Lewis was a genius! From this book I received great insight. That insight was into how I think when I regard or see others. I also received what I feel is insight into how others must see me. Many times people think in terms of who will be going to Heaven and who will not with our own limited thinking. Lewis puts an interesting and very introspective point of view on this often-discussed theme using Christian theology. I believe I saw how narrow I can be in my judgment of others. Great book and one I highly recommend!

The Great Divorce is a classic C.S. Lewis text, but not one that is as well known as others. While I discovered Lewis in college as a Christian, and found him very helpful in defending my faith, both for myself and others, this book escaped my attention until years later. Just like Lewis, however, it came at the right time.
In college I struggled with the claim of faith against the outside pressures of science, philosophy, and so on, and Lewis answered the bell. Later in life, however, it was internal Christian issues that bothered me, specifically, on the topic of Hell. The concept I inherited as a child didn’t seem as palpable as an adult. It seemed quite cruel, actually. Without giving too much away, Lewis crafted an allegory on the subject that had much to help a struggling Christian.
It may be that his solution, or rather his manner of writing, is controversial to many within traditional Christianity. Perhaps this is why I was never recommended this particular Lewis book in college. Perhaps this is why it remains underappreciated within his collection. Nevertheless, it is an excellent book, and comes highly recommended, at least by me.

To write on this particular subject matter with the precision and care that CS Lewis is legendary for is something not of this world. Call it inspired, call it genius, all I have to say is this man was gifted. What a truly *new* and interesting way to think of heaven. To the people who arrive at heaven and realize its not what they wanted or what thought, it made me think...in the end could it be that we all go to heaven but for some of us its hell? For me, unlike the screwtape letters, which is equally as good, I feel that this is CS Lewis' best literary work, and even if you're not Christian or any religion, its a brilliant book to read. You won't be able to put it down and you'll be talking about it for weeks. Amazing book and even greater message.

It seems that often there is a marked dearth of books that manage to be theologically fairly orthodox without also being evangelical or overly conservative. Rather, authors tend to take either an extremely liberal approach to theology, or an extremely conservative one, rarely exploring the vast middle ground between. Fortunately, in 'The Great Divorce', C.S. Lewis managed to get the mix about right. I first read this book in junior high, when it was already a few decades old; it is older now, but the message, since it is not particularly tied to one time or one denomination is ageless. In the short book, denizens of Hell are given the chance to take a bus ride into Heaven. You would expect, with such a premise, that the entire tome would become a treatise on salvation and deliverance. It does not, however. Rather, Lewis uses his story as a metaphor for how we live our own lives- showing those in Hell not as necessarily bad people, but as people who would rather let their shortcomings overcome them, rather than confronting and trying to surpass their own failings. He presents the alternative- recognizing our problems for what they are, and working to rise above them- eloquently, showing we become more 'real' as we search for Truth. While Lewis himself obviously holds to Christian tradition, where Truth also involves acknowledging God, the book is not overly preachy, and could probably be read apart from the faith and still appreciated. In the end, it's a beautiful, well done meditation on sin and forgiveness, on truth and denial, on choosing life (really living) over death (existing). Definitely worth checking out.