Scheherazade
08-21-2007, 09:10 PM
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
This is a short novel about Eddie, whom we meet on his 83rd birthday, which also turns out to be his last day in this world. We follow him as he goes through his last hour and his death. However, this is just the beginning of the story. After his death, Eddie moves on to Heaven, where he meets five people whose lives have been affected by him or who have affected his life. Some of these people he knows well and some he has not met at all. During these encounters we get to know Eddie better and he gets to chance to understand why he had to live his life the way he did. He also gets a chance to resolve certain issues he had with his family and himself.
While alive, Eddie, who worked as a maintenance person at an adventure park, was never satisfied with himself and his life. However, as he goes through with his interviews with his 5 people, he realises that we are all parts of a bigger scheme; like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle: even though individually they might seem insignificant, they are all needed to complete the picture.
While reading the book, I was reminded of the movie 'It's a Wonderful Life'. It is a feel good book, which offers a pleasant take on life. Albom's writing style is relaxed. He grabs the reader's attention from the very first page, never letting it go till the very last.
7/10 KitKats!
This is a short novel about Eddie, whom we meet on his 83rd birthday, which also turns out to be his last day in this world. We follow him as he goes through his last hour and his death. However, this is just the beginning of the story. After his death, Eddie moves on to Heaven, where he meets five people whose lives have been affected by him or who have affected his life. Some of these people he knows well and some he has not met at all. During these encounters we get to know Eddie better and he gets to chance to understand why he had to live his life the way he did. He also gets a chance to resolve certain issues he had with his family and himself.
While alive, Eddie, who worked as a maintenance person at an adventure park, was never satisfied with himself and his life. However, as he goes through with his interviews with his 5 people, he realises that we are all parts of a bigger scheme; like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle: even though individually they might seem insignificant, they are all needed to complete the picture.
While reading the book, I was reminded of the movie 'It's a Wonderful Life'. It is a feel good book, which offers a pleasant take on life. Albom's writing style is relaxed. He grabs the reader's attention from the very first page, never letting it go till the very last.
7/10 KitKats!