Is Heaven For Real?
In Heaven Is For Real, Todd Burpo brings to life the mind of a four year old boy who supposedly has traveled to heaven in back, all in three minutes. Colton Burpo, Todd’s son, begins to feel sick and after one thing leads to another, is rushed into emergency surgery to repair his burst appendix that has been leaking poison into him for the past couple of days. After Todd and his wife spend hours worrying, pacing, and shouting at God, Colton finally comes out of surgery safe and sound. The fact that Colton even survives is a miracle in itself, and not long after surgery, the Burpo family discovers a much more fascinating miracle that lies within their son. After a few suspicious occurrences in which Colton makes an insignificant reference to Jesus, he claims to have been watching his parents while he was having surgery. “Colton said that he ‘went up out of’ his body, that he had spoken with angels, and had sat in Jesus’ lap…’You were in a little room by yourself praying, and Mommy was in a different room and she was praying and talking on the phone’”(Burpo 61). This leaves Mr. and Mrs. Burpo wondering if there could be something more than just a creative imagination coming from Colton, and throughout the novel they question their son and discover that he really has done the unimaginable...traveled to heaven and back.
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| Todd and Colton Burpo |
Overall, the book is a success. Burpo manages to describe the complicated story of Colton’s experiences in the most uncomplicated way possible. Most people who are able to read in general will be able to pick up Heaven Is For Real and go from start to finish with ease. So, if you’re looking for a more difficult novel, this one is definitely not for you. How well written a book is doesn’t depend on the difficulty, it depends on the actual content of the story. Having this in mind, Heaven Is For Real is the prime example of a good book. It causes you to think about your faith, whatever it may be, and in some cases renew your beliefs in that faith. A lot of controversy came with the novel from parts such as when Colton told his father that if a dead person didn’t know Jesus, he couldn’t go to heaven. Colton shouts, “‘He had to! He had to!’ Colton went on. ‘He can’t get into heaven if he didn’t have Jesus in his heart!’”(Burpo 59). Putting something like this into a novel that anyone anywhere has the ability to buy is a risky move, and in some ways it turned out troublesome for Burpo. He shouldn’t have to take the brunt of the criticism though because readers could easily have read the title, seen Heaven, and put it back down if that isn’t their faith. They have the ability to choose what they read, and shouldn’t blame the author for writing something controversial.
In the middle of the book, Burpo includes multiple pages of family pictures that lighten the mood and help to illustrate his family timeline. The pictures also consist of Colton’s deceased grandpa, who he claims to have seen during his trip, which allows readers to grasp the impossibility of Colton even knowing who his grandpa is, let alone seeing him in an afterlife. Although, like I said, the book is mostly successful, there were multiple parts of the story that were just plain annoying. Of course it’s shocking to hear from your young son that he has done the unheard of, but Burpo describes every instance of his son’s recollection as earth-shattering. Phrases like, “That set my head spinning” (63), “My mind reeled” (66), “My heart skipped a beat” (79), and “Try hearing that and staying on the road” (136) all support the fact that Colton’s father was in awe of his son’s stories, but also suggest that every single time Colton said anything, Burpo literally couldn’t believe it, even though the same thing basically happened to him 20 pages earlier. The pattern is this: Colton recalls something extraordinary, Mr. Burpo freaks out, repeat. Especially with him being a pastor and all, you’d think his jaw wouldn’t drop that much every single time.
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| Colton Burpo, present |
The most important aspect of every novel is the message, and if there’s anything that Heaven Is For Real does well, it’s put across an inspiring one. Flipping the pages of the book, every element of Christianity is explored in a creative, but in depth way. Even if you aren’t Christian, who’s to say you can’t do the same with your own faith. The inspiring story causes the reader to think about eternity, and what it might have in store. For a believer or non-believer, the novel throws you into the mind of a child, exposing the innocent imagination of a four year old boy. I’m sure if what happened to Colton happened to an adult, many would only think of it as a good dream. That’s what’s so special about Colton’s perspective. It’s not like a four year old child who barely knows how to read is going to make up a story like that. You’re unknowingly forced to believe what he says, for the simple fact that Colton is truly genuine from start to finish.
