Cross Roads

by Wm. Paul Young

Paperback, 2013

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Genres

Christian Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Publication

FaithWords (2013), Edition: Reprint, 304 pages

Description

Fiction. Literature. Anthony Spencer is egotistical, proud of being a self-made business success at the peak of his game, even though the cost of winning was painfully high. A cerebral hemorrhage leaves Tony comatose in a hospital ICU. He "awakens" to find himself in a surreal world, a "living" landscape that mirrors dimensions of his earthly life, from the beautiful to the corrupt. It is here that he has vivid interactions with others he assumes are projections of his own subconscious, but whose directions he follows nonetheless with the possibility that they might lead to authenticity and perhaps, redemption. The adventure draws Tony into deep relational entanglements where he is able to "see" through the literal eyes and experiences of others, but is "blind" to the consequences of hiding his personal agenda and loss that emerge to war against the processes of healing and trust. Will this unexpected coalescing of events cause Tony to examine his life and realize he built a house of cards on the poisoned grounds of a broken heart? Will he also have the courage to make a critical choice that can undo a major injustice he set in motion before falling into a coma?… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Farree

I read 'The Shack' a number of years ago and really enjoyed it. This one is better, I think, than 'The Shack,' mainly because we get to see Mr. Young's idea of what 'near death experiences' are all about. It is very well written, but there is an enormous amount of doctrine that needs to be waded

through to get to the story embedded in it. It is also very emotional (what some people would, no doubt, call a real 'tear-jerker'). There are a few things I would point out that may not be obvious to many readers (NO Spoilers!!). No. 1. The character Jack is based on "Jack Lewis," otherwise known as C. S. Lewis, author of 'The Chronicles of Narnia,' etc. (I can hear certain readers going 'DUH-H-H!,' to whom I would merely say, trust me, there are those who don't know). No. 2.: and this applies to 'The Shack' as well. I don't know if Mr. Young knows this, but having the Holy Spirit be female is a view that was taken by the Shakers, who also had the 2nd coming of Christ be Mother Ann Lee, founder of that Sect. And they were very much the sort of people that Young depicts as 'heavenly' in the two books. Which is to say, the Shakers were very much dependent upon an almost 'utopian' communistic and celibate network of relationships almost like Young portrays in this book. Getting back to the story, I really did enjoy the comedic episodes where 'Tony' infiltrated 'Maggie' -- it reminded me of the movie "All of Me," starring Lily Tomlin and Steve Martin. A real scream. Okay. so -

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LibraryThing member longhorndaniel

Not as profound as The Shack but has just as many tender hearted moments that had me reaching for the tissue on a number of occasions; loved the characters though it does follow some of the same styles as his previous book but it's always good to look at God from a different perspective

LibraryThing member LemurKat

I fully expected to dislike this novel, which I mainly read because I am up to "Y" in the alphabet. I had read "The Shack" and found it a little saccarine and preachy, and in the start, this book struck me the same way. When Tony went into his "internal world" and started meeting up with various

entities, it did feel very familiar and a little bit too preachy for my tastes. However, the moment Tony found himself seeing the world through Caddy's eyes and then jumping from host to host - that was when things got far more interesting. The writing style is a bit long-winded and drags on in parts, and the religious theme is pretty strong, but overall it isn't a bad way to look at the world, and it makes for an interesting read - even if I do take some of the things with a grain of salt.

God loves sarcasm, eh? Isn't sarcasm commonly considered the lowest form of wit?

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LibraryThing member Poohbear1972

I enjoyed this book but it was not as good as The Shack to me. I was not happy with the ending.

LibraryThing member Judy.Welker.Frick

The story of Anthony Spencer, a successful businessman who seems to have it all. He discovers when he is in the ICU, just how wrong he was. I loved The Shack, but Crossroads was not as easy for me to follow or understand.

LibraryThing member jnmwheels

While I do not agree with some of the theology, the reflective journey helped me sort out some of my own theological beliefs. I am always grateful when an author is able to do this and think it a sign of meaningful, deep writing. I could not give it 5 stars because it does not have the polish and

depth that other great pieces of literature do. The book will make an excellent book study, providing thought provoking self discovery and if allowed a gateway into the universe within.

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LibraryThing member pegmcdaniel

This latest novel from Wm. Paul Young is inspirational, just like his novel, The Shack. Mr. Young does another great job of weaving a story about a hopeless man and how the love of God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit enter his mind and show him how to heal himself and others in his life.

The

characters are memorable and Mr. Young shows the Blessed Trinity to be down-to-earth and understanding of our many problems and emotions. We are shown ways to discard our evil behaviors and how to find our passage back into God's good graces which we need for salvation.

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LibraryThing member jfe16

Egotistical Anthony Spencer, a successful self-made businessman, suffers a cerebral hemorrhage and lies comatose in the hospital intensive care unit. While unconscious, he “awakens” to a surreal world, similar to the world he’s known in his life. In his “life” in this alternative reality,

Tony is able to “see” through the experiences of others but is “blind” to the consequences when he hides his personal agenda.
Will this experience cause Tony to examine his life and the results of his actions? Will he find the courage to undo the injustice he set in motion before he lapsed into the coma?

While Tony isn’t a “bad” man, he isn’t “good,” either. Readers will find his journey to understanding well worth reading.

Recommended.

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LibraryThing member Suzanne81

The best part of the book were the quotes at the beginning of each chapter.

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