The Great Divorce, by C. S. Lewis (Book Review)

 

“I am in Love Himself, not lonely. Strong, not weak. You shall be the same. Come and see. We shall have no need for one another now: we can begin to truly love.”

A man living in Hell finds himself on a bus bound for Heaven. Everyone from Hell has a chance on this trip to see what Heaven is like, and choose whether or not to stay, or go back to their apparently important lives down below. But what the man on this ride sees and hears about Him, Heaven and Hell, his being, and the beings around him, will put his mind to the test…

“But for your miseries—.”

“Oh, don’t you understand? There are no miseries here.”

This book was one that you start reading and assume one way it’s gonna end, then read some more and your assumption will most likely change, and than you finish it, and are a little dumbfounded because of how powerful the message this tiny book portrays is (yes, that was quite the run on sentence).

C. S. Lewis is known for his amazing books—I have read his Narnia series, and am reading some of his others—and I can see why. His books, while most are under two hundred pages, hold such powerful messages. I read this book in a book club that I am apart of, and we concluded that we could reread this book so many times and still get more out of it. The amount of quotes and notes I got out of this book is so amazing, and they all have so many different amazing points that give me chills every time I read them. 

That being said, I did find this book a little slow, even though it was a small book, and found the ending very rushed. I mean—it ends where I agree should, but it was a very fast ending and I had to reread somethings to make sure I understood what was happening. While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing—some of my favorite books are ones that challenge my thinking, and aren’t the “easy breezy” books that you read cause you want a feel good novel—that’s just the reasoning behind why I didn’t enjoy this book more. 

“I am in Love itself, and out of it I will not go.”

So…I know you’re waiting for it…I would recommend you give this book a try. Just because it wasn’t my absolute favorite doesn’t mean it won’t be one of yours, so I’d always recommend giving a book a try. I’d recommend this book for ages 12+ and I’d rate it an 8-10. 

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“If I could remember their singing and write down the notes, no man who reads that score would ever grow sick or old.”