The Great Divorce
“There have been men before … who got so interested in proving the existence of God that they came to care nothing for God himself … as if the good Lord had nothing to do but to exist. There have been some who were so preoccupied with spreading Christianity that they never gave a thought to Christ.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce
A theological thought experiment, "The Great Divorce" by C.S. Lewis is more of a profound and imaginative investigation of the afterlife than a story. It imagines a bus ride from the gloomy suburbs of Hell to the colorful foothills of Heaven. With its allegorical portrayal of sin, grace, and the ultimate, insurmountable divide between choosing self and choosing joy, this small book, which was first published in 1945, never fails to enthrall and challenge readers.
Through the eyes of an unnamed narrator, the story is told from the perspective of a grey, perpetually twilit town whose residents are petty, self-centered, and ultimately insignificant. A journey to a different nation, a place of astounding solidity and reality, is provided by a celestial bus. The "solid people"—spirits from Heaven—welcome the "ghosts" from the grey town to this celestial setting and encourage them to stay and travel towards the mountains, towards a higher reality.
The interactions between the solid spirits and the ghosts form the central plot of the book. Every encounter functions as a moving short story, highlighting a specific transgression or material attachment that keeps the ghost from accepting Heaven. Lewis deftly analyzes the subtle and sneaky ways in which people cling to their brokenness, from the whiny woman who can't let go of her right to complain to the possessive mother who confuses her obsessive love for genuine affection.
Through the eyes of an unnamed narrator, the story is told from the perspective of a grey, perpetually twilit town whose residents are petty, self-centered, and ultimately insignificant. A journey to a different nation, a place of astounding solidity and reality, is provided by a celestial bus. The "solid people"—spirits from Heaven—welcome the "ghosts" from the grey town to this celestial setting and encourage them to stay and travel towards the mountains, towards a higher reality.
The interactions between the solid spirits and the ghosts form the central plot of the book. Every encounter functions as a moving short story, highlighting a specific transgression or material attachment that keeps the ghost from accepting Heaven. Lewis deftly analyzes the subtle and sneaky ways in which people cling to their brokenness, from the whiny woman who can't let go of her right to complain to the possessive mother who confuses her obsessive love for genuine affection.
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