Rating: 
Summary: Tweak your brain.
Review: I must say that it seems that any time anyone says something somewhat intellegent, It reminds me of C.S.Lewis. The Great Divorce is not just a book it's a progressive revelation. I'll be driving down the road thinking and all of a sudden understand what the heck he was talking about. Lewis was the master. I've read this book two and a half times and it isn't enough.
Andrew Klicka
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable and thought-provoking story
Review: For some reason, I find myself returning to this book about once a year to re-read it. It's a short and easy read, but it's length is deceptive. Lewis is an excellent observer of the human condition and this allegory is very thought provoking. Written over 40 years ago, it still stays fresh.I would highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Mind stretching
Review: This book has changed the way I think of death and the world after. I highly recommend this to any Christian, as it stretches the mind and enlarges the soul.
Rating:
Summary: C.S. Lewis and his writing
Review: We all remember stories of The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe, about Aslan and his famous victory over the Witch. The Great Divorce was something of a different nature. Lewis still had his ideas about heaven and hell, but they were a bit more obvious. There weren't a lot of undertones as in the children series, but everything he wrote was concrete and it was obvious what his views were. This made the book a lot better and I enjoyed it very much especailly the ending, showing Lewis' rather cruel humor and sense of style. If anyone likes Lewis I recommend this book and I would also recommend The Screwtape Letters. Then if you enjoyed Screwtape I would recommend This Present Darkness and it's sequel Piercing the Darkness by Frank Peretti.
Rating:
Summary: A well-written theological fantasy
Review: "The Great Divorce," by C.S. Lewis, tells the story of a bus ride from hell to heaven. The title is a riff on William Blake's "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell," which Lewis cites in his preface. Although Christian theology is briefly cited in the book, it seems that Lewis' overall point--to promote belief in and adoration of a supreme being--is as applicable to Jews, Muslims, and many others as it would be to Christians. To quote the book directly: "There is but one good; that is God." The story is full of wonderful visual images and imaginative flourishes that give the book the flavor of classic fantasy literature. And although at times the book has a certain smug quality, it is entertaining and thought-provoking. Lewis' prose style is consistently engaging.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting bus ride
Review: This book was one of the launch pads into the realm of Lewis. The book, fiction though it is, requires one to follow the point of Lewis--those who do not go to heaven would not enjoy it there anyway. This book has caused unnecessary fire from people who have a terrible habit of reading "fiction" literally. This book is not canonical Scripture. Please do not think that Lewis proposes that one can travel from heaven to hell, and vice-versa. Lewis is merely trying to make a point. I would encourage readers to enjoy the book, apply the message to their lives, and not to dampen the impact with wooden literalism.
Rating:
Summary: C.S. Lewis does get you to think
Review: I decided to pick up The Great Divorce after a 15-year hiatus when I saw a play based on this work. The play was splendid, so I decided to reread this short but power-packed book. Based on the decisions made by the characters who made the bus trip to a place between heaven and hell, I decided that not much has changed since Lewis' day (or since I last read this). Some very insightful comments are made, and I found myself challenged in several ways. Lewis has a way of putting things that, though complex, he makes sound almost simple. I appreciate his insights and hope that I can apply some of the lessons into the last half of my life. I'm grateful to people like Lewis when they are able to have such an impact in the way I think. Definitely one of my top five Lewis favorites.
Rating:
Summary: Does Creation/the AfterLife meet 'your' standards?
Review: This seems to be the question that powers the engine of this classic novella from C.S. Lewis. Of course the answer is, why should it? Creation is not ours to control, something Lewis seems to hint at with the impenetrable nature of the garden the bus passengers visit at the tale's opening. Inspired by a science fiction story, Lewis crafted a fantasy of his own that explores the rather petty nature of humanity that keeps our eyes (or souls) closed from the beauty of creation. The book features some splendid yet amusing passages (Unicorns in Heaven? Cool!) but it does not skip over the meatier issues of faith, free will, and the traps that they are capable of creating in our oft times bitter hearts. One thing I found ironic is that the one star reviews put forth some of the very same arguments made by some of the rebellious ghosts in this allegory. I think that is the very point Lewis hoped his fantasy would make. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: thought provoking
Review: This book show's how horrible sin is. How it ruins people, How it ruins their minds. Read this book and think about yourself. Think about what you are holding onto in life, and ask yourself if its worth it. This book should shed some light on the subject.
Rating:
Summary: Heaven or Hell? The choice is ours.
Review: The perfect blend of logic, common-sense, and insight, the Great Divorce is typical CS Lewis. It is a masterpiece of Christian thinking, even by Lewis's standards, and ranks among his best in my opinion. This short work of fiction seeks to explain why some people go to heaven and others go to hell. Lewis's thesis is essentially this: those who are in heaven are there because they want to be, and those who are in hell are there because they want to be there, too. In other words, Divine judgment does not send individuals screaming down to hell--in fact, they go there themselves.
Lewis's guide in the story, who just happens to be George MacDonald, tells him that most people have the attitude best expressed by Milton in Paradise Lost: "Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven." According to Lewis, it is pride and selfishness that keep people from wanting to go to heaven. In the story, a number of "ghosts" are brought to the outskirts of heaven by bus, yet almost none of them wants to actually enter heaven when given the chance. They all have some reason why heaven isn't good enough, why they shouldn't go there. In other words, they willfully go back to hell.
Of course, this story rocks the traditional views of the separation of the good and the evil, but Lewis presents his thesis in such an applicable story that it makes one stop and think. Why would a selfish, self-centered person want to be in heaven, anyway? What would they do? In Lewis's mind, there is no 'marriage' between heaven and hell, because the two (and those who occupy them) want to keep as much distance between them as possible. Hence the title.
As I said, I think this is one of Lewis's best. It definitely got me thinking. This is a great book, suitable for young adults and adults alike, that will certainly expand your mind on how we choose to live in our own personal heaven or hell.
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