The Great Divorce

My son introduced me to this book. I loved it because it made me think. I would read it again and plan to gift copies to others.

Very good! Certainly an interesting allegory and brings out the unique nature of CS Lewis’s writing style. Our priest let us through a study of this book this year during lent.

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.

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.

Lewis is a very powerful writing. That is a known fact. That is why he is so frequently read, quoted, patterned after, and studied. I have listened to many of his books and read Chronicles of Narnia several times. So when this book came up on my book clubs list I thought I will try reading but it its to difficult I can always go to the audio book. Well I nit only read this book. I marked several passages and plan to read it again

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!

This is the most interesting book I’ve ever read. And I read a lot.

can't ding CS Lewis...the man was brilliant & while some might find his thoughts difficult to absorb or fully understand, his gifts & composing skills are without question...

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.