Monday 16 May 2016

BOOK REVIEW: The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

5/5 Stars

Blurb:

Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination, but an answer.

In heaven, five people explain your life to you. Some you knew, others may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his "meaningless" life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: "Why was I here?"
 

Review:

You always know I've enjoyed a book when I finish it so quickly. Granted, it was a short book to begin with, but still, I didn't want to stop this one. The only reason I did is because I had to sleep and go to work. I still managed to finish it the next day. 

The five people you meet in heaven is a book I wanted to read a while ago after reading the sample. The frugal nature in me didn't want to pay £5.99 for a kindle book - it seemed a bit steep - especially when I already pay £7/£8 a month for as many books as I want on unlimited. Nevertheless, I decided to just go for it, because time passed and I still wanted to read it. I suppose in the grand scheme of things I just paid more than that for an average film at the cinema. Anyway, I digress. 

The book cannot really be described as anything but heartwarming. The main character dies at the beginning of the book, and while in heaven, he meets 5 people who all have a story to tell, however insignificant he thinks they might be to him. 

Around 90% of the way through the book, I actually teared up. The 5th and final person he meets is again, someone he has never met before, and yet changed his life, and death, so significantly. The way the author revealed it and brought it together was just perfect. I gasped from shock and devastation, and then felt my heart warm following. It's a book I'm glad that I spent money on. No regrets. I'd be interested to read other books from Mitch Albom. 



No comments:

Post a Comment