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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2092 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02
• Released on: 2001-02-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

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

Review
'Mr. Lewis rouses curiosity about life after death only to sharpen awareness of this world.' Guardian "Lewis, perhaps more than any other twentieth century writer, forced those who listened to him and read his works to come to terms with their own philosophical presuppositions." Los Angeles Times

From the Back Cover
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. In The Great Divorce C. S. Lewis again employs his formidable talent for fable and allegory. The writer, in a dream, finds himself in a bus which travels between Hell and Heaven. This is the starting point for an extraordinary meditation upon good and evil which takes issue with William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. In Lewis’s own words, "If we insist on keeping Hell (or even earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven then we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell."

Customer Reviews

My Favorite Lewis Book!
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. Über-recommended!!

redeeming qualities
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
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...