The Great Divorce

The Great Divorce excels at story telling in a way that captures your heart. It's a fictional story, but C.S. Lewis weaves in different theological ideas in story form. Yes, he does admit that everything in the story if speculation but it's hard not to believe that his theology influenced his writing of this book. The beginning starts off a little slow but there are multiple points in the book that are really enchanting, more than at the story level, but at the heart level as well. You begin to see yourself in some of these characters and their decision-making. More importantly, he does a great job of imagining what life in the next world might be like. Of course, that's speculation, but if he's able to enchant your heart with his own thoughts, how much more will it actually be!

Another great CS Lewis book

I have to say I did not like this book at the beginning. It was written in such a way that was outside of my linear thinking. I read this with my book club, and I have to say that eventually I could not put it down. SO many thought-provoking ideas written into this fantastical story. It definitely gave me good food for thought (and prayer!). I recommend it.

The book itself is excellent, well-written, insightful, and worth reading. My 4-star rating is purely due to the poor print quality, not the content. The pages feel cheap, almost like they were torn from a notebook and bound together. Really disappointing coming from Amazon, especially for such a great book.

Haven't read it yet but his other books was great.

Theology is the systematic study of the revelations of God about Himself in the Bible, in nature, through Jesus Christ, and by the Holy Spirit. No one can comprehend the mystery of God unless He Himself provides truths of who, what, and where He is. Heaven and Hell are among the more interesting subjects of man’s quest to know about the afterlife, the Kingdom of God, and the purpose of man during the span of his lifetime. One man stands out as being of advanced intellect, superior knowledge, practical wisdom, and comprehensive education regarding the attributes of Almighty God. Of Harvard professorship quality, Clive Staples Lewis, who died in 1963, met all of these markers and went on to be a master story teller, teacher, and revealer of truths too complicated for the everyday person to understand without an interpreter. C.S. Lewis was a master of allegory, a Christian apologist, defender of the faith, and for a lay theologian, seemed to have been chosen as a vessel of Godly revelation shared by few others. Lewis, in the Great Divorce, has provided a theological fantasy or fairytale explanation of Heaven and Hell that encapsulates what is known of those two conditions and locations of man’s eternal abode after death, and has explained them in such a way that the little light bulb of understanding frequently flashes its brilliance in an otherwise dark area. Other than Heaven being a really nice place that “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard…” and Hell being a very bad place; one light one darkness, one with God eternally, one away from Him and all goodness; we know most of what we think we know from the metaphors and allegories provided in works such as Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy Trilogy: The Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise, and works such as Lewis’s best efforts. The wise reader will select the writer carefully with whom he entrusts the content of his or her mind. The Great Divorce is a wonderful and exciting read, a rewarding journey into religious surrealism made real on the printed page, and a rewarding effort in satisfying one’s need to draw a bit closer to God. It is also a tool by which a reader may sharpen his or her mind in the world of literary devices such as allegories, metaphors and their close friends. You will never go wrong with a C. S. Lewis work.

This is a must read for everyone, but especially for Christians.

Hear me out here. I know this is a beloved book, but I just can't rate it highly. I had never read this before, but I knew it was fictional, like Screwtape Letters, with the topic being heaven and especially hell. And although this was true, but I didn’t think it was anything near as clever, clear, or helpful as Screwtape Letters. In fact, I found that it might have been quite unhelpful at times, especially concerning Christian truth. Here’s why. I honestly admit this to people all the time: my greatest struggle out of all Christian doctrines is the doctrine of everlasting torment in hell. It’s just so difficult to swallow when you really think about what it means. I have literally wept over Revelation 14:9-10. Now, I do believe it because Jesus so clearly taught it, and his apostles followed clearly in his footsteps. I don’t think one can seriously consider the biblical texts and walk away a Universalist (like Rob Bell has recently), or an Annihilationist (like John Stott surprisingly did at the end of the his life). I am not tempted toward Universalism, but I see the appeal of Annihilationism. But once again, the Bible simply will not have it. Even Stott’s arguments fall flat. Eternal, conscious torment is the biblical doctrine. I say all that because that makes me approach this book with an even bigger hesitancy. I think the doctrine of hell is so serious and frightening. Again, what the Bible teaches is quite clear and solemn. And so, I think that the human mind is understandably prone to try to minimize what Jesus and his apostles taught. And I think that Lewis in this book did that a bit. Now, Lewis wasn’t teaching Universalism or Annihilationism, but I do think his description of hell was less like Jesus’ or his apostles’. For example, after reading this book, I don’t know how you can understand Lewis’ hell as a place of ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ I don’t see how you can square Lewis’ picture of hell being like a weary town to the apostle John’s description of it being a place where “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night.” I recognize that Lewis made it very clear that his book was an analogy, even a dream as he made clear at the end of his book. But still, I think he romanticized hell and tried to take the biblical bite and seriousness out of it. And it isn’t mainly that this is ‘wrong’ or ‘misdoctrine’, I think it is quite hurtful. Lewis I know talks like this in his other writings. He often makes hell a place where people want to be, because they won’t accept divine love, because they are so consumed with themselves. And I actually agree with him here. We see this in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The man didn’t want to leave, and he never repents of his wrongs. However, what Lewis misses is the torment that they still face there. In Lewis’ description of hell, he often then makes it sound like their life is then very similar to what it was here, just with them being totally self-consumed. And I think this description isn’t as biblical. Once again, in the rich man and Lazarus parable, the rich man didn’t want to leave, and he wasn’t repentant, yes, *and* he also was in pain and suffering. He wanted at any cost to tell his relatives to not come to the same place. Lewis misses this last point in his description of hell usually. That all being said, I do think when Lewis talked about heaven, he was fascinating and helpful as he usually is. His ideas of joy, solidity, and brightness all were intriguing. His God-centered emphasis on heaven was spot on. And his picturing of humanity glorified was beautiful. It is for these that this book is a 3 or even 4 star. But in the end, the book isn’t helpful overall because of his blunting of hell. And this can be very detrimental to the faith of Christians. His insights about human self-centeredness and idolatry were great. But I think he pictures hell way too lightly. It simply can’t square with the biblical teaching. And I think his view of hell—even with it being just an analogy and dream—can lead one away from the weeping and prayerfulness that should occur when one considers the true, biblical teaching of eternal conscious torment. To sum it all up, Lewis’ picture of hell makes you think, “Wow. People would be much happier and glorious in heaven, and it doesn’t sound fun to live in hell. But hell doesn’t sound so so bad as many Christian have said in the past. It sounds so self-focused, and without deep joy, but it isn’t *that* terrifying.” While on the other hand, the biblical doctrine of hell and eternal, conscious torment makes you think, “Wow. People would be much happier and glorious in heaven, and it sounds terrifying to be in hell forever. Eternal, conscious torment, like in Revelation 14:9-10, sounds so awful I can hardly bear it. But since it is true, I will weep, I will pray. I want no one to go there.” For this distinction, it is hard for me to recommend Lewis’ book or any of his views on hell. He is clever on the selfishness and idolatry of man, but he blunts the tragic and terrifying truth of hell.

Fantastic read! Like I was reading a Haruki Murakami.

I love this book. So thought provoking. CS Lewis has such an incredible imagination. His story highlights how seemingly loving behaviours are not and how we hang onto things in this world that have no value with the eyes of heaven. I highly recommend the book.

Do not underestimate this book, just because it does not deal with Narnia - it is one of his most beautiful and thought-provoking books. I have a paper copy and have read it many times, and have now moved to the Kindle edition, which is much easier to read, physically speaking. There are three small textual errors in the Kindle version of the book. The first is as follows: On page 45 the text reads: The noise, though gigantic, was like giants' laugh-ten like the revelry of a whole college of giants together ... It should read: The noise, though gigantic, was like giants' laughter: like the revelry of a whole college of giants together ... On page 62, the text reads: .. the whole wood trembled and dwindled at the sound. It should read .. the whole wood trembled and dindled at the sound. On page 81, the text reads: ..only to Spit and gibber out in one ecstasy of hatred .. It should read: .. only to spit and gibber out in one ecstasy of hatred .. It is a great book, and other than these three errors, the text is just great, conveying all of Lewis' imaginative greatness. I cannot over-emphasise just how amazing this book is; I personally re-read it about once every couple of months and am always thinking about the truths conveyed in it.

Eu já tinha escutado podcasts sobre essa obra e comecei a lê-la com a expectativa lá em cima, e realmente eu não me decepcionei nem um pouco! É incrível como C. S. Lewis consegue fazer você refletir na sua própria vida, nos seus próprios vícios e hábitos que só te distraem do verdadeiro centro cuja nossa vida deve ser centrada – o Deus verdadeiro – e tudo isso em tão poucas páginas. Esse livro mudou minha vida, de verdade. Não tenho palavras pra descrever o quanto eu recomendo ele pra todos.

Dieses Buch sollten alle Christen gelesen haben. C S Lewis erklärt mit Hilfe einer Busreise von der Hölle in den Himmel die Probleme des Christentums so anschaulich, wie es ein Geistlicher in einer Predigt wohl kaum könnte.