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Summary: An Allegorical Fiction
Review: I'm not usually a fan of allegories such as this. And, in truth, I'm not overly fond of this allegory either. It's not that Lewis' points aren't excellent ones. It's not that the story isn't interesting. I imagine it's because sometimes the points are so allegorical that I have to sit and think too long before I really understand what he's driving at, and I don't like to stop so often when I'm reading a narrative. Still, the metaphors are beautiful and often brilliant, and the book did hold my interest until the end. With a little patience, I'm sure I could have gotten a great deal more out of it. Those who choose to put in more effort than I would probably find it well worthwhile.
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Summary: A thought-provoking and profound analysis of Free Will
Review: Allow me to begin by saying that I am, at best, skeptic regarding the existence of God. Yet, C. S. Lewis remains being one of my favourite authors, and this is by far one my favourite books by him. Through the allegory of a bus journey, this Christian writer allows to enter what he believes Heaven and Hell to be like. This, however, is just the means Lewis uses to face us with something much deeper and, to many of us skeptics, mind-boggling: The question of Free Will. Why is it that some people are granted entrance to Heaven, while others are doomed to Hell? How can a benevolent God punish his creatures so cruelly? He does not, Lewis claims; it is us who make the choice, whether consciously or not. This is what THE GREAT DIVORCE is about: making us aware of our own actions and where they lead us, thus forcing us to take a good, hard look at human nature... and our own. Afraid to do so? Then you should definitely read it.PS: What can I say? I've declared myself an atheist for a long time. Yet, the more C. S. Lewis I read, the more I doubt my beliefs- or lack thereof. Andrea
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Summary: A suggestion for C.S. Lewis Lovers
Review: I'm an enourmous fan of C.S. Lewis and have been for many years. His explorations of Christianity bring a much needed intellegence to the faith and I have always been so grateful for his writing. On more then a few occasions, I have given his books to secular friends as an introduction to Christianity and have read them myself several times. His insight and observations have always given me something new to consider. unfortunately, I've always found other Christian writers of fiction to be strongly lacking the same level of intellegence. Recently, however, a good friend loaned me a copy of We All Fall down by Brian Caldwell. I found the novel to be every bit as intellegent and enjoyable as Lewis. Caldwell writes with real energy and passion and his novel made me rethink many aspects of my faith. I would strongly recomend it for people who enjoy C.S. Lewis. It's a great book.
Rating: 
Summary: For Christian allegory fans only
Review: Okay, I admit that I probably shouldn't even be reviewing this book, I'm not in the target audience. For those who are in the book's target audience, I'm sure it is a wonderful book. If the description "enjoys Christian allegory" fits you, ignore my bad review and read the other reviews. All I'm saying is that for me, it was so boring I couldn't hardly finish it. I only read it because a Christian friend gave it to me. Just a few other small comments. In his introduction, Lewis finds it necessary to remind the reader that it is allegory, and he is not trying in any way to factually describe the afterlife. In fact he says, "encouraging factual curiosity of the afterlife is the last thing I want to do". Well, um, then what's the point? Though I maintain being agnostic, but I have to admit I lean more towards atheism. One of the reasons being that no one has presented, to my mind anyway, a plausible scenerio for what the afterlife is really like. An infinite life where there is presumably no pain or evil, would have to be inherently very different from our mortal existence. So different if such does exist, then it seems difficult to imagine any purpose to this very limited existence we have here. After all, a billion years from now, are you going to be sitting around heaven talking about the time your aunt died or something? I'm wondering if the reason Lewis doesn't want to "encourage factual curiosity" about the afterlife is because that when one tries to ponder it factually, it seems rather implausible. I think that a Christian would say that a quote late in the book more or less sums up what Lewis is trying to say. Lewis says that "there are two kinds of people, those that say to God 'thy will be done' and those that God says to them, 'thy will be done.'" Well, don't take the following statement as "bashing" Christians, I am fully aware that by and large, Christians are fine people. But of course there are those that claim to be Christians that don't seem like such fine people. My only point in this is that I basically reject that there is some intrinsic difference between those that choose to be Christians and those that don't. The point of the book is to try to show this supposed intrinsic difference, an intrisic difference would would last for eternity, which I reject exists. I reject Lewis' premise. I'm just in general not a big fan of allegory. And even Lewis himself says it says nothing about the real form of heaven and hell. So for me, it was a boring, useless waste of time. But if you are a Christian and like allegory, well, ignore me, I'm sure you'll like the book. NOTE: At the time of this edit of my review, I've got 0 out of 4 helpful votes. I guess I shouldn't be surprised as I'm giving a negative review of a popular book. But the point is - is my review actually helpful? And I think it is. I freely admit that those in the target audience will like it and I explain why I don't like it. That's what's called a GOOD review folks - don't say it is a bad review just because you don't like my opinion!
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Summary: read this one regularly
Review: A captivating imagination of what is heaven going to be like. Must be read on a regular basis. Imparts a real sense of eternity and grace.
Rating:
Summary: an odd feeling of shame
Review: While reading this book, I found two things took place in me. First, I was overcome with excitement as I read the genius dialogue in the book...symbolism embedded with firm spiritual lessons. Second, the book was absolutely convicting and made me feel shameful, as Lewis attempts to justify the existence of Hell as well as exploit the folly of those who do not turn their hearts to Christ. It is rather difficult to capture the worth of the book in a review, but know that it is a spiritual experience, and a fun read.
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Summary: Great Book, Poor Edition
Review: Please don't be amazed at my poor rating of this book; it is not actually a rating of the great C.S. Lewis's "The Great Divorce," of which the earlier reviews speak eloquently; rather, it is this particular edition by HarperCollins/Zondervan. Simply put, this edition is liberally peppered with typographic errors, perhaps even a missing word here or there--you won't be able to tell unless you get a reliable edition elsewhere and compare the two. But I found errors like "to" spelled as "eo," "the" spelled "teh," and so on, far too many simple errors to be permitted in such a slender volume. Hey, Harper/Collins and Zondervan: no one cares if fundamentalist claptrap books has typographical errors, since these are not read by thinkers, but when you set to reprint a work by one of the Great Authors, at least show him the courtesy of hiring an editor and proofreader to check the galley pages. Suffice it to say, since this edition is part of the "Signature Series," and presumably other Lewis books in the series is prepared in a similarly slipshod fashion, I will have to look for other editions of Lewis's works that I don't as yet own. (Of course, none of this may be important to the reader if he doesn't mind less than acceptable fidelity to the original editions of "The Great Divorce": in which case, I suppose this edition is better than none.)--A Former Editor
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Summary: C.S. Lewis is phenomenal...need I say more?
Review: C.S. Lewis's writings have captivated me since I was a boy growing up on the Chronicles of Narnia. then I discovered his space trilogy, and after that I began to explore his more openly Christian writings. It amazes me that one man is able to contain so much wisdom!
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Summary: Ponderings on the Afterlife
Review: Lewis loved to use fiction to explore his own ponderings of theological issues, including the afterlife. The book is in no way a portrayal of a dogmatic view of the afterlife by Lewis but is an incredible exploration thereof. Lewis tends to salvation and damnation very sensitively (Durez, 1990). He also uses the story as an opportunity to "highlight practical matters of the Christian faith such as family problems, selfishness, disagreement, greed, and the persistence of bad habits. Fantasy proves a powerful medium for examining such matters, remembered long after a sermon is forgotten" (Durez, 1990). The favorite book of Lewis himself!!!
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Summary: The Great Analogy
Review: With clear moral and spiritual insight, Lewis delves into what keeps man from God. Using a mythical bus trip from Hell to Heaven, he shows what humans have to sacrifice on the way to Heaven. While, some say Lewis is a bit cold in this book, I disagree. Lewis merely shows that even the best virtuals can be twisted into vices. Like men who kill innocents in the name of God, or the stalker who terroizes the one he "loves". The major problem is that like the Screwtape Letters it is more piercing than we would like, but just as piercing as we need.
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