The Shack

去年の冬、LingQ ディスカッションでご一緒した方が勧めてくれた本です。この本は最初、著者が自分の子供たちや近しい友人にプレゼントするためだけに書いた本でしたが、評判が評判を呼び、自費出版から全米で３００万部以上を売り上げたベストセラーになりました。

人と神様（キリスト教）の関係についてのフィクションです。人類がエデンの園を出て、独立の道を選んだ時から苦難の日々が始まった。神の元に戻り、身をゆだねることで苦しみから開放され、許し、心から愛することが出来るようになる・・・という考えには、いまいち納得が出来ませんでしたが、キリスト教徒と神様の関わりを知る助けになりました。

この本は、私にとって忘れられない場所との再会をもたらしてくれました。事件が起こったオレゴン州のワロワ湖は、私が中学生の時に１ヶ月ホームステイで訪れた場所でした。エンタープライズという小さな町に滞在していたのですが、州都から車で５時間も離れている小さな町は、日本で手に入る地図には載っていませんでした。当時はインターネットもなく、時が経つにつれ、記憶も薄れていたのですが、今回この本を読んだことで、当時の思い出が色や匂いとともに鮮やかに蘇ってきました。中学生の時は、”絶対に忘れない”と思っていた一つ一つの大事なエピソードも、いつの間にか忘れてしまっていたことに気づきました。本のおかげで、ワロワ湖でジェットスキーをしたこと、紫色の夕焼けに胸が高鳴る思いをしたことを思い出して切なかったです。

I had been interested in this book since a LingQ friend recommended to me “The Shack” in a discussion. The concept of this book is having conversations with God. It seemed peculiar for me at first, but I felt curious about what the relationship with God is like for religious people.

In this book, Mack, a father of five, took his three younger children on a camping trip to Wallowa Lake in northern Oregon. There, they spent wonderful holidays with new acquaintances. Missy, the youngest daughter of Mack, disappeared while he attended to his other children drowning in the lake. Several hours later, Missy’s dress, stained with blood, was found in an abandoned shack. Despite the diligent search, her body wasn’t found. It turned out that a serial killer known as “ladybug killer” was most likely the culprit as a ladybug pin was left at the homicide scene.

Four years later, Mack was still in his deep sorrow. One day, a note was posted at his house. It was an invitation from God to the Shack over the weekend. Suspicious, but feeling obliged to visit the shack, he headed for the shack without telling his family. He had a life-changing experience with God there.

In this book, God is portrayed as the trinity, one is a man, and the other two are women. Mack couldn’t believe in God after Missy’s disaster, but God told him the importance of forgiveness and love. God said, “Forgiveness is first for you, to release you from something that will eat you alive; that will destroy your joy and your ability to love fully and openly.” The underlying theory in this book is to give up living independently and letting God take over you.

I’m an atheist, and I didn’t really understand what this book wanted to convey, but it helped me to understand how people communicate with God at heart. Maybe it will be easier to live when we encounter a great sadness which we can’t embrace by ourselves.

Although, this book was abstract and difficult to read sympathetically, the beautiful scenery amused me. The tragedy took place in Wallowa Lake, where I spent a summer vacation when I was 14. This was my special place, and I was very fond of the memory. Somehow, the memory has faded over the years, but this book reminded me vividly of the beautiful scenery with the smell of summer grasses, fresh air, and kindness of the people. This book was a pleasant surprise to me, and I was thankful to my friend in this regard.