| Title | : | The Five People You Meet in Heaven |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 196 |
| Publication | : | First published September 1, 2003 |
| Awards | : | Lincoln Award (2008) |
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. It's a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who 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?"
The Five People You Meet in Heaven Reviews
-
what providence: i just remembered this book after I read some holier-than-though pretentious bullshit Mitch Albom wrote about Harry Potter. Mr. Albom-Winfrey seems to think the mass marketing of Harry Potter has ruined the theoretical lives of such figures as Winnie the Pooh, Clifford, Curious George, etc., despite that his own shitty books have been thrust upon the world under the same kind of marketing blitz.
As if I weren't annoyed enough at his article, I was subsequently reminded of this little novel, which I read over a few weeks while I was dating a girl; it was in her room, and whenever I found myself there, being bored, I would pick up the thing and read it for a while.
Here's the deal. I'm not sure if Mr. Albom is trying to help me, or stun me, or just bring a flood of tears to fall on the pages, but I am positive that whatever he's trying to do, he sucks at it. Immensely.
There's nothing like one-sentence paragraphs to instill the right amount of melodrama.
Sure, his plot is sort of intriguing, but that's not too surprising. I'm pretty sure if I wrote a book called "THE FIVE PEOPLE WHO WILL FELLATE YOU AND CHEW OFF YOUR FACE AFTER YOU DIE," people would be curious enough to read on. Anybody can think of some kind of "5 people" list and turn it into a passable book; I'm willing to bet that 75% of all the people in the world could do it with less corny, Hallmark Brand melodramatic stupid shit. It's like Mr. Albom suddenly realized he would get laid so much more by pretending to be emotionally available, and now he's suddenly the Josh Groban of authors.
If you enjoyed this book, you're emotionally weak. If you have some sort of affection for Mitch Albom, you're a middle-aged housewife starved from any male emotional output.
God do I hate this motherfucker. -
I don't understand the one star reviews for the book. Are these directed to the author, Mitch Albom, because he openly dissed the Harry Potter phenomena via
a 594-word short story? Because as far as I can tell, The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a decent piece of literature that doesn't deserve the harsh punishment (presumably) directed to its writer. It's well-written, has a handful of good quotes, and is overall an inspiring and personal take on one's idea of the moment between death and the afterlife. I rather enjoyed it. Mitch Albom has a gift of words, and to give a biased rating is to behave no better than the author itself - to dislike something not based on its own merits, but because of its reputation. I have equal love for the Harry Potter books and for The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and am proud to say neither HP's popularity nor Albom's notoriety had a say in how I felt for them.
I highly recommend this book, particularly if you're one into bittersweet life lessons and notions of death. Some have accused the book for being both preachy and boring, but I don't find that the case. -
"Lost love is still love, Eddie. It just takes a different form, that's all. You can't hold their hand... You can't tousle their hair... But when those senses weaken another one comes to life... Memory... Memory becomes your partner. You hold it... you dance with it... Life has to end, Eddie... Love doesn't."
The book that taught me the idea of death, God and life's never ending unanswered questions.
I vaguely remember when exactly I read this but I remember I read this couple of months before I broke up with my current-boyfriend and it was around the end of the year. Maybe September-October to November. It is significant to know when I read because it is one of the reasons why this book just stays in my mind.
I pictured myself as Eddie. An old man with so many bruises (physically and emotionally) draging the last breath he had to carry before he died and saved a little girl's life. With a cause he died (which for me is amazing!) and the sky went darker like any scene we might see in movies or stories about the long tunnel after we are no longer connected to this life and earth (classic - but I kinda fond of this typical scene). Then he met the five people that bumped into his life for a second and even for a lifetime that he might didn't remember or know them before when he was alive. These five people were there to answer all of his unanswered questions about his life and why God had purposes with him in his life even when he thought that he had no value at all - This too amazes me still; have you EVER wondered why are you here on earth? why God made you so grand that He let you breath-eat-work-smoke-have sex-make decision-go crazy-fall in love-make mistakes-cheat-be bad-curse-etc? doesn't that make you feel so little to know that now?)
And the story evolved from there. And all the classic questions that I believe WE all are facing now are written so nicely by Albom. With jokes, with poems, with simple everyday words. Albom didn't preach within this book which I think it is the risk of writing such subject - and the fact that he didn't preach makes it universal for all races and religions to read. And be spiritually touched.
And so how does this effect on me with the broke-up? Highly emmense. I was angry all the time and didn't understand why I was treated so bad by a man and how I thought I have not a value to go on. Then a friend's death which rolled me back to the time I read this book in the first place reminds me of how life goes on (and how life NEEDS to go on). God has purposes with us, even if it means only to be a bell-boy of a grand hotel, or to be a mistress, or to be a virgin queen or to be an ordinary guy standing on the train station. Little things matter the most.
On the account of this book, I got to know that Albom had written another grand book about life-death-God previously before this book. I haven't read the previous one; Tuesday with Morrie (which led to a movie), so I am really looking forward to read it after reading this. I hope that book will be highly amazing and enlight me like Five People did. -
HEADLINE: FILTHY RICH WRITER CASHES IN ON GEEZERS’ CHRONIC PAIN?
Right, kids?
The world is cut-and-dried SIMPLE - or IS it???
Well, wait till you’re inching painfully towards the Big 8-0, like me.
WHAT! Yet another sentimental old-timer gives this piece of jellied sugar syrup FIVE STARS?
Y'er darned tootin', kids.
Take away the fancy Amazon gift wrap with its shiny veneer and the Good Housekeeping seal of approval (you’re right, from the folks in the seniors' homes of course), and you have… WHAT?
A story of a broken old man who's had an excruciatingly hard life.
And YES - in the Real World people's hard lives CAN break them.
COMPLETELY.
TOTALLY.
UTTERLY.
Their hard lives can:
Wipe the floor with them.
Grind them to dust.
Spit on their ashes!
Oh, but Lucky You - you’re somehow EXEMPT from Hard Fractious Reality?
Such is NOT the case with poor old Eddie, who's just died and finally, thankfully, disappeared from this sorry old world. (You will, too, you know. But, I forgot - you’re Teflon Coated…)
Until his spirit gets a golden chance to redeem itself and get his old, broken life back, MADE BRAND NEW this time - in Heaven.
He's made some BAD mistakes. But NOW he has a chance to be forgiven for them, through some SEARING INSIGHTS into his past.
AND.... to be reunited the love of his life!
So that's the real story. And if you only know it via Put Downs, READ IT anyway.
It’ll elevate your consciousness, and give it a glimpse of BREATHTAKING NEW VISTAS.
And it’ll make your HEART SING! (Have you forgotten when your heart could do that?)
YES - and it’s STILL worth a solid five stars. -
The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom
The Five People You Meet In Heaven is a novel by Mitch Albom. It was published in 2003 by Hyperion and remained on the New York Times Best Seller list for 95 weeks.
It follows the life and death of a maintenance man named Eddie. Eddie is killed and sent to heaven, where he encounters five people who had a significant impact upon him while he was alive.
On Eddie's 83rd birthday, an amusement park ride at Ruby Pier (where he is responsible for maintenance) malfunctions due to a damaged cable and stops halfway through the ride.
Two of the staff at are able to rescue the passengers on the ride and then release the ride's cart for inspection.
However, Eddie's colleagues are completely oblivious to his screams as he realizes the cart will detach if it is released.
Eddie notices a girl he'd seen before at the park (Amy/Annie) sitting helplessly in the exact spot the cart was set to impact.
Eddie throws himself towards the girl, intending to pull her to safety. Eddie feels an exploding impact, sees a blinding flash, feels a little girl's hands in his own, and then nothingness.
Eddie then finds himself awake and uninjured and realizes that he feels young and much more energetic. He also feels calm. He meets a man known simply as "the Blue Man".
The Blue Man suffered from argyria caused by silver nitrate poisoning, and worked at Ruby Pier's sideshow while it was still open, during the days of Eddie's childhood.
Through their conversation, Eddie finds out that he is dead, and he has arrived in heaven and embarked on a journey through five of its levels, meeting someone who has had a significant impact upon his life or someone upon whom his life had a significant impact.
He also finds the reason for his sudden energy, youth, and stamina — in the five stages of Heaven, you will feel exactly the same way you did (young, old, healthy, sick, strong, weak) as you did when you knew the person you are meeting.
Eddie asks why the Blue Man, whom he does not know, is his first person, and he informs Eddie that, when Eddie was very young, he caused the car accident that killed him.
From this, Eddie learns his first lesson which is that there are no random events in life and all individuals and experiences are connected in some way.
He also learns that everyone and everything has a purpose in life. ...
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «پنج نفری که در بهشت به ملاقات شما میآیند»؛ «در بهشت پنج نفر منتظر شما هستند»؛ «پنج وعده دیدار در بهشت»؛ «پنج نفری که در بهشت ملاقات میکنید»؛ نویسنده: میج آلبوم؛ انتشاراتیها «کاروان، قطره، حافظ نوین، جیحون؛ البرز»؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز دهم ماه نوامبر سال 2004میلادی
عنوان: پنج نفری که در بهشت به ملاقات شما میآیند؛ نویسنده: میج آبوم؛ مترجم: مریم زوینی؛ شابک 9644181131؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 21م
عنوان: در بهشت پنج نفر منتظر شما هستند؛ نویسنده: میج آلبوم؛ مترجم: پاملا یوخانیان؛ تهران، کاروان، 1384، چاپ دیگر تهران، نشر قطره، 1389، در176ص؛ شابک 9786001191824
عنوان: پنج وعده دیدار در بهشت، نویسنده: میج آلبوم؛ مترجم: الهه مرعشی، نشر حافظ نوین، اردیبهشت 1386 در 288صفحه
عنوان: پنج نفری که در بهشت ملاقات میکنید، نویسنده: میج آلبوم؛ مترجم: مژگان حسن زاده، نشر جیحون، آبان 1388 در 160صفحه
عنوان: پنج نفری که در بهشت ملاقات میکنید، نویسنده: میج آلبوم؛ مترجم: صدیقه ابراهیمی، نشر البرز، آبان 1389 در 212صفحه
اخطار: اگر کتاب را نخوانده اید و میخواهید خود آن را داغ داغ بخوانید، نگارش این فراموشکار قسمتهایی از داستان را لو میدهد
پایانها خود سرآغازی دیگر هستند؛ هیچ داستانی تنها نمینشیند؛ گاه، داستانها در گوشه کنارها به هم برمیخورند، و گاهی اوقات، همانند سنگهای بستر یک رودخانه یکدیگر را میپوشانند؛ «ادی» پیرمردی است، که در یک شهربازی ساحلی، به نام «روبی پیر»، کارش تعمیرکاری و نگهبانی است، و در آغاز داستان، بر اثر افتادن یکی از وسایل بازی، در حالیکه کوشش برای نجات دخترکی داشته، کشته میشود؛ «ادی» پس از مرگ، به بهشت میرود، اما بهشت با آنچه در خیال او بوده، تفاوت دارد، در بهشت پنج تن در انتظار او هستند، تا رخدادهای زندگی او را برایش توضیح، و به او آرامش دهند؛ بهشت برای درک کردن زندگی خاکی است؛ در طول سالها شهربازی عوض شده، و «ادی» هم، از یک جوان سرحال و پرانرژی، پیرمردی دل شکسته است؛ او فکر میکند، زندگی و شغلش، سرشار از یکنواختی و بیهودگی شده است؛ در روز تولد هشتاد و سه سالگی «ادی» در سانحه ای غم انگیز، هنگام نجات دادن دختر کوچکی از سقوط از یک گردونه در شهربازی، میمیرد؛ در لحظه های آخر، او دو دست کوچک دخترک را، در دستانش احساس میکند، و بعد هیچ...؛ «ادی» در زندگی پس از مرگ، چشم باز میکند، و به دنبال پیدا کردن پاسخ این پرسش است، که آیا توانسته جان دخترک را، در لحظه ی آخر نجات دهد؟
او در آنجا با پنج تن دیدار میکند؛ پنج تنی که در زندگی زمینی اش، نقش بسیاری داشته اند؛ پنج نفری که یا از عزیزان، و نزدیکانش هستند، یا غریبه؛ اما به هر حال آنها، زندگی او را به شکلی تغییر داده اند؛
نخستین دیدار، با مردی، با پوستی آبی رنگ است؛ او در زندگی زمینی به خاطر هیبت عجیب، و پوست متفاوتی که داشته، به ناچار در یک سیرک کار میکرده، و برای مردمان نمایش بازی میکرده است؛ در آن زمان «ادی» هفت سال بیشتر نداشته...؛ یک روز که «ادی» و برادرش، درحال بازی با توپ بیسبال بودند، توپ از دست «ادی» رها میشود، و جلوی ماشین مرد پوست آبی میافتد؛ «ادی» با شتاب به میان خیابان میپرد، تا توپ را بردارد؛ مرد پشت فرمان، با دیدن پسرکی، که شتابان به خیابان دویده، میترسد و ترمز میکند؛ «ادی» توپ را برمیدارد، و میرود؛ اما مرد شوک زده در خیابانهای خیس از باران صبحگاهی، همچنان میراند؛ ضربان قلبش بالا میرود؛ کنترلش را از دست میدهد، و ناخواسته به ماشین دیگری میزند؛ و بعد همانجا پشت فرمان سکته میکند، و میمیرد...؛ «ادی» ناباورانه به مردی نگاه میکند، که او ناخواسته موجب مرگش شده است؛ «ادی» شرمسار است، و فکر میکند علت حضورش در آنجا، مجازاتش از روی عدالت است؛ اما مرد پوست آبی به او میگوید، که در زندگی زمینی، همه ی انسانها، خواسته و ناخواسته، روی زندگی هم تاثیر میگذارند، و بهشت در واقع مکانی برای فهم همین روابط و چرایی رخدادهاست
نفر دوم: که «ادی» با او دیدار میکند، کاپیتان؛ افسر مافوقش در خدمت سربازی، و در جنگ «فیلیپین» است؛ آنها باهم در آنجا جنگیده بودند، اسیر شده بودند، فرار کرده بودند، و از هم جدا شده بودند، و «ادی»، دیگر هرگز او را ندیده بود؛ فقط شنیده بود که او در جنگ مرده است؛ «ادی» به یاد میآورد، که در فرار از زندان دشمن، کلبه های چوبی ای را، که با همرزمانش در آنها زندانی شده بودند، به آتش کشیدند؛ اما در آخرین لحظه ی فرار، «ادی» سایه ی کودکی را در دل آتشی که به طویله افتاده بود، میبیند، و میخواهد، که برای نجات جان کودک برود؛ اما دوستانش مانع او میشوند، و در بحبوحه ی کشمکش و تقلای «ادی» برای رفتن به دل آتش، تیری به پای او شلیک میشود؛ «ادی» را بیهوش از مهلکه فراری میدهند، اما بر اثر شلیک آن تیر، پای «ادی» برای همیشه لنگ میشود؛ اتفاقی که مسیر زندگی آینده او را برای همیشه دستخوش تغییر قرار میدهد؛ حالا «ادی» میفهمد، کسی که به پای او شلیک کرده، دشمن نبوده، و این کاپیتان بوده، که برای نجات جان او، و جلوگیری از جا ماندن «ادی»، به پایش شلیک کرده؛ «ادی» سرشار از خشم و نفرت، با کاپیتان گلاویز میشود، اما کاپیتان به او میگوید، که پایش را از او گرفته تا جانش را نجات بدهد؛ و «ادی» تازه میفهمد، که در واقع کاپیتان پس از نجات جان او، و دیگر افراد خویش از مهلکه، روی مین میرود، و بدن هزار تکه اش در همان صحرا بر جای میماند؛
نفر سوم: پدرش است؛ پدری که از کودکی همواره او را نادیده گرفته، به او محبت نکرده، بیشتر اوقات آزارش داده است، تحقیرش کرده بود؛ پس از بازگشت «ادی» از جنگ، و جریان معلولیتش، در حالیکه روحیه ی «ادی» به شدت خراب و ویران بوده، اذیت و آزارهای پدر بیشتر میشود، و مدام از او میخواهد تا دنبال کاری برود، و بیهوده روی تخت نیفتد؛ همین فشارهای پدر هم باعث میشود «ادی» به تعمیرکاری ماشینهای «روبی پیر» روی بیاورد؛ جایی که یک عمر پدرش و بعد خود «ادی»، تا هشتاد و سه سالگی در آن کار کردند؛ اینک «ادی» درمییابد که در واقع تحقیرها و فشارهای پدر، باعث شده، تا او خود را از لاک حقارت، و از کار افتادگی پس از معلولیت بیرون بکشد
چهارمین نفر: همسر «ادی»، «مارگریت» است؛ آنها با عشق ازدواج میکنند، اما هرگز صاحب فرزندی نمیشوند؛ و سرانجام «مارگریت» در سن چهل و هفت سالگی بر اثر تومور مغزی میمیرد، و «ادی» را برای همیشه تنها میگذارد؛ و حالا «ادی» در جهان پس از مرگ، با دیدن «مارگریت» عشق سوزانی را که نسبت به او داشته، در خود زنده میبیند، و میفهمد که چقدر دلش برای او تنگ شده بود؛ و همچنین درمییابد اگرچه پدرش و جنگ، در ظاهر به روح او آسیب رسانده بودند، اما این عشق «مارگریت» بوده که او را روی پا نگه داشته است...؛
و بالاخره نفر پنجم: دیدار کننده ی «ادی»، دختر بچه ی کوچکی به نام «تالا» است، نخست «ادی» فکر میکند او همان دخترکی است، که نتوانسته در «روبی پیر» نجاتش بدهد، و فکر میکند مرگش هم مثل زندگی و کارش، به بیهودگی گذشته است؛ اما بعد میفهمد این همان کودکی است، که در جنگ «فیلیپین» درون طویله ای که او آتش زده، گیر کرده و سوخته است؛ «تالا» به «ادی» میفهماند همه ی زندگی و عمرش، با کار و وظیفه ای که در «روبی پیر» به عنوان تعمیرکار وسایل بازی برای نجات جان بچه ها انجام داده؛ در واقع جبران مرگ او را کرده است؛ «ادی» از «تالا» در مورد دخترک شهربازی میپرسد، و میفهمد که جان او را نجات داده است؛ در واقع دو دست کوچکی که «ادی» در آخرین لحظه ی عمرش لمس کرده، دستهای «تالا» بوده، که او را تا بهشت بالا کشیده است...؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 04/07/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 25/05/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی -
Eddie just reached his 83rd birthday. Eddie is a maintenance worker at Ruby's Pier, but today is not like every other day. This is the last day of Eddie's life. In a freak accident at the amusement park, one of the carts comes unhinged, and Eddie rushes in to save a little girl below. Eddie meets five people who have impacted his life. Each of these people talks about how they impacted Eddie's life and leave him with a lesson.
Eddie thinks he is just a nobody: that he isn't famous, he had no significant possessions, he didn't have hundreds attending his funeral, but he does have a profound impact on many people. This was a quick read and quite short and very much like a mash-up of The Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life. This book was interesting and sweet; however, I think that it was a little too short. Covering so much material in such a short time left me wanting to simmer on my emotions a little bit more before being introduced to a new story.
Overall, The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a quality book worthy of at least one read.
2023 Reading Schedule
Jan Alice in Wonderland
Feb Notes from a Small Island
Mar Cloud Atlas
Apr On the Road
May The Color Purple
Jun Bleak House
Jul Bridget Jones’s Diary
Aug Anna Karenina
Sep The Secret History
Oct Brave New World
Nov A Confederacy of Dunces
Dec The Count of Monte Cristo
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Reread Feb 2019
No matter how many times I read this book, its effect on me remains the same. Heart breaking and heart warming in equal measure.
"Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves."
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Original review
This book led Mitch Albom to become one of my favourite authors.
It's such a wonderful idea, that when you die you are approached by 5 people you may or may not know who had some kind of impact in your life.
The example used is Eddie, an old man who has lived in the same town his entire life, working as a handyman on the local pier/fairground, before his abrupt death.
An original premise in itself, I loved following the different people Eddie spoke to and finding out their connection to him.
At times heartbreaking and saddening, this story touched me and I strongly recommend it to basically anyone who likes something a bit different but is looking for a relatively quick read. -
One of the great things about checking out audiobooks from the public library is that I can take a chance on something I normally wouldn't buy, and I end up loving it. And then, of course, there are the times I take a chance on something I wouldn't normally like and end up really hating it as predicted. See if you can guess which is the case here by the end of this post.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven is about Eddie, an amusement park maintenance guy who dies and goes to heaven. Spoiler alert, I guess, though you could probably figure that out from the title. From there he meets five people whose lives touched his and learns why he was such a unique and special little snowflake while on Earth. The book's main shortcoming is that I only get to enjoy seeing something kill Eddie on one occasion. And that was over within the first few pages.
Seriously, this thing is so ham-fisted in its moralizing, so infused with cliches, so sentimental, and so naked in its attempts to manipulate emotions that I only finished it because it was blessedly short. The worst part about this last point is that the audiobook brings up violins --VIOLINS!-- in the background at the most supposedly sentimental parts. Which is to say, constantly.
Oh, and Albom apparently never heard of the "show, don't tell" rule when it comes to establishing character and showing reactions. I guess everyone in Heaven describes their mental processes in flagrant detail. There's also the issue of proclamations that sound wise at first, but crumble under any amount of thought. For example, there's a line to the effect of "Sometimes, when you sacrifice something you don't lose it. You just give it to someone else." Now, I haven't a dictionary in front of me to help me through this moral morass, but I fail to see the difference off the top of my head.
At any rate, I certainly wouldn't recommend this. If you really want to read a good book about the afterlife, pick up Dante's The Divine Comedy, read the first few pages, then throw it down in frustration and decide that there's no good middle ground. -
My face tightens into a mean spirited frown, I grind my teeth, my head starts to burn, I clench my fists, I begin to tremble; there is a tightness in my stomach. I rip the telephone off the wall and throw it out my nine-story window onto the street; I let out a barbaric, guttural, king-of-the-jungle, ape-like scream. I feel my pulse beating in my neck, a blood vessel snaps in the back of my head. I flip over my couch, CRASH! I kick a hole in the middle of my T.V. I like that my shin is cut, bleeding, and burning. I toss off my clothes, throwing my left shoe through the shattered window. I stomp my bare ass out of my apartment. I do not lock the door, I have no sense of time, I am not coming back. I know I am hideous looking, but I do not care; I’m naked and full of hate. Fuck the goddamn elevator, I’m taking the stairs. On the fourth floor a woman shrieks and covers her child’s eyes. I keep trucking. I am a man on a mission. I make my way out the building’s front door, a cool breeze almost makes me feel less murderous. Out of hate for such a thought I bite my tongue, making it bleed. It doesn’t bleed enough. I begin to run down the street as fast as I can, screaming at the top of my lungs for the homeless man to stab me. He doesn’t. The lake, the lake, I will jump in the lake and fight a swan! I run to the lake and dive in, scraping my head and arms. The lake is not deep; I stand up. I am covered in mud and Chordata feces. I decide to drown myself. Head deep, slipping away, I am pulled up. It is a police officer. This book was on the NY Times best seller list for 95 straight weeks and I have failed.
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I enjoyed this book. It had a great voice, interesting characters and good messages. I liked how each of the 5 people were connected in different ways, some surprise. The style grabs you. I thought it was a good intro to learn more about how this author writes. Spiritual without getting too religious. Witty and charismatic on some levels. Endearing to see how you watch other people live, as well as guess what happens when you die. I will definitely read more from the author.
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Strangely, obliquely, like
The Alchemist because this inspires strong emotions - most people will either like it alot and find inspiration and meaning, or loathe it entirely and dismiss it as drivel.
Similar in tone and emotion with his novel
Tuesdays with Morrie. I think that the greatest achievement of this story is the dreamlike, subconscious mood and setting the author creates. He can get a bit syrupy, but not too bad to make this contextually a problem.
Albom raises some interesting, thought provoking questions and leaves some unanswered, which makes for a better read, especially considering the subject.
As usual, I find myself on neither extreme, neither loving or hating it - finding some worth but also dismissing the buckets of smarmy cotton candy.
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As people, we all have our own idea what heaven is like, and I quite like the author's take on it. The book follows Eddie, who dies on his 83rd birthday while trying to save a young girls' life at the amusement park he works. His journey takes him through his life in the form of five people that had an impact in his life, through all major crossroads in his life that he did not even think was important at the time and why his life followed the route it did. In the end Eddie finds peace through this journey and finds out what the meaning of his life was and goes to his own part of heaven where he is always happy. A nice and quick read.
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“Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you’re not really losing it. You’re just passing it on to someone else.”
Have there been any situations where you have no idea why a certain result occurred throughout your life? Reading this book can definitely help you answer these kinda questions. This book deals with the life story of Eddie, an 83-year-old who dies and goes to heaven. It also shows how many threads are used to weave the quilt of life.
There is such meaning in this book that will leave everyone wondering how his or her personal heaven will be. I was delighted by the author's progression through the five characters while including real-life occurrences. The tone of the writing is distinct. It's not hefty, but it's also not light. You won't tear buckets, and you won't be unaffected by the characters' suffering. The plot is non-linear, and it jumps back and forth depending on who Eddie encounters in heaven. The opening sequence starts at the end, announcing Eddie's death, and then jumps forward in time to the beginning of the day, with Eddie's birthday celebrations in the present tense. Each section depicts how his life changed from year to year. It also has a sequel called "The next person you meet in heaven", looking forward to reading that soon.
It will affect the way you think about life after death and the meaning of lives on this planet. Every action you take and every interaction you have has an effect on others.
My takeaway is that we should be intentional in our interactions with people in order to improve the world.
Grab your copy
here. -
Joelle Huertas
904 W.A.
Book Review On The Five People You Meet In Heaven
The Five People You Meet In Heaven
By Mitch Albom
208pp Passaic, New Jersey
ISBN-13: 9781401308582
Hyperion $10.80
This book was so amazing that it remained on the New York Best Seller List for 95 weeks. If the book wasn’t that marvelous why would it have remained there? Mitch Albom’s book The Five People You Meet In Heaven is an extraordinary book. You might think it’s a religious book because the title itself, but it isn’t. It is a captivating book that deals with fait, death, and how everything you do affects someone else. I found myself comparing little choices or decisions I made to the ones Eddie, the main character made. I’m not into books about heaven or death but I found myself loving every minute of it. I found myself gasping, crying, and laughing with the characters because of the way Mitch Albom portrays Eddie is so moving. If you want a good fiction book, this is a MUST read!
Eddie is a character who is alone in life, no family, no friends, just his job at the amusement park as janitor. It breaks your heart how alone he is. It’s so poignant the way it is written that it makes you want to befriend the aged lonely man.
The way the book starts is like the saying the end is only a new beginning. The beginning is the tragic, horrifying death of Eddie, and the death, or end, is only the beginning to his afterlife and the entry to heaven. The book puts such new perspectives on life to you and gives you knowledge of how to live life to the fullest.
So many quotes can apply to your life, or help you out. For example Ruby, one of the five people Eddie meets in heaven, says to Eddie “Holding anger is a poison...It eats you from inside...We think that by hating someone we hurt them...But hatred is a curved blade...and the harm we do to others...we also do to ourselves...” I personally love that quote because it help me let go of things because I was filled with anger. I learned to let go, appreciate what you have and to have faith. The book is like having a mentor or role model who teaches you how to deal.
While reading the book you find yourself astound on how every little thing one does can alter someone’s life. Take Eddie for example. He is playing ball in the street, when the blue man is in a car. Eddie drops the ball, and chases it into the street where the blue man suddenly has a heart attack due to the scare he is facing of hitting this little boy in the street.
Eddie goes through so much in the book. With deaths of every one he loves, to his own death in the very first chapter. He has to learn to accept death, fait, letting go, there are no random acts in life, and that love always wins! The way he learns is so amazing because he is so realistic, he’s a kind, old, and he would sacrifice himself for others. The way Albom shows this it makes you feel like you know him, to me I felt as if he was my grandfather.
Essentially this book is a must read whether you believe in heaven or not. I guarantee you will be moved by this book. There is even a movie too! One thing you will wonder after you finish reading this book is who will be your five people you meet in heaven?
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Extreme simplification, ridiculous writing style, nonsense. Honestly, whatever this author was trying to do, whether making me cry tears of blood, philosophy over the meaning of life, or discover my connection with those around me, but he failed miserably at all of them.
How on the history of time was this book on the Bestseller list for over ninety weeks? -
SPOLIER ALERT!!! DO NOT READ ANY FARTHER IF YOU HAVENT READ YET!!! What an incredible book this was. This was about a man who dies. He dies trying to save a little girl at the amusement park he worked as a maintenance man. After he dies, he meets 5 people who actually show him his life had meaning. Eddie, didn’t believe he was worth anything. He thought his life meant nothing. He first meets a man he accidently helped die after the man almost kills him with a car. The second one he meets is his captain in the army. He helps him understand what actually happened while he was fighting in the war. Captain shot eddie’s knee to keep him from entering a burning building that they set after they escaped from their captors. Eddie entered the burning building because he thought he saw a little kid in there. The third person is the woman who the amusement park was named after. She wanted Eddie to see the good in what Eddie did. She also helped him forgive his father after seeing the real man he was. The fourth person he meets is his wife. He loved her and only her. After she died of cancer, he never loved again. She showed him how much that really meant to her. The fifth person was the little girl who actually was in the burning building during the war. So he wasn’t losing his mind. This was a surprise ending. And you also found out he saved the little girl at the amusement park. And his life did have meaning. Because of how well he did his job, always making sure the rides were safe. Looking out for the kids, his life really did have value. One by one, these mostly unexpected characters remind him that we all live in a vast web of interconnection with other lives; that all our stories overlap; that acts of sacrifice seemingly small or fruitless do affect others; and that loyalty and love matter to a degree we can never fathom. This book brought tears to my eyes. It is definitely one of the good ones
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I get why old religious women might like this book, but it wasn't for me.
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منذ مدة طويييلة لم أقرأ شيئا لامس أعماقي كهذا الكتاب، يجعلني أطرق وأفكر ، أنظر للبعيد الماضي وأتسائل عن القريب المقبل..
الكتاب يتحدث عن رجل مات في حادث أثناء تأديته لعمله في مدينة الملاهي ، بعد ذلك ينتقل هذا الرجل "إدي" إلى الجنة ليقابل هناك 5 أشخاص تقاطعوا معه بطريقة أو بأخرى في حياته..كل منهم كان ينتظره ليحكي له قصة كان لها تأثير على حياته وعلى تقرير مصيره في الدنيا، كانوا يساعدونه على فهم وتفسير كثير من الأمور التي لم يكن لها منطق واضح وقتها...
القصة مثيرة وترابط الأحداث متقن يظهر كم هي مصائر الناس متقاطعة ومترتبة على بعضها ، حتى لو لم نكن نظن ذلك...
جعلني هذا الكتاب أفكر كثيراً في حياتي، في الناس اللذين مروا بي ومررت بهم، في تأثيرهم على حياتي ، في التحول الذي طرأ على مساري بسبب شخص لم يكن يعني أن يكون له أي تأثير..!
كم من الناس أود سؤالهم لم فعلوا ذلك؟ كم من التفسيرات أحتاجها لأزيل كثيراً من الغضب أو الحزن أو الخيبة ؟ كم من التغييرات التي أحدثها مروري بشخص ما على حياته، ومسار أحداثها؟
كيف تلعب الأقدار دورها في رسم خرائط علاقات الناس وأعمارهم؟
..
..
الحياة..الشباب..الحب..التقدم في العمر..الحزن..الغضب..الفرح..الأنا....كل ذلك كان حاضراً بقوة وأنا أقرأ أعياد ميلاد إدي المتعاقبة وأكشف معه أسرار الأشخاص الخمسة في الجنة..! -
This is just the most awful book I have ever read. I hate this book!
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Talks about a dead man,Eddie, who goes to heaven to learn what heaven is not about and what heaven should mean.
He will meet five important people in heaven (who may or may not be someone he knows personally during his lifetime) giving him a chance to look back and see how his life actually was as opposed to how he perceived his life when he was alive. *Some important themes that are dealt with:
Sacrifices that were unknowingly made; grudges, anger, hatred, regrets ruining lives; unseen blessings; single-mindedness ruining relationships; child neglect and domestic abuse; romance; war; relationships that make a person. *Misconceptions regarding this book:
It is a serious book dealing with war, deaths, broken relationships and complicated family relationships. Not just a mere philosophical book.
It is definitely a sad read, and not a self help book to deal with personal issues and how to come out of it.
But I guarantee you, you will not cry buckets but help you analyse your relationships and think about the important people in your life in a different way. *Why you should pick up this book:
It brings up issues that we usually don't consider important and think they don't make much impact on our lives when they actually do.
Complicated matters in relationships that are dealt with in the book with such depthness and understanding is really appreciable.
This is not a book meant for only adults.
I would like to recommend this book to everyone young and old.
I am sure this book is one of those life changing reads.
(One 🌟 less as I cannot help feeling interrupted in between because of some of the haphazard sequences. And the characters need to be elaborated a bit more to really know them.)
I am excited to read the sequel too! (But not anytime soon)😪 -
Not at all my normal fare, but it was a last thing at night read. I am a sceptic, so again this would not be a book that would attract me; it’s not that I like the idea of the cessation of existence at death, but I think that’s what happens. So how come I read this? Occasionally I buy books at auction because they can be very cheap; this came with assorted others, so ended up on the shelves.
It’s very brief and could easily be read in one sitting and is about a fairground worker called Eddie. It isn’t much of a spoiler to say that Eddie dies at the beginning of the book. He then meets five people all linked to his life in some way who help him make sense of it all.
Albom is an interesting character; I knew little about him prior to this, apart from the fact he has spent years grumbling about the Harry Potter books and films because he felt they made children stop reading other children’s classics. And here’s me thinking Harry Potter was just another English middle class, public school story! He has a column in the Detroit Free Press where he rants a bit about modern life (he also crosses picket lines, but that is a different story!)
Back to the book; the reviews are mixed and it appears to be loved and hated (possibly by Harry Potter fans!) in equal measure. I can understand why; there is a lot of sentimentality and cliché (all endings are also beginnings; holding anger is a poison) and Albom has a habit of explaining thought processes and ideas in great detail which can irritate. There’s not a great deal to say about it; some people will love it and will find it comforting (most people want to believe everything will be ok in the end and we will see our loved ones again) and others will find it sentimental and irritating. Atheists probably shouldn’t read books about heaven!
Anyway I’ve also heard it said that heaven is whatever you conceive it to be. Therefore here is mine. Heaven is a library with all the books ever published. Everyone subscribing to this heaven has their own personal space. Mine would have an open fire, be lined with books (of course), have a good armchair and there would be excellent food available at all times. There would be communal spaces to talk about books, watch film or TV if you wished and first class coffee. There would be a few other tweaks, but that is the essence. -
“All endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time.”
A maintenance man called Eddie dies and is sent to heaven, where he encounters five people - some known to him and some not - who each teach him a lesson.
If heaven truly exists, I sure hope it’s exactly like this! What sounds better than meeting up with loved ones who have gone before and have them explain to you the meaning of your life?
Religion and whether or not you believe in heaven or the afterlife is obviously a very personal thing and therefore I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book to everyone. The book wasn’t overly religious nor was it preachy either, and I do think non-religious people could still enjoy the story, but that’s up to each reader to decide!
I do believe in God and I do believe in the afterlife - and I feel like that’s a difficult thing to openly admit on here, but I feel like it’s necessary to explain why I loved this book. It was a total comfort blanket for me - my beliefs are a way of coping with my dad’s death.
This is really a very touching story about the impact we have on those around us. The style and writing is simplistic, but it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside, and once again I was grateful to read a weepy book like this by the pool with sunglasses to hide my tears.
In conclusion, I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone, but if it sounds like something you’d enjoy or if you’re dealing with the death of a loved one, then give it a chance! 4 stars. -
This was okay but not as good as either
The First Phone Call from Heaven or
The Time Keeper. It was a pleasant enough story but it failed to really engross me in the various happenings.
Partly I think I found it an extremely weird idea of what Heaven might be like. The five people seemed a strange collection to me and I could understand if Eddie felt a bit miffed by who he got! I must admit I started thinking who I might want for my five people .........
Putting any criticism aside I read the book straight through and enjoyed it enough not to put it down for other activities! -
Buzzword A Thon
Golden Girls Read A Thon: Read a book under 200 pages
This is my 5th time reading this book. I can't explain why I love this book so much. I usually hate, Hate, HATE cheesy heartwarming stories like this.
And yet The Five People You Meet In Heaven just touches me on an emotional level.
Eddie is a grizzled old war veteran and widower, has spent the last 50 years working a job he hates at an amusement park and just feeling like his life has no meaning. Then on his 83rd birthday Eddie dies trying to save a little girl. When he awakens in the afterlife he learns that his earthly life will be explained to him by 5 people who were important to his life.
I wonder who my 5 people would be. I wonder how my life has been affected by people I don't even know. I think what I like about this book is the thought that even if we don't know it, our lives matter to other people. There are no meaningless lives.
READ THIS BOOK!
Its one of my all time favorites! -
حالا دیگه میچ آلبوم شده یکی از نویسنده های محبوبم :)
داستان های میچ آلبوم همیشه تقریبا یه موضوع جدید و نویی دارن، و همیشه کتاب هاش پر از جمله های به یاد ماندنی و تاثیرگذاره. کتاب پنج نفر هم از این قضیه مستثنا نیست، اما به نظرم به خوبی کتاب های چاپ جدیدتر میچ نبود.
از وقتی کتاب رو تموم کردم دارم پیش خودم فکر میکنم ۵نفری که قراره من توی بهشت ملاقات کنم چه کسانی میتونن باشن؟ :دی -
Buku yang bagus terutama bagi yang suka memaknai dan menghargai Hidup, membuat kita untuk selalu bersyukur kepada Sang Pencipta.
Pelajaran 1:
Tidak ada kehidupan yang sia-sia. Satu-satunya waktu yang kita sia-siakan adalah waktu yang kita habiskan dengan mengira kita hanya sendirian.
Pelajaran 2:
Pengorbanan bagian dari kehidupan, bukan untuk disesali jika mengorbankan sesuatu yang berharga, karena kita tidak sungguh-sungguh kehilangan itu, Kita hanya meneruskannya pada orang lain.
Pelajaran 3:
MAAF. Karena menyimpan rasa marah adalah racun. Kita berpikir kebencian merupakan senjata untuk menyerang orang yang telah menyakiti kita. Tapi kebencian adalah pedang bermata dua, luka yang kita buat dengan pedang bermata dua, luka yang kita buat dengan pedang itu, kita lakukan juga pada diri kita sendiri. Jadi belajarlah me-MAAF-kan terutama me-MAAF-kan diri kita sendiri.
Pelajaran 4:
Cinta seperti Hujan, bisa menyuburkan dari atas, menghujani pasangan dengan keceriaan. Tapi kadang-kadang dalam panasnya kehidupan, cinta seolah kering dipermukaan dan harus tergantung pada akarnya yang tertanam dalam untuk membuatnya tetap hidup. Cinta yang hilang tetap cinta, bentuknya saja yang berbeda yaitu berupa Kenangan, kehidupan boleh berakhir tapi cinta tidak.
Pelajaran 5:
" Tidxk xdx kehidupxn yxng six-six. Sxtu-sxtunyx wxktu yxng kitx six-sixkxn xdxlxh wxktu yxng kitx hxbiskxn dengxn mengirx kitx hxnyx sendirixn".
Kita mungkin dapat membaca dan mengerti paragraf diatas dengan mudah meskipun huruf "A" diganti dengan huruf "X", tapi terasa bedakan?
Nah dari itu kita bisa ambil kesimpulan seberapa kecilnya peran kita dan bisa digantikan , tetaplah kita membuat suatu perbedaan yang berarti bagi dunia. Maka mulai sekarang belajar BERSYUKUR terhadap apapun yang terjadi terhadap kita.
Oke, Selamat membaca Teman-Teman!
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What comes after death? What does heaven looks like?
I have a vague idea of heaven, I simply believe that when we pass on-- if there's really a place where our spirits travel, a place where pain does not exist, where we could be reunited with the ones we lost, where we could reminisce the lives we lived and the change we brought to the world. I am not a religious person, I can't even remember the last time I've been to church, but I know there is a God.
This book was very touching. Especially the latter part of the story, I cried so much because I have a very special connection with the fifth person Eddie met and reading the familiar words in their conversations really warmed my heart. I thought about my country and how bad I wanted to come home.
Still a bit emotional so I'll end this here. -
" Lost love is still love, Eddie. It takes a different form, that's all. You can't see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory, Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it"
THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN tells the story of Eddie, the head of maintenance department at a well-known amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, Eddie had a severe accident. Along with Eddie, the reader gets to know what he discovered in his afterlife. Every now and then, there are flashback scenes to some of Eddie's previous birthdays.
Albom thinks in his novel that our lives don't end by our death but it begin. Each one discovers the real meaning of his life, it's like an explanation of what we have faced in our lives. Second, Albom says that all the events and the people in our lives are interconnected. Each soul that reaches to heaven has to meet five persons in it's afterlife from which it gets to know five lessons and secrets.
A unique, interesting, well-written and very creative story. Also, it's a very easy and quick read. -
Recommended only for theists of any flavour
From the back cover summary:
“When Eddie dies, trying to save a child from a terrible accident, he wakes up in heaven. Heaven, he discovers is a place where your life on Earth is finally explained to you. It is explained by five people, friends or strangers, who somehow affected your life – and who changed its path forever.”
As a confirmed atheist, my first thought, of course, is why should an omniscient, omnibenevolent and omnipotent god, subject his loving creations to such pain during their lifetime? But, that aside, even if I accepted the notion of a god and a heaven, I found THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN to be too simplistic, too pat, too cute and too saccharine by half. Such advice as it offered was entirely obvious to anyone who gives a moment’s consideration to life and its vagaries and none of its supposedly “pithy” commentary or observations constituted anything that might improve my time on this planet.
Not recommended to anyone other than those mentally enslaved by notions of god and religion.
Paul Weiss -
I read this at Christmas but frankly after eating too many roasted vegetables, drinking too much merlot and making myself a comfortable nest out of discarded wrapping paper, I was disinclined to write a review. It's now six months later and I think I've finally worked off the last roasted potato so this seems like a timely juncture to write a review of The Five People You Meet in Heaven.
Eddie works at the amusement park on the Ruby Pier. He's 83 and probably due for retirement. On his birthday, our ever benevolent Lord / Fate decides that it's time for Eddie to take permanent retirement and so he is killed off in a freak fairground accident. Eddie's life force is not wasted though, as he spends his last moments attempting to rescue a little girl. And that is most definitely not a spoiler! Come on people, the books is called The Five People You Meet in Heaven which kind of presupposes that the protagonist is going to mostly be dead for a large part of the book. Really, it's not like heaven is the kind of place you go on a day trip unless you're Sam and Dean Winchester in an episode of Supernatural.
So Eddie is now Deaddie and can get on with meeting his five people. I'm not sure why the number five was chosen for this novel... convention has it that six is the magic number in this kind of life-algorithm with the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon having been scientifically proven. Perhaps the sixth person that Eddie was fated to meet was Kevin Bacon... we'll never know.
All five people have come into and out of Eddie's life during formative moments and have been affected by the very act of their meeting. None of the people might have struck Eddie as being particularly significant at the time and perhaps the events did not stand out as times which altered the direction of his existence but ultimately they've all led him to stand beneath that toppling ride car at the age of 83 thereby allowing him to save the life of a child. If I were a deeper thinking mammal I make take the opportunity to consider who the five people I might meet in heaven would be. But I'm not a deep thinking mammal so we'll just pass swiftly over that option for digression.
This is an easy-to-read story with a well written collection of short stories (vignettes of Eddies life) strung together behind the vehicle of his death (metaphorical not literal). It was gently appealing, perhaps even charming, without being schmaltzy and held my attention for the half day or so it took to read it. At no point did I feel the need to stick my finger in my mouth and make retching noises... always a positive sign. Perhaps not the most uplifting of all potential holiday reads but if it leaves you feeling tearful when you put it down, at least there should be a substantial amount of festive booze around to help bolster your spirits.
