Five People You Meet In Heaven, by Mitch Albom

I did quite enjoy toying around with the concept that pivotal characters in your life may be people you only meet briefly, or even whose path you cross without acknowledgement.

Nice to keep in the back of your mind to keep you on your toes.

I love that a topic so deep can be expressed in such short form, I read this one in a single sitting. Something about the idea is quite moving, like Perks said, it can keep you on your toes.

Since my Dad is a Vietnam Vet, it made me see things differently.

I loved it; I read it in one sitting and cried all the way through. Someone gave it to me shortly after my brother died and I found it meaningful in several ways. One connection for me was the fact that my brother was a Vietnam vet. There were other connections, as well.

I thought the book was very well written and powerful, and it proves that a book doesn't have to have a ton of pages to deliver a poignant message.

One more thing: the picture in the back of the book! That took my breath away. Gave a face to the story.

I also read this book in one sitting -- loved every bit. My mother loaned it to me and said, "this is a very quick read. You won't regret a minute." She was right.

I really enjoyed this. I'd read Tuesdays with Morrie which made me want to read what he could do with fiction.

I like the idea that after death you can find peace and understanding of your life. I think he shows a great connection between all people. It's a book that makes you think. The one shame is that the title being religious-sounding will make some people not pick it up even though I think it really can be read by almost anyone regardless of faith or lack thereof.

I enjoyed this book as well. It isn't my usual kind of book, but as others have said, it was a quick read and I was very intrigued. I read this in one weekend because I couldn't put it down. I kept turning the pages eager to see who the next person the main character would meet. It was interesting the way the characters intersected with each other and I liked the upbeat feel of the story. I would definitely recommend this.

Albom has a new book out now. I hope it can live up to this one.

I just thought it was okay. Don't remember much else about it, so that tells you something.

Storyteller5 said:

Albom has a new book out now. I hope it can live up to this one.

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Indeed! And as soon as I get an assignment or three out of the way, I'm diving into it! http://www.albom.com/books_one_more_day.html is the link. The premise looks good! And thanks to someone I know very well winning a promo copy of the book, I even get to borrow and read it for free.

When you read something like TFPYMIH you wonder about how you struggle so long to write something intricate and profound, and then along comes a small simple book like this that just envelops all your emotions and crushes them in a sad but pleasurable way. And so...maybe Albom teaches us something here...quality over quantity, and even simplicity over complexity?

Misty_Blue said:

And so...maybe Albom teaches us something here...quality over quantity, and even simplicity over complexity?

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Yep. I don't know how he manages to pack such huge emotional punches in so few words, but he does it. I love reading his sports columns too, and I'm not even a sports junkie.

maestrowork said:

Me 2. I really liked the simpleness of the story and the intriguing idea of life, chances, and consequences; I am a slow reader but this one kept me turning the pages and I finished it in one sitting. Short book. I specifically liked the chapters about 'Nam (very intense) and the first and last chapter. I am not sure about the religious (probably Christian) overtone, though.

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http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2003/11/20/tuesday_with_mitch_a_merchant_of_death/


My comment that he had created a "goyish," or Gentile, heaven, complete with the diaphanous departed disporting themselves among many-colored clouds, likewise lands with a thud. Albom, who graduated from a Jewish religious school, correctly notes that there is no commonly accepted Jewish version of heaven. OK, but why the Christian pap? "I wanted this to be a book about life on earth," Albom says. "It's really a fable. I didn't write this to have religious overtones."

I almost feel guilty about posting what I'm about to post, there's such a feel-good response to this book thus far. I'm like erika, and just thought it was okay; I only have a lot to say because I review every book I read (this year) in one of my blogs.

The short of my review is this: It was a nice little story and a quick read.

The longer version (abridged version of the one on my site though): I was actually annoyed at how much spacing was in the first chapter, the paragraph breaks were superfluous. I was also annoyed at the repetition; I got tired really quickly of: “With (# here) minutes left on earth…with (# here) minutes to live…with (# here) minutes until his death…with (#here) minutes left….”
It reminded me of “The Lovely Bones” for obvious reasons: a. it followed the point of view of a dead person, and b. it follows the idea of heaven being tailored to each person (although that person bumps into meaningful people here and there and gets a glimpse of those people’s heavens).
One of the author’s flaws is too much telling and/or telling even after showing, when showing alone was sufficient. Sometimes, I even felt like I was getting lectured.
While I wish I could say it was a beautiful book, it wasn’t. Not particularly enlightening or engaging since none of the concepts-heaven, interconnectivity/"the butterfly effect" etc.- were new to me or presented in an interesting way. I did, however, like the paragraph beginning: "All parents damage their children." It was a beautiful paragraph. And the war section made me sad, as war references and stories usually do.
But like I said, a nice little story and a quick read.

good thing about albom - he has interesting ideas and his books are short and punchy - bad thing about albom - a lot of telling and some of his messages are preachy, but know his books are 'inspirational' - tuesday with morrie was his best book and it was nonfiction, his latest is the weakest but interesting what if concepts

I liked Tuesdays with Morrie, but I found the book of topic it to be a bit slow in pace and repetitive.

I read this only a month ago, and it was the most enjoyable thing I've read in a long time. OTOH, I haven't read a whole lot of mainstream fiction.

I am not sure about the religious (probably Christian) overtone, though.

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With "Heaven" in the title, I thought it would have had a much stronger Christian message or be "preachy" in some other way, but it has very little if any of that, at least IMHO. This was a pretty much secularized Heaven, even though Heaven itself is a Christian concept. I read it almost in spite of the title, and only because someone whose opinion I respect gave it a strong thumbs up. I recall God mentioned only two or three times, and that's enough for an agnostic UU who grew up in a Christian environment (okay, I realize that might not describe everyone here...)

While I wish I could say it was a beautiful book, it wasn’t. Not particularly enlightening or engaging since none of the concepts-heaven, interconnectivity/"the butterfly effect" etc.- were new to me or presented in an interesting way.

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None were new to me either, but I didn't think any of those ideas were included in the book gratuitously, but rather they were all an integral part of telling the story.

Somewhere about halfway through I knew he had talked of having been married, and I kept wondering, HEY, I'm not reading anything about his wife, from what little I read he loved her dearly and she was a VERY important part of his life - what gives? But I kept reading (the pages were flying past, and it's a pretty short book) and soon had my curiosity satisfied. IIRC she was the Fourth Person he met.

I won't spoil anymore for those who haven't read it, other than to warn, be sure to have Kleenex (or other brand name...) handy when you get to the Fifth Person.

I just finished reading this book. Loved it. It's very inspirational.


And after reading some of the posts above I was thinking it shows just how subjective all of this is. If that had been my manuscript I sent to one certain editor, he or she might have said what some of you said. Maybe rejected it. And then I might have sent it to another editor who would have said, "I love it. This is a wonderful book."

So it shows that when we post our work here in Share Your Work or share a manuscript with another person through email, we are not going to be able to please everybody. Imagine not getting a book published because some people thought it was trite or too "telling."

I liked it very much, too. I like his ideas about how everything is inter-related and of consequence, and everyone and everything that happens serves some purpose.

Albom is a wonderful writer. I've enjoyed all his books. I just finished his latest, and while Tuesdays With Morrie is still my favorite, the others have made me think of things in a different light as well.

It's been a couple years since I read it and am still moved when I think of the three most perfect words in his book. You wash me.

I read both, and remember Tuesdays with Morrie better than Five people You Meet in Heaven. It was all right, but not one of my favorite books.

I loved this book. I received it as a gift. And what I love about it is how everything is connected to make this man's life, even Ruby Pier.

The five people who impacted his life also impacted the lives of all of the people who rode the rides at the amusement park that was his job to keep safe.

Everything is connected.

I really enjoyed this book when I read it last year. It may have been because it connected so many small events together, or simply because it was the first book I had read in months. But, regardless of the reason, it was very enjoyable. I am not a fan at all of most modern writers, yet somehow Albom created a work that I actually found myself liking.