The Great Divorce - C.S. Lewis (4 of 5 Lost Ghosts)

Yes. I know. I did it again. I should really stay out of the deep end of the literary pool during the summer. For what it's worth I put this book on hold at the library a few months ago when summer was still just getting started. It came in and I felt obligated to read it...is that a good enough excuse?

Having just finished Mere Christianity a couple of months ago, this book felt oddly familiar. The premise is a little different, but the ideas expressed are much in the same. The book begins as C.S. Lewis finds himself wandering through a run-down town. The only people in the town are waiting at a bus stop. He stands at the back of the line and soon begins to interact with them. None of them seem to be happy. Small skirmishes break out up and down the line. Several of the people decide to step out of line and go back to where they came from. Lewis decides to stay, and soon the bus arrives. To his surprise, it carries him forever upward into the sky.
They soon discover that the bus has stopped at the edges of heaven. The travelers descend from the bus to find themselves in a large field which borders on a forest. A majestic mountain range lies in the distance.

For much of the book, Lewis wanders around the field listening to conversations between the travelers and the angels that have come to accompany them to the to the mountains. Many of the travelers are unwilling to make the sacrifices necessary to make the journey. Lewis watches as several slink back to the bus. Through these conversations, Lewis explores the many vices that keep us from God: materialism, fear, self-pity, pride, etc. In typical C.S. Lewis fashion, he helps us to take a fresh look at the basic principles of Christianity. Well, fresh at least, if you hadn't recently read one of his other books... As always, his lessons are enlightening and his metaphors illuminating. Thoughtful readers will appreciate this book for its depth, and value as a mirror, with which, they might observe their own weaknesses.