by C.S. Lewis
published by HarperSanFrancisco in 1973
originally published in 1946
Summary: This is Lewis' first person, fictional account of a fellow who finds himself boarding a bus to travel from the gray city to a destination unknown. It turns out that all those traveling on the bus are ghosts seeking the possibility of entering paradise. The narrator wanders in the new land encountering different ghosts until he finally happens upon a guide who can shed some light on the strange nature of the landscape and the strange behavior of both the ghosts and solid people. This is a fictional account of what one might encounter after they die.
Review: This book is a quick read as it is short, only 146 pages, and it is in a story format which compels the reader forward much like Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. That being said, it is a bit of a challenge to follow the line of the story or the train of thought. Lewis is trying to use the novel format and metaphors to elucidate his theology on life after death, but on a first read it is complicated. Being that this is a book review and not a theological review of Lewis I will stop there, but offer this suggestion to readers of Lewis. He is one of the most influential and profound theologians of the 20th century, always worth reading, but I would encourage those reading to understand his theology to read with a companion book of a Lewis scholar who has studied and can make clear his theological positions.
Reading Recommendation: Yes, mainly because it is a Christian classic and we need to read those authorial greats of the past to remember upon whose shoulder's we stand and that there is nothing new under the sun.
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