Heaven, How I Got Here: The Story of the Thief on the Cross by Colin S. SmithMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I read this over the Easter weekend - it seemed appropriate. The story describes Jesus’ crucifixion from the point of view of the “penitent thief”, that is the man to whom Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”
I thought this was an intriguing premise but, I got pulled out of the world of the story a few times by some clumsiness in the writing. For example, in the opening page of the book, a first century Jew, writing from heaven, exclaims, “Looking back, the entire day and how it ended still blows my mind.” Really? His mind was blown? Or, the way the author broke the fourth wall (can a book have a wall, never mind a breakable fourth one?) for example, “…I asked Him to save me. That is something you can do too.” Addressing the reader directly can work (“Reader, I married him.”) but too often in this book it feels tacked on, as if the author doesn’t trust us to work things out for ourselves. A related third point is I felt preached at, and none too subtly preached at - especially at the end of the book.
The final section is a question and answer session with the author. He is asked why he didn’t turn it into a full sized novel. I must admit, I was wondering why he didn’t cut it down to a pamphlet as it felt stretched to me.
Worth reading – just be prepared to be beaten over the head with the message.
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