The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis is a fantastic allegory for all of us and what our tendency to hold onto sin can lead to. This book was written as a rebuttal to Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell - which states that all life is a mixture of good and evil and that we should attempt to unify the two (keeping both) rather than pursue good and hate evil. Lewis states in his preface, "If we insist on keeping Hell (or even Earth) we shall not see Heaven; if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell." He says we must divorce the two, and in this book he certainly does so.
The plot centers around a man who starts in Hell, but finds a bus that will take him to Heaven. Once there we see the others who were on the bus with him be ministered to by some of their heavenly contemporaries but sadly most do not stay. Their determination to hold onto their sins is their own undoing. It is clear: you cannot bring sin into Heaven. What's sad is that most of the passengers from Hell don't even realize how bad they have it - or more so how good eternity could be if they'd just repent and believe.
One of my favorite parts of the book is chapter 5. We see one of the passengers (or "Ghosts") be ministered to by someone who was once his peer. This Ghost was/is an extremely logical fellow, full of good-ish intentions, but has lost the path somewhere along the way. The scene is both amusing and yet scary - this Ghost uses scripture at one point to prove his stance, showing that even the Bible (when taken out of context) can be used to promote evil, but the Angel is always one step ahead of him.
This book also has one of the best descriptions of a godly woman I've ever read in chapter 12. She reminds me of some of the godliest women in my life, and she's the woman I hope someday to be. Lewis' writing can't be matched and sadly that scene is too long to post in its entirety here.
Ultimately, this book challenges readers to think about what sins they've been holding onto in their lives (no matter how "light" they may think them) and decide whether they are worth missing out on an eternity with God through His grace.
Divorce is a quick read; but, make sure you have a dictionary on hand because Lewis' vocabulary is extensive (refreshingly so) and he uses many words not common in everyday speech. Also, because of some minor language (the Ghosts are from Hell after all) and the depth of theoretical thinking required to follow Lewis' writing (I had to read some passages twice to fully comprehend what he was saying) I'd recommend this book for readers 16 and up.
