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Summary: A Predictable Exploration of Human Life
Review: The title intrigued me; who isn't drawn to the possibilities of our afterlives? In The Five People You Meet in Heaven, we meet Eddie, a pathetic old man who is bitter about is life. He thinks he has accomplished nothing, and feels reminded of it every day. Then he dies on his 83rd birthday during an accident at work, and he is carried off to heaven to meet his five people. Each person has a lesson to teach him, and each one of them was completely predictable. The themes in the book are nothing new, and many a philosopher would walk away uninspired.I also found this a quick read, and was skimming over many of the paragraphs. However, I did like the ending as it summed up all life's lessons from the novel. It was a nice little reminder that we are important to others even if we forgot it from time to time.
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Summary: I loved it!
Review: This book was great. It is so short and to the point that a person could read it in a day if they wanted. The writing is very vivid and moves you to cry. It makes you realize the importance that each of us play, regardless of how insignificant your life seems. It's also comforting.
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Summary: A Bit of A Let Down after Tuesdays With Maurie
Review: I was excited to read this book because I was so touched by Albom's first book, Tuesdays With Maurie. It was a quick read and held my attention, but it wasn't nearly as moving as my first experience with his writing. I would recommend this book, but if you haven't read Tuesdays With Maurie, definitely read that book first.
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Summary: Christian: Proceed Thoughtfully
Review: First, I have to confess, this book made me cry. The main character's story is sad, and it touched my heart for unrepentant, unrealized lives of "quiet desperation," those to whom many Christians never reach out. That alone should be worth the read. And unlike other reviewers, I took the "Aesop's fable" style to be a literary device, rather than poor writing. It also paralleled some of my own family relationships, and surely those of many others, so it also had great personal meaning for me -- as it likely will for you. The key themes are:
1. Interconnected lives.
2. Unrecognized value/potential.
3. Human forgiveness. Point 3 is _wonderfully_ illustrated. In fact, all of the five people teach the main character about either sacrifice or forgiveness, sometimes simultaneously. I did have some problems with the implicit theology in spots: "heaven is for explaining your life [to you];" heaven is what you make it; an unrepentant, unrealized life of quiet service to others will get you into heaven; another human soul can elevate you to heaven. It has to be read thoughtfully, with scripture in hand, to guard against a "saved by works/saved regardless" takeaway. Overall, the core themes are meaningful and beautifully illustrated, if taken carefully in a Christian context. The idea that every person is worth your compassion, whether saved or sinner, is a very important lesson all Christians should internalize.
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Summary: Wow
Review: Quick and easy to read. Very touching and thought -provoking. Not based on theology or biblical doctrine but spiritually lifting.
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Summary: Wannabe wonderful life
Review: Read this book for my book club. Normally I will read a 500 plus page book in 5 hrs. This book took me days. Just couldn't get into it. So maudlin, sappy and a wanna be Wonderful Life. Jimmy Stewart never would have acted in it, no less read the script. No substance, no heart, no feeling. Almost like a trivial look into the after-life. Don't know how it stayed on the best seller list. I now have to go to my book club, where I am sure everybody loved it.
To each his own.
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Summary: Everything happens for a reason...
Review: Simply said, this is a novel written around the theme of "everything happens for a reason." Each person we meet in our lives, each course of action we are involved with, each path we embark on in our journey of life happens for a reason. We are destined to do certain things, meet certain people, and experience certain challenges, from the day we are born. This book is a classical example of this notion at its best. Mitch Albom has a gift - the gift of putting in writing, the most basic, yet most crucial, lessons of life which each of us will experience to one degree or another. Just as Albom inspired us with "Tuesdays with Morrie," he has continued to do so with "The five people you meet in heaven." A good read... a good reminder of our purpose here on earth.
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Summary: Zen and the Art of Amusement Ride Maintenance
Review: The five people you meet in heaven are the five who will confirm your fears and validate your being. Eddie, head of maintenance at Ruby Pier, a bit of a coward, a bit of a hero, is drawn to the heaven of five others who teach him his place in the universe. His life and death are not quite as unremarkable as he surmised. Eddie, who fixed rides at an aging amusement park, sees his life as wasted opportunity. Eddie, who loved and lost, and grew bitter with age, has to learn about life from the eyes of others. This is a profoundly wise and sweet fable. The message is at least as old as John Donne who proclaimed that "any man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind." But unlike Donne's Meditation XVII Albom's short novel flickers in lifelike motion like a silent movie across a silver screen. In Eddie's life, we can see Anyman and in Anyman's we can see ourselves.
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Summary: Simple messages to think about...
Review: I didn't/wouldn't take this book literal enough to think it's painting a picture of what heaven is, or is supposed to be. The whole heaven spin is just a mechanism for making the point. That's why there's never any consideration about "Eddie" returning to life or fixing it. It's simply a matter of understanding it. It very simply made me think of how complicated life is. Next time you see that old veteran geezer marching in the parade or getting drunk in a corner....just think of what kind of story is behind each one.
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Summary: Captivating
Review: This is the first Albom novel that I have ever picked up -- I guess I was simply intrigued by the title. This book is, in simpliest terms, excellent. The colorful descriptions actually painted vivid pictures for me. The narrative was comfortable and easy, like reading a letter from a lost relative...filling me in on the years that we missed. This book so struck me that I read it cover to cover in a few hours, something I rarely am able to accomplish. Highly recommended.
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