The Great Divorce
Lewis, C. S. 2001. The Great Divorce. HarperOne.
Rating:
4
Summary:
sermon on being a good Christian superficially buried in a story
The book begins as a nameless character (who I will refer to as MC for main character) decides to board a bus. Right away you begin to realize that things are a bit unusual as the people waiting in the line begin to fight so viciously that people end forced out of the line. Eventual MC is able to get on the bus only to realize that the bus isn’t driving down the street but rather floating up in the air.
When the bus finally comes to a rest after an extensive trip, it is in a beautiful, scenic, forest with lush grass, etc. MC disembarks with the other passengers only to find that this new location is perilous to him and impervious to his very being – the grass hurts his feet because it doesn’t bend underneath him, he can’t budge a leaf, etc. But it is only once a group of more substantive people arrive (the grass bends beneath their feet) that MC begins to realize where he is and where he was: the new location is heaven, the old location where he boarded the bus is hell.
MC then proceeds to explore heaven, or at least this outer edge of heaven, and is privy to conversations between the other passengers on the bus and the heavenly people. The heavenly people have come to the bus stop to help these new arrivals realize where they are and to help them accept and adjust to heaven. But the majority of the people refuse to do either and ultimately end up getting back on the bus to go back to hell.
Eventually MC hooks up with an individual that explains what is going on, but in the end finds out, “Ye are only dreaming. And if ye come to tell of what ye have seen, make it plain that it was but a dream. See ye make it very plain. Give no poor fool the pretext to think ye are claiming knowledge of what no mortal knows. I’ll have no Swedenborgs and no Vale Owens among my children” (p. 124).
Review:
I bought and read this book when I was religious, but it was so long ago that I didn’t really remember it. Anyway, because it was such a short read, I thought I would give it another quick pass and review it to see if I wanted to keep it.
Interestingly, my opinion of the book has changed quite dramatically, which is to be expected considering I have gone from being a very active Mormon to a very active agnostic since last reading it. I probably realized the intent of the book the first time, but didn’t realize how silly it was until this time around.
Basically, the whole purpose of the book is to illustrate the different doubts and problems C.S. Lewis believes will keep people out of heaven. These problems include: loving someone too much; thinking too much – which leads to apostasy (my situation); being unable to forgive others; thinking you are better than others; wanting the living to remember your contributions; etc. By the end of the book you begin wondering just who Lewis believes might make it into heaven. Apparently the only people allowed in are the child-like (Matthew 18:4) who are without guilt or guile. Also, it probably helps if you are a Christian and don’t think much.
Considering I no longer believe any of this stuff, I can’t say I found the book particularly disturbing. It’s more silly than anything else. However, I can definitely see how some would find the book offensive since it is exclusively Christian in orientation.
As far as the writing goes, it isn’t terrible. It is carefully worded because the author doesn’t want to reveal too much until the end of the book when you realize it is all a dream, so it is fairly well-written. It is, however, a simplistic and an easy ride (it probably took me about 45 minutes to read the whole thing); nevertheless, it is somewhat engaging.
The book does actually have a few decent quotes, including the following, “For to be afraid of oneself is the last horror” (p. 77) and “I had got ‘out’ in some sense which made the Solar System itself seem an indoor affair” (p. 28).
But in the end the book disappoints. It is really nothing more than a superficial diatribe on how C.S. Lewis thinks people need to behave in order to get into heaven. I generally find books that are laced with subtle messages and themes to be more intriguing than themeless stories, but the implications of this story are none-too-subtle, despite the fact that there is no clear prescription for what is necessary to enter into heaven. Couple this with a rather abrupt ending and you have a quick and pointless read. I don’t recommend this book for anyone other than self-righteous Christians who are convinced they are going to heaven.