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WHAT HAPPENED Christian novel _The Shack_, written by first-time author William P. Young and privately published by two former pastors, has surprised many critics by taking the No. 1 spot on

the _New York Times_ paperback fiction best-seller list. WHAT THE COMMENTATORS SAID SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from

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directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. This is “the most compelling recent

example of how a word-of-mouth phenomenon can explode into a blockbuster,” said Motoko Rich in _The New York Times_. Praise for _The Shack_ “ripped through the Christian blogosphere, talk

radio and pulpits across the country,” and now its publisher “estimates that the book has sold more than one million copies” so far. “There are many stories of Christian-themed books that

enjoy massive sales fueled by strong church and community networks,” said Sarah Britten in the _Times_ blog A Little Britten. It’s the same kind of “word of mouth that drove the impressive

box office receipts for Mel Gibson’s _Passion of the Christ_.” It just goes to show how the “acknowledged experts” in the publishing field don’t “always have a handle on what the market will

respond to.” Secular publishers weren't the only ones to reject _The Shack_, said Dan Kois and Lane Brown in the _New York_ magazine blog Vulture, Christian publishers did too because

they thought it was “a little too free and easy with its religion.” Who would have guessed that a book “about a guy whose daughter was killed by a serial killer, who then talks to God in the

form of a jolly black woman,” would do so well? A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com