Review: The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom

Eddie is a grizzled war veteran who feels trapped in a meaningless life of fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. His days are a dull routine of work, loneliness, and regret. Then, on his 83rd birthday, Eddie dies in a tragic accident, trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden, but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers. Yet each of them changed your path forever. One by one, Eddie’s five people illuminate the unseen connections of his earthly life. As the story builds to its stunning conclusion, Eddie desperately seeks redemption in the still-unknown last act of his life: Was it a heroic success or a devastating failure? The answer, which comes from the most unlikely of sources, is as inspirational as a glimpse of heaven itself.




I find this book quite interesting and unique because the genre is outside that which i usually read and the way it is written keeps me interested in knowing who the other people Eddie will meet in heaven. (The reason why i picked this up was that i saw many classmates reading it and my friend was kind enough to lend her book to me. Thanks Em!)

This book is literally about 5 people whom Eddie will meet in Heaven, after he dies. By meeting these people, he will be able to understand more about the life he had on Earth and try to understand the meaning of forgiving and letting go.

I feel that the book's idea is that there will always be a cause and effect; sometimes the outcome will be good, sometimes it will be bad, but it will happen every time, everywhere. And that every action a person take will be felt either by him/her or another person. It makes me think that everyone is connected in some way.

That each affects the other and the other affects the next, and the world is full of stories, but the stories are all one.

The part which i had liked the most was       

~~SPOILER ALERT !! ~~

the relationship Eddie had with his wife, Marguerite.

"I never wanted anyone else," he said quietly.
"I know," she said.
"I was still in love with you."
"I know." She nodded. "I felt it."
"Here?" he asked
"Even here," she said smiling. "That's how strong lost love can be."

And also,

When he moved his head back, she was 47 again, the web of lines between her eyes, the thinner hair, the looser skin beneath her chin. She smiled and he smiled, and she was, to him, as beautiful as ever..

How sweet was it!

Overall, I'll give it a 8 out of 10. It's a good book, especially if you want to try out something new and fresh and wish to know what Heaven means to some of us. It's not really a spiritual book but more of a moving-on book, what happens after dying. Plus the love Eddie and Marguerite share is another reason why you should read this book. After all, how many books that you read have this type of sweet and long lasting love?