| | I picked up The Shack as an audio book from the library. It's a bestseller. And it was originally a self-published novel, and was picked up by Windblown Media once it gathered a following.
The New York Times wrote an article about how the publishing industry needs to change. And I agree. But, the article listed books like The Shack, that were skipped over at first, only to become best sellers, as examples of what is wrong with the industry.
I disagree. Because The Shack is a terrible book. It's clunky, preachy, written with a thick filter over the characters so that none of them ring true or seem real. The exposition is long and tedious, the details are bland and usually rest on cliches or adverbs, and the surprise appearance of God is ... not so surprising. God is in the book from beginning to end. You never get to forget that this is a book about GOD. Which means you never get to get into the story.
It's not just because it's Christian propaganda (which it is); it's poorly written Christian propaganda. Frank Peretti writes Christian propaganda, and I've read several of his books. The Oath was awesome.
So why does The Shack have so many readers? And why did it eventually find a publisher?
1. Christians love to read stuff about being a good Christian. It's why they read the Bible so much. 
2. People are lost, scared, and looking for answers. Books that claim to have them (even pedantic books that dole out wisdom with a hand heavier than stone) are bound to be popular.
3. Publishers are made up of editors and businesspeople. Artists and financial wizards. The ones who love words and the ones who love numbers.
My suspicion is that most editors (or EAs - we are the gatekeepers) rejected this manuscript because it was ... bad. It's a great idea, but Young is not a talented enough writer for the material. Neither am I, but I didn't try to publish my book about God.
But, then Factors 1 and 2 came into play, and the book began to make money. The second kind of people in a publishing house, the Numbers People, swooped in, put together a Profit & Loss statement, figured out some quick sales averages, and came to the conclusion: this book is a seller.
A seller. Not a good book. Not a well-written story. A money maker.
Which is more sad? That the industry I love is warped by sales and editors mutate their ideals of literary value based on profits? Or that enough people will read this and, because it is a best seller, think it is a good book.
God help us all.
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| | Posted 2/3/2009 2:08 PM - 49 Views - 2 eProps - 1 Comment
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