Part melodrama and part parable, Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven weaves together three stories, all told about the same man: 83-year-old Eddie, the head maintenance person at Ruby Point Amusement Park. As the novel opens, readers are told that Eddie, unsuspecting, is only minutes away from death as he goes about his typical business at the park. Albom then traces Eddie's world through his tragic final moments, his funeral, and the ensuing days as friends clean out his apartment and adjust to life without him. In alternating sections, Albom flashes back to Eddie's birthdays, telling his life story as a kind of progress report over candles and cake each year. And in the third and last thread of the novel, Albom follows Eddie into heaven where the maintenance man sequentially encounters five pivotal figures from his life (a la A Christmas Carol). Each person has been waiting for him in heaven, and, as Albom reveals, each life (and death) was woven into Eddie's own in ways he never suspected. Each soul has a story to tell, a secret to reveal, and a lesson to share. Through them Eddie understands the meaning of his own life even as his arrival brings closure to theirs.Albom takes a big risk with the novel; such a story can easily veer into the saccharine and preachy, and this one does in moments. But, for the most part, Albom's telling remains poignant and is occasionally profound. Even with its flaws, The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a small, pure, and simple book that will find good company on a shelf next to It's A Wonderful Life.
Video of Mitch Albom on The Five People You Meet in Heaven:
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LOLJPB, February 17, 2006
Reviewer: LOLJPB
Mitch Albom’s (Tuesdays with Morrie) latest is a great story, made even better by an audio version that gives a glimpse of the potential of audio books. Rather than being just another reading of a novel, Five People is full of music, sounds and voices that makes the telling of this story truly magical. While listening to this book I often felt like I was at a movie. In fact, I could pretty much envision what the movie will be like when/if it is made. That should be the goal of all producers of audio books.
The story in itself was interesting although perhaps not as memorable as Tuesdays with Morrie. In a nutshell, it tells the fictional story of Eddie, a maintenance worker at an amusement park who dies in a tragic accident. Eddie arrives in heaven only to meet five people who walk him through his life and explain the reasons why certain things happened the way they did. Overall, it’s highly entertaining and if you’re thinking about reading the book I’d strongly recommend listening to it instead.
Audio-Specific Content: I listened to the unabridged version of this book on CD (5 CDs, 6 hours). As previously mentioned, it is a wonderful audio production of the book. It is narrated by Erik Singer who does a masterful job. The sound effects and background music add so much to this production, making it a pleasure to listen to.
- Published:
2003
- Average Customer Ratings:
 (3.6, Audible.com)
- LearnOutLoud.com Product ID:
T003249
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1401391346 |
9781401391348 |
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1401397514 |
9781401397517 |
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Self Development
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Spirituality
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