I downloaded Rooms to my Kindle app from Amazon’s while it was available as a free download.  The cover looked good, and the description sounded interesting.  I guess if I were familiar with Ted Dekker’s House, I wouldn’t have been so surprised by this book, but I’m not, so I don’t even know how the two books are similar.

Micah Taylor is co-owner of a software company, and he thinks he has it all.  Until he gets a letter from a long-dead uncle who has had a house built for him on the Oregon coast.  That’s about the time Micah begins to realize his life is not as it seems.  He heads to the coast to make arrangements to sell the house, but the house draws him in.  He begins a journey of spiritual discovery that borders on the bizarre.

This book kept me engaged, but it also made me question the author’s handling of Micah’s situation.  Micah is on a journey to put his life in order and get right with God, but how he does it conflicts with a lot of my spiritual beliefs about how such things might happen.

Was he saying Micah had to choose between God and his software company?  Is he saying wealthy people cannot be Christians?  What about Micah essentially abandoning his company while he spent extended time at the coast “finding himself”?  That’s a contradiction in terms — you have to be independently wealthy to pursue your right place with God, because it’s a full-time job, but you can’t be CEO of a large company if you’re going to be right with God.  I don’t believe those were the messages Mr. Rubart was trying to send, but that was some of the mental chatter going on in my head while I was reading.  I confess, one of the reasons I kept reading was to see how he would handle this.

The alternate reality aspects of the storyline were very disconcerting.  Early on, I decided not to worry about HOW the new rooms kept showing up in the house.  That was chalked up to the Hand of God, and I decided that was one area where I needed to press the “I Believe” button.

As troubling as the shifting reality was and the difference it made in the relationships between and among the characters, I found the device intriguing.

How did Micah’s life turn out?  You’ll have to read for yourself.  Be prepared for an unusual experience.