THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN is a wonderfully moving fable that addresses the meaning of life, and life after death, in the poignant way that made TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE such an astonishing book. The novel's protagonist is an elderly amusement park maintenance worker named Eddie who, while operating a ride called the 'Free Fall', dies while trying to save a young girl who gets in the way of a falling cart that hurtles to earth. Eddie goes to heaven, where he meets five people who were unexpectedly instrumental in some way in his life. While each guide takes him through heaven, Eddie learns a little bit more about what his time on earth meant, what he was supposed to have learned, and what his true purpose on earth was. Throughout there are dramatic flashbacks where we see scenes from his troubled childhood, his years in the army in the Philippines jungle, and with his first and only love, his wife Marguerite. THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN is the perfect book to follow TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE. Its compellingly affecting themes and lyrical writing will fascinate Mitch Albom's huge readership.
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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. --Patrick O'Kelley --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
"At the time of his death, Eddie was an old man with a barrel chest and a torso as squat as a soup can," writes Albom, author of the bestselling phenomenon Tuesdays with Morrie, in a brief first novel that is going to make a huge impact on many hearts and minds. Wearing a work shirt with a patch on the chest that reads "Eddie" over "Maintenance," limping around with a cane thanks to an old war injury, Eddie was the kind of guy everybody, including Eddie himself, tended to write off as one of life's minor characters, a gruff bit of background color. He spent most of his life maintaining the rides at Ruby Pier, a seaside amusement park, greasing tracks and tightening bolts and listening for strange sounds, "keeping them safe." The children who visited the pier were drawn to Eddie "like cold hands to a fire." Yet Eddie believed that he lived a "nothing" life-gone nowhere he "wasn't shipped to with a rifle," doing work that "required no more brains than washing a dish." On his 83rd birthday, however, Eddie dies trying to save a little girl. He wakes up in heaven, where a succession of five people are waiting to show him the true meaning and value of his life. 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. Simply told, sentimental and profoundly true, this is a contemporary American fable that will be cherished by a vast readership. Bringing into the spotlight the anonymous Eddies of the world, the men and women who get lost in our cultural obsession with fame and fortune, this slim tale, like Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, reminds us of what really matters here on earth, of what our lives are given to us for.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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This is a story about a man named Eddie and it begins at the end, with Eddie dying in the sun. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
This is a story about a man named Eddie and it begins at the end, with Eddie dying in the sun. Read the first page
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By G. Petec
Format:Audio CD
(...)Hmm. It is not as cheesy I thought it could be, and not as life changing as many make it out to be. There are a few ideas that are beautiful and could have been exploited, as well as quotation material that could have been brought farther with a bit more imagination. I'm not saying Mitch is not imaginative, he is just not as imaginative as he could be, which leads to a bit of boredom for a reader like me who' is looking for challenges.
All the way through I kept waiting for that wonderful momentum, the paroxysm where you discover that everything was actually a lot more intricate than it initially had appeared to be, whilst all is being revealed to you, leaving your heart content or there to debate the choice of the author. Not the case. The climax comes early, as I believe that the people that Eddie meets at the beginning are far more interesting and wise than the ones met at the end.
The voice of Eddie is extremely annoying (Thank you Mitch for having other characters speak, nice breaks they were). It took stubbornness on my part to get through to the end. Mitch explains the voice as being similar to his uncle's voice, as he wanted to bestow credit to his uncle; he apparently tried very hard to reproduce his uncle''s unique husky strong speech.(...)
To see the rest of the review as well as many more interesting ones go to allwords.ca.
All the way through I kept waiting for that wonderful momentum, the paroxysm where you discover that everything was actually a lot more intricate than it initially had appeared to be, whilst all is being revealed to you, leaving your heart content or there to debate the choice of the author. Not the case. The climax comes early, as I believe that the people that Eddie meets at the beginning are far more interesting and wise than the ones met at the end.
The voice of Eddie is extremely annoying (Thank you Mitch for having other characters speak, nice breaks they were). It took stubbornness on my part to get through to the end. Mitch explains the voice as being similar to his uncle's voice, as he wanted to bestow credit to his uncle; he apparently tried very hard to reproduce his uncle''s unique husky strong speech.(...)
To see the rest of the review as well as many more interesting ones go to allwords.ca.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By C. Kim
Format:Hardcover
I did a lot of research before buying this book. This was on the NY Times best-seller list, and I read about 20 reviews from amazon.com before purchasing. I had heard great reviews about this book and Tuesdays with Morrie. I am a girl who enjoys a great heart-warming and touching book. However, I found myself literally rolling my eyes while reading this book! It was incredibly corny and what would be called a typical "chick's book". I suppose the only reason that Tuesdays with Morrie was a lot better was because it's supposed to be a true story. Although this is based on a true character, the storyline is a bit far-fetched. Sorry, but this is a no-go for me.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By G. Wong
Format:Hardcover
I simply do not understand how this book is getting so much praise. I enjoyed Tuesdays with Morrie because of the wisdom Morrie Schwartz shared with the rest of us. Looking back Tuesdays with Morrie is really a book by Schwartz which Albom edited. In Five People You Meet in Heaven Mitch Albom strives very hard to make this a tear-jerker and becomes overly preachy in his story telling. Over-rated.
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4.1 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing
This story may be fiction, but it's extremely entertaining. The main character continually learns from the beginning of the story through the end of the story, and helps you think... Read more
Published 22 days ago by Torstang
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
This was wonderful read just when I needed it. Though Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom is still my favourite.
Published 2 months ago by Elaine
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most worthwhile read!
Would highly recommend this book to everyone!
Beautiful heart warming story with lessons to be learned.
a book you could read over and over again.
Beautiful heart warming story with lessons to be learned.
a book you could read over and over again.
Published 3 months ago by Mary Mulvihill
5.0 out of 5 stars
A thought-proving story that captured my heart
Good stories have a place in my mind and heart.This is one of the most beautiful books about man's pilgrimage through life. The plot is amazing. Read more
Published 3 months ago by John T C
5.0 out of 5 stars
The twist you just didn't see coming!
I love the unexpected. My friend sent me this book and then I bought one to share with others. 8 of my peeps have read it now. Read more
Published 5 months ago by EstherBunny
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic
It has been some time since I've been so deeply and profoundly moved by a novel, indeed moved to a shattered state and uncontrolled weeping. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Lorina Stephens
5.0 out of 5 stars
Disagree with the theology but love this book
I don't agree with the theology behind this version of heaven and the afterlife, but honestly, I'm pretty sure that the technical details about our eternity is not what this book... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Lil'Lyssa
4.0 out of 5 stars
the five people you meet in heaven
The book arrive within the designated time and was in the condition described by the seller. I would buy from this seller again.
Published 18 months ago by Africa
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful Book
After recently losing my father-in-law I sought literature to make meaning of his death. After reading a great deal about the afterlife I found "The Five People You Meet in Heaven"... Read more
Published on May 1 2011 by ie.zicap
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Five People You Meet In Heaven
This is an absolutely AWESOME book. Even being an atheist. But you don't have to believe in anything to enjoy this one. Read more
Published on Aug 9 2010 by Guru
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