The One Where I Actually Read Something My Husband Recommends to Me

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

My husband often accuses me of ignoring the many book recommendations he's given to me.  And justifiably so.  It's not that I don't appreciate his suggestions or that I don't want to experience a book that he's enjoyed—it's just that we like very different kinds of books.  You've no doubt noticed that I'm a fiction kind of girl.  I read for entertainment, so I generally shy away from anything that's too deep.  As I like to tell my husband, if I have to re-read every sentence five times before I understand it, I'm out. 

One of my husband's very favorite books is The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis.  He's been urging me to give it a go for a long time, reassuring me that it's more readable than many of the tomes he likes to consume.  Ironically enough, it wasn't until it was selected as the next pick for my book club that I finally gave it a chance.  And you know what?  The hubs was right.  It's a worthwhile read.  Do I count it as a favorite of mine?  No, but that's okay.  I'm glad I read it and took the time to ponder Lewis' thoughts.

The allegorical story in The Great Divorce is told by a man who dreams he gets on a bus and takes an incredible journey through Heaven and Hell.  He converses with his fellow passengers, meets a variety of supernatural beings, and has his mind opened to some surprising truths about life, death, human nature, and good vs. evil. 

I know a good deal of Lewis' ruminations went straight over my head, so I'm not going to even pretend that I understand The Great Divorce.  I did, however, enjoy "meeting" the different bus riders, each of whom represents a different type of person—the proud, the faithless, the fearful, etc.  When my husband asked me which of them I most identified with, I replied, "Um, all of them?"  I saw portions of myself in each of their weaknesses, which definitely provided food for thought.  I also appreciated Lewis' ideas on letting go of "earthly" concepts like fairness, justification, quarrels, etc. as I, too, feel that such things do not exist in heaven.  

Overall, then, I enjoyed The Great Divorce.  It's a short book with some big messages, most of which I would probably have to read about five more times in order to really get.  Maybe I'll do that. 

(Readalikes:  Besides The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the only other thing I've read by C.S. Lewis is The Screwtape Letters.  It's similar to The Great Divorce, I think.)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

To the FTC, with love:  The Great Divorce is from my personal library.