'Room of Marvels' by James Bryan Smith - Book Review

Room of Marvels by James Bryan Smith is a small novel that explores life after death. One Christian writer, Tim, gets a glimpse of heaven in the midst of grieving three tragic losses -- his best friend, mother and daughter. Smith creates a story reminiscent of C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce. Room of Marvels does not hold the theological weight of Lewis, but it is perhaps more personal. This is not a must read for everyone, but it is a good choice for those dealing with suffering who want a Christian perspective.

James Bryan Smith, a Christian author and theologian, experienced three deaths in a row -- his best friend (Christian songwriter Rich Mullins), his mother and his daughter, who was disabled from birth. Tim, the main character in Smith's novel, Room of Marvels, is a Christian writer who also experienced three deaths in a row -- his best friend (a Christian songwriter), his mother and his daughter, who was disabled from birth. Smith's daughter and Tim's daughter are both named Maddie. I don't know whether Smith experienced a dream that gave him a glimpse of the afterlife, but you can be sure that Tim's dream, which takes up most of the novel, is highly personal and reflective of Smith's journey through grief.

In Room of Marvels, Tim is taken to heaven, where he meets people from his past and eventually arrives at the "room of marvels," a place where he receives a unique perspective on the meaning of life.

The personal nature of the novel is one of its strongest points. I read Room of Marvels with my book club, and those who enjoyed it the most were the people in the midst of their own struggles with suffering and grief. They acknowledged that some of the dialogue was awkward, but that mattered less than the vision Smith created.

If you like William P. Young's The Shack, you will probably also like Room of Marvels. The quality of writing is about the same. Room of Marvels contains more quotes from the Bible than The Shack, and might not appeal as much to those who do not espouse the Christian faith. It is, however, another good book to help anyone who likes to consider life's big questions through narrative rather than straight theology or philosophy.