| The Great Divorce | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 220 reviews)
Sales Rank: 2552
Category: Book
Author: C. S. Lewis
Publisher: HarperOne
Studio: HarperOne
Manufacturer: HarperOne
Label: HarperOne
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.5
ISBN: 0060652950
Dewey Decimal Number: 236.2
EAN: 9780060652951
ASIN: 0060652950
Publication Date: February 2001
Release Date: February 6, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
C. S. Lewis takes us on a profound journey through both heaven and hell in this engaging allegorical tale. Using his extraordinary descriptive powers, Lewis introduces us to supernatural beings who will change the way we think about good and evil.
Amazon.com Review
The Great Divorce is C.S. Lewis's Divine Comedy: the narrator bears strong resemblance to Lewis (by way of Dante); his Virgil is the fantasy writer George MacDonald; and upon boarding a bus in a nondescript neighborhood, the narrator is taken to Heaven and Hell. The book's primary message is presented with almost oblique tidiness--"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.'" However, the narrator's descriptions of sin and temptation will hit quite close to home for many readers. Lewis has a genius for describing the intricacies of vanity and self-deception, and this book is tremendously persistent in forcing its reader to consider the ultimate consequences of everyday pettiness. --Michael Joseph Gross
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| Customer Reviews: Read 215 more reviews...
 My Favorite Lewis Book! September 25, 2008
I found this book not only interesting but funny. Lewis knows how to convey serious reflections on human behavior in a humorous way which doesn't reduce their solemn significance. He weaves out of fiction an ultra-insightful analysis of the silly reasons why we are often hell-bent on NOT going to heaven. Recognizing those reasons and concentrating on overcoming some of them changed my life for the better. Ueber-recommended!!
 redeeming qualities September 21, 2008
On an artistic level I would personally rate this work by C.S. Lewis very poor. Characters are two-dimensional. Plot is developed from the perspective that Christianity is the only truth, Heaven and Hell exist for a certainty, and that there is justification for eternal damnation for those who won't see the light. Due to the heavy moralizing, this is more like a religious pamphlet than a work of fiction. Then, why four stars? Despite what I perceive to be flaws in this book,there are some extremely penetrating representations of rationalizing, manipulative behavior. These little vignettes of lost souls willfully denying joy to themselves and trying to deprive others of it also, leaves a haunting impression that Lewis has truthfully revealed the modus operandi of much of mankind. We are allowed to eavesdrop on some conversations between the saved and the damned in which it is obvious the lost souls actually prefer remaining in the Hell they have created for themselves rather than give up their obsessive behavior. Whether or not we agree this is grounds for eternal damnation, I think there is a good lesson here, illustrated quite effectively, to work toward honest relationships free of game-playing. On further reflection, I think this title more worthy of three stars due to the dreary blend of moralizing and fiction.
One way ride to forever September 11, 2008
With each and every book I read by C.S. Lewis, I become an ever more admiring fan. While I cannot say this is my favorite of his works (for that spot, I reserve "Mere Christianity," followed by "A Grief Observed"), it is as fascinating and insightful a ride as any of his. C. S. Lewis is exceptional in his ability to take the most complicated human issues and make them understandable.
Blending into a queu awaiting a bus ride without fully understanding to where or why (how many of us blend sheepishly with the masses this way?), the narrator, George, takes a fantastical ride through heaven and hell. Just two possible end points on this trip, and with that, Lewis makes it clear: as much as we try to rationalize and wiggle, there is no gray area in life, or, in this case, the after life. You choose. Black or white, good or evil.
With a cast of colorful characters, ghostly figures and helpful angels who only wish to give the undecided one final chance to decide, we ride along with those who, we soon realize, resemble everyone we know. Including you and me. The whiner and the complainer, the cheater and the liar, the rationalizer, the egotist, the shortchanger. Even the overly devoted mother, who, upon closer examination, clings to her son more to serve her own selfish needs than to let him go in a loving manner for his wellbeing is not the marytr she believes herself to be.
It is not in the big falls that we lose our way to heaven. It is, more often than not, in the petty details of our lives, all those grand intentions come to nothing, all those shortcomings and shortcuts taken, all those more challenging routes avoided, where we take wrong turns that will land us only in hell. A stern Father reminds us, "Your will be done," rather than His. And so, for all who did not trust in Him, but stubbornly held to their own willful ways, the bus has only one last stop.
As amusing as this little tale (novella) is to read, the message is heavy duty. If you don't recognize yourself in at least a few of these lost souls, look harder. And then give your future bus stop some careful thought...
Great insight into the Great Divorce September 7, 2008
I have found the Great Divorce to be a book for all time. I saw so many people on that bus that I recognized and after a while, I recognized most all of them were a part of me or my life. I got some great insight into how we think when we think of others and how others must see me. Often we think in terms of who will be going to Heaven and who will not in our own human and limited way of thinking. C.S.Lewis puts an interesting and very introspective point of view on this often discussed theme using Christian theology in allowing us to ride in and off the bus with so many others. I think I saw how narrow we can be in our judgement concerning who will or will not be allowed beyond the gates of Heaven. Great book and one I recommend hightly.
Outstanding book. August 23, 2008
CS Lewis great theologian or great Christian apologist as some would say was one heck of a writer.
The Great Divorce C.S Lewis good as a stand alone story or as a more deeper spiritual book. I continue to be blown away by how good C.S Lewis is one of those authors where sometimes you get the strangest sensation that he is actually speaking directly to you.
The Great Divorce serves to remind all of us that while sin does indeed have an eternal penalty the first commandment for all Christians is love.
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