AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Grace by Max Lucado

Full disclosure: with the possible exception of his children’s books, I am not a Max Lucado fan.  He is a good writer, but his writing doesn’t really challenge me or make me think.  He seems to be writing at the most basic level, and to the lowest common denominator.  However, with his book Grace this approach works very well because the titular subject is one of the most basic concepts of Christianity.

Lucado’s book is certainly warm and engaging, but also stays fairly light and kind of whimsical.  He does a good job describing the greatness, endlessness, etc. of grace.  However, I never felt the weight of the ideas because Lucado seems to carry the load for the reader in an almost patronizing way.  C’mon, Max, let us wrestle with the concepts and struggle with the paradoxes.  The mystery and wonder seem to be missing.

As per usual, he lays on the metaphors and similes thickly and furiously.  As an audiobook, it’s a little difficult to listen to because of this.  You don’t get to go back and re-read a phrase, wringing out the meaning that Lucado has saturated it with, because we’re already onto the next word picture.  The narrator does a decent job, but I found his gregarious reading voice to be a bit grating at times.

All this makes it sound as if I didn’t like the book.  But actually I did enjoy it.  If you read it for what it is, a series of simple thoughts on grace in our daily lives, then it’s great.  If you’re expecting a deeply theological or probingly person book on the doctrine of grace, you should know you’re reading the wrong author.  The best part of the book is probably the section that Lucado had the toughest time writing.  He relates a recent period in his life where he dealt with a secret drinking problem, and how he confessed his sin to the elders of his church and fell on the grace of God.  Now this is real-life stuff.  All metaphors aside, Max Lucado has struggled with real sin and wondered himself if God’s grace is big enough.  He claims it is, and I agree.  Thanks for being honest, Max.

Please Note: This audiobook was gifted as a part of the Christianaudio Reviewers Program in exchange for my unbiased review of this work. This has in no way influenced my opinion or review of this work.  More information can be found about this and other Christian audiobooks at christianaudio.com.