Book Review
Ghost
By J.N. Williamson
For a book written in 1984, it sure was a mysterious and interesting read. I found the story excellent. And although I had a hard time with keeping track of the heaven and hell characters, I understood their roles in the story. I may read it again sometime soon just to get a better hold on their intentions and battle, which probably had a much deeper meaning than I found in its ending.
This book had just the right mix of spiritual, racial, gender, love, trust, parenthood, youth, old age, heaven and hell, and of course a Ghost.
I’m sure that someone involved in the movie Ghost, which came out around 1990, must’ve read this book to get their initial idea.
What I found interesting were the relationships of the characters. There’s much conflict and change going on in the families of the White Ghost and the little Black boy who helps the ghost. It takes the love between family members to bring about the success of the story.
To have a ghost narrate to you about what it feels like to be dead does get a bit spooky. The ghost, being a writer in his earth life, has the skill to describe his after death existence in a way the reader finds believable and captivating. Constantly while reading this book I found myself putting my being in the ghost’s position. What if I’d died and had to watch my ex-wife and family move on with their lives without me. The resentments and apologies in you can no longer be shared with your family. You’re cut off from any form of contact. Your anger drives you to haunt the living as you become an introverted unhappy entity without a home and no future to think of. What would you do?
I suppose the isolation is what makes the book so real and scary. Not knowing who’s running the show and after awhile not caring about anything.
To have a child be the hero and savior in this book was perfect. Reminds me of a biblical quote which says “In order to enter the kingdom of heaven we must become as children.” Yes, it took a child to see and do what adults were unable or too busy to even see. And it took a wise old man to help prepare that child for the day when he’d need to use his special gift.
I’m still not sure if the plan was for all of them to end up in heaven or not. Maybe the ghost was resurrected as talked about earlier in the book. If that was the case, then the ghost was the second coming of Christ and his supporting cast were maybe disciples.
The book leaves you with so many thoughts. The one thought that hits me the strongest is that my Mother and other loved ones who’ve passed over most likely visited me before moving on. And I wonder just where that beyond is and what they’re all doing in that far away place. This book also awakens in an individual all the childhood beliefs about death along with some of those young fears. Maybe it took a child’s mind to concoct such a story. Or maybe it just took a real ghost to tell it. I think I’d better read it again and make sure it’s not me who wrote this story.
Not an exciting book and definitely not horror. But a philosophical/metaphysical journey down a mysterious path that we all must take and this one writer found in him to narrate one possibility. I know, it’s a mystery book. What is death and where do we go once we die? What is heaven and hell and who determines our destination?
I almost forgot to mention the humor written effortlessly into this story. The author talks intimately with the reader about his dilemma and if the reader’s mind can respond to the nifty flow of dialogue then the story becomes alive. I really couldn’t put this book down. It was a quick 283 pages that I couldn’t guess what would happen and didn’t want to end. The ending was very mystical and nothing corny at all. It would take
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