 2007 novel For the film that is based on the book see The Shack 2017 film The Shack is a novel by Canadian author William P Young that was published in 2007 1 The ShackAuthorWilliam P YoungCover artistDave AldrichCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenreFictionPublisherWindblown Media FaithWords Hodder amp StoughtonPublication dateMay 2007Media typePrint e book audiobookPages256 ppISBN0 9647292 3 7OCLC166263178Websitehttp theshackbook com The novel was self published but became a USA Today bestseller having sold 1 million copies as of June 8 2008 2 It was the No 1 paperback trade fiction seller on The New York Times Best Seller list from June 2008 to early 2010 3 in a publishing partnership with Hachette Book Group USA s FaithWords imprint Hodder amp Stoughton in the UK In 2009 it was awarded the Diamond Award for sales of over 10 million copies by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association 4 The title of the book is a metaphor for the house you build out of your own pain as Young explained in a telephone interview 5 He also told radio host talk show Drew Marshall that The Shack is a metaphor for the places you get stuck you get hurt you get damaged where shame or hurt is centered 6 Contents 1 Plot 2 Publication 3 Reception 4 Legal dispute 5 Film adaptation 6 References in other works 7 References 8 External linksPlot editThe novel is set in the American Northwest The main character is Mackenzie Allen Phillips a father of five called Mack by his family and friends Four years prior to the main events of the story Mack takes three of his children on a camping trip to Wallowa Lake near Joseph Oregon stopping at Multnomah Falls on the way Two of his children are playing in a canoe when it flips and almost drowns Mack s son Mack is able to save his son by rushing into the water and freeing him from the canoe s webbing but unintentionally leaves his youngest daughter Missy alone at their campsite After Mack returns he sees that Missy is missing The police are called and the family discovers that Missy has been abducted and murdered by a serial killer known as the Little Ladykiller The police find an abandoned shack in the woods where Missy was taken Her bloodied clothing is found but her body is not located Mack s life sinks into what he calls The Great Sadness As the novel begins Mack receives a note in his mailbox from Papa saying that he would like to meet with Mack that coming weekend at the shack Mack is puzzled by the note he has had no relationship with his abusive father since he left home at age 13 He suspects that the note may be from God whom his wife Nan lovingly refers to as Papa Mack s family leaves to visit relatives and he goes alone to the shack unsure of what he will see there He arrives and initially finds nothing but as he is leaving the shack and its surroundings are supernaturally transformed into a lush and inviting scene He enters the shack and encounters manifestations of the three persons of the Trinity God the Father takes the form of an African American woman who calls herself Elousia and Papa God the Son Jesus is a Middle Eastern carpenter and the Holy Spirit physically manifests as an Asian woman named Sarayu The bulk of the book narrates Mack s conversations with Papa Jesus and Sarayu as he comes to terms with Missy s death and his relationship with the three of them Mack also has various experiences with each of them Mack walks across a lake with Jesus sees an image of his earthly father in Heaven with Sarayu and has a conversation with Sophia the personification of God s wisdom At the end of his visit Mack goes on a hike with Papa now appearing as an older Native American male who shows him where Missy s body was left in a cave After spending the weekend at the shack Mack leaves and is so preoccupied with his joyous thoughts that he is nearly killed in an automobile accident During recovery he realizes that he did not in fact spend the weekend at the shack but that his accident occurred on the same day that he arrived at the shack He also leads the police to the cave that Papa revealed and they find Missy s body still lying there With the help of forensic evidence discovered at the scene the Little Ladykiller is arrested and put on trial Publication editYoung originally wrote The Shack as a Christmas gift for his six children with no apparent intention of publishing it After letting several friends read the book he was urged to publish it for the general public In 2006 Young worked with Wayne Jacobsen Brad Cummings both former pastors from Los Angeles and Bobby Downes filmmaker to bring the book to publication after a period of sixteen months and four rewrites 7 They had no success with either religious or secular publishers so they formed Windblown Media for the purpose of publishing the book The Shack achieved its No 1 best selling success via word of mouth and with the help of a USD 300 00 website it is often reported that nothing else had been spent on marketing up to September 2007 8 Additional startup funds were supplied by Brad Cummings president of Windblown Media who spent the maximum credit limit on 12 personal credit cards in order to publish the book 9 10 Reception editThe Shack went largely unnoticed for over a year after its initial publication but suddenly became a very popular seller in mid 2008 when it debuted at No 1 on The New York Times paperback fiction best seller list on June 8 3 Its success was the result of a word of mouth church to church blog to blog campaign by Young Jacobsen and Cummings in churches and Christian themed radio websites and blogs 2 As of May 2010 update The Shack had over 10 million copies in print and had been at No 1 on The New York Times best seller list for 70 weeks 11 The Shack was also released in hardcover and translated into Spanish as La Cabana 11 In June 2009 a German translation with the title Die Hutte ein Wochenende mit Gott The Hut a Weekend with God was released 12 It was also translated into Croatian as Koliba and became very popular in Croatia and also in Bosnia and Herzegovina citation needed The book was also translated into Polish as Chata and published in 2009 There were re editions in 2011 and 2017 due to its popularity However former Mars Hill Church pastor Mark Driscoll criticized The Shack saying that it misrepresents God 13 and called William P Young a heretic 14 Evangelical author Chuck Colson wrote a review called Stay Out of The Shack in which he criticizes the attribution of silly lines to characters representing the three Persons of the Trinity and the author s low view of scripture 15 R Albert Mohler Jr called The Shack deeply troubling on his radio show saying that it includes undiluted heresy 16 Apologists author Norman Geisler and William C Roach published a critique in 2012 detailing their 14 points of theological disagreement with the book including unorthodox false classic heresy non rational psychologically helpful doctrinally harmful and very dangerous 17 Pastor Sean Cole of the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Sterling Colorado offered yet another critique appearing in Pulpit and Pen He provides six major arguments against the content of the book and Young s portrayal of the Trinity and offers them as major problems 18 Theologian Randal Rauser has written a generally sympathetic guide to The Shack in his companion volume Finding God in the Shack Paternoster 2009 In the book Rauser responds to many of the objections raised by critics such as Colson and Mohler Brad Robison a psychiatrist and family therapist who used The Shack in his practice wrote The Shack Study Guide Windblown Media 2016 to assist his patients on their healing journey It is co authored by William P Young Wayne Jacobsen one of Young s early collaborators wrote a detailed response to several common points of criticism His column Is The Shack Heresy was published online by Windblown Media 19 Legal dispute editIn July 2010 the Los Angeles Times reported that The Shack had spawned a tangle of lawsuits over royalties and even the book s authorship 20 Young said that he was owed 8 million in royalties Jacobsen and Cummings filed a suit against Young 21 Young asked the court to dismiss or stay the claims 22 and Jacobsen and Cummings responded 23 Hachette the commercial publisher involved asked the court to determine to whom it should pay royalties from the book 24 On January 10 2011 the court declared that it had been advised that the case between Young et al and Jacobsen et al has been settled or is in the process of being settled and the case was dismissed 25 26 Film adaptation editMain article The Shack 2017 film A film adaptation of The Shack directed by Stuart Hazeldine and starring Sam Worthington Octavia Spencer and Tim McGraw was released on March 3 2017 to negative critical reviews Audience response was more positive 27 References in other works editThe Shack was referred to by Stephen King in his 2010 title Full Dark No Stars which is a compilation of four novellas In the final novella A Good Marriage the protagonist recalls that her husband recommended she read The Shack and he said the novel was a life changer citation needed It is also cited in the introduction to Richard Rohr and Mike Morrell s The Divine Dance for encouraging people thinking about the Trinity again citation needed References edit Rich Motoko 2008 06 24 Christian Novel Is Surprise Best Seller The New York Times Retrieved 2008 06 24 a b Aim at spiritually interested sparks The Shack sales USA Today 2008 04 30 a b Schuessler Jennifer Books Best Seller Lists New York Times The New York Times Retrieved 2009 01 07 Gold Platinum Diamond Book Awards Winners Christian Book Expo Retrieved 2012 02 12 The DREW MARSHALL Show Listen Now to Previous Shows 2008 Retrieved 2009 01 07 Relevant Magazine Rich Motoko 24 June 2008 The New York Times Christian Novel Is Surprise Best Seller The New York Times Retrieved 2019 06 27 The Drew Marshall Show Listen Now to Previous Shows 2007 Retrieved 2009 01 07 Streib Lauren 2009 06 22 Paul Young s Publishing Miracle Forbes Advancing the Cause a b Windblown Media Official Website Die Hutte on the German Wikipedia Grossman Cathy Lynn May 28 2008 Shack opens doors but critics call book scripturally incorrect USA Today Mahoney Tyler September 9 2010 Paul Young Bestselling Author of The Shack Challenges Seattle Pastor Mark Driscoll to Man Up HuffPost Colson Chuck 8 May 2008 Stay Out of The Shack Religion Today Retrieved 2012 12 29 The Albert Mohler Radio Program A Look at The Shack April 11 2008 The Shack Helpful or Heretical Defending Inerrancy 28 December 2016 The Shack A Pastoral Review of the Popular Novel Pulpit and Pen February 23 2017 Wayne Jacobsen Is The Shack Heresy Windblown Media Retrieved 2012 12 29 Weinman Sarah 13 July 2010 The flak over The Shack Los Angeles Times Retrieved 30 July 2011 Case no CV 10 3246 JFW JCx First amended complaint US District Court Central District of California Western Division Retrieved 30 July 2011 Case no CV 10 3246 JFW JCx Memorandum of points and authorities in support of defendant Young s motion US District Court Central District of California Western Division Retrieved 30 July 2011 Case no CV 10 3246 JFW JCx Plaintiffs opposition to defendant William Paul Young s motion to dismiss the first amended complaint US District Court Central District of California Western Division Retrieved 30 July 2011 Case no CV 10 03534 JFW JCx First amended complaint in interpleader US District Court Central District of California Western Division Retrieved 30 July 2011 The Shack Gets Sued The Steve Laube Agency 15 July 2010 Retrieved 30 July 2011 Case No CV 10 3246 JFW JCx Order dismissing civil action PDF US District Court Central District of California Retrieved 30 July 2011 The Shack 2017 Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved January 1 2019 External links editOfficial website nbsp Interview with William P Young by broadcaster Sheridan Voysey Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Shack Young novel amp oldid 1172056261, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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