The Great Divorce

“To travel hopefully is better than to arrive.”

(Lewis argues against this idea, but I think it’s true)

2/5⭐

The Great Divorce is about a man going on a bus ride from hell to the outskirts of heaven, but Lewis doesn’t spend much time pretending that the ‘plot’ matters.

This book is just a series of conversations, each overheard by the main character, one after another, for a hundred or so pages and then it’s done.

It lacked the creativity of the Narnia books or even the novel ideas of The Screwtape Letters, which left me thinking this would have been better, and more impactful, if it was written simply as an essay.

It seems like Lewis forgot that his allegories have impact because he uses something totally unique as the vehicle for his message, but a weird bus ride and some sharp grass didn’t cut it for me.

In terms of the message, it made an interesting point about how we reject joy in favor of our weaknesses (vice, grudges, arrogance, stupidity, etc.).

Many of the conversations were heartbreaking, such as one with a mother who not only refuses to join her son in heaven, but also demands he come out of heaven to suffer with her. It’s impactful not so much because of anything related to heaven or hell, but because of the way we drag each other down, sometimes in the name of love.

I was offput when Lewis argued that those in heaven should not have their joy tarnished by those that can’t get there too. There is a scene where a woman tries to convince a family member to join her in heaven, but when the soul refuses, unable to let go of his self-pity, she walks away immediately and without concern, singing that ‘nothing can trouble her joy.’

This struck me as incredibly heartless.

Some underline-worthy quotes:

“For all that can be shaken will be shaken and only the unshakeable remains.”

‘[They were] so interested in proving the existence of God that they came to care nothing for God Himself…as if God had nothing to do but exist.”

“They terrify lest they should fear.”

“To be afraid of oneself is the last horror.”