The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Customer Reviews

Not for "sophisticated" readers?...

In my mind, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" is a fine book for what it is. Regard it, if you want, as a fable of what might happen to some of us after we're dead.

You can argue that it's sentimental, emotional and riddled with more cliches on a single page than what's found in director Frank Capra's entire filmography.

But people expecting a seismic shift in their lives -- something wise, shattering and "attitude-altering" from anything receiving great word-of-mouth that skyrockets in popularity -- are forever doomed to disappointment.

There are few things worse than when so-called "sophisticated readers" (and I include myself in this group), attack a book mercilessly, feeling so let down by high expectations.

"The Five People You Meet in Heaven" moves quickly, is never dull and wears its heart with earnestness. Sure, it's cloying in a way that will irritate those used to so-called "fine literature," those paperweight-thick tomes filled with big words and pretentious phrases.

But "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" is remarkable in its simplicity, and it has all the basic story telling elements down that makes for a good read. I really believe it's the kind of title that will never go out of print. People will still be talking about it fifty years from now. And it will forever polarize readers.

I think it's too easy for people, some guilty of overt intellectual snobbery -- to scoff at works like "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" -- at the exclusion and denigration of all that is mainstream and "popular," as if the masses who made this book a success are all wrong and they themselves are sure-headed and right.

Just don't believe them. "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" is for you if you find other thick and weighty titles a little daunting after a while. It's the perfect "break," a refreshing change of pace for a guy like me used to going through so many books that feel like work, titles filled with depressing themes and sentences as tortuous in construction as they are in their efforts to provide messages that are pseudo-revelatory and profound.

I like books for the "masses" just as much as I like prize-winning titles stretching several hundred pages each, some good, some great and some awful. And "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" isn't designed to please critics. It's unfair and just plain mean-spirited to accuse any author of "making money" or "selling out" when it's obvious that he/she has tapped into something that resonates and brings optimism to many people who might otherwise avoid books. There's nothing wrong, in my view, with reaching out to as many people as possible and giving them hope and contentment amidst the turbulence of their everyday lives.

I'd like to think "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" is a response to fashionable pessimism, the type found at any gathering of intellectuals (I know, I've been to some, and they're awful). But it isn't. Having said this, author Mitch Albom still surprised this old codger (me) with what he reveals on the last page. (Don't cheat -- it has no text -- but it's a doozy.) This made me even more fond of the book.

However simplistic, straight-forward and "seemingly" effortless, I won't fault Albom for knocking out something that feels aimed straight from his heart to yours, even if he doesn't always connect. "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" will always generate arguments, pro and con. Yet its fans will always outnumber its critics. This is a book that will refuse to be dismissed. And this is a great thing, you know, people arguing the merits of books.

Hence I'm not embarrassed to admit that "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" falls into my category of "guilty pleasures." But I don't feel guilty. And you shouldn't either.

Sean G.'s Review

The Five People You Meet in Heaven
By Mitch Albom
Hyperion Press

This fiction novel is about life after death. Specifically about a man named Eddie. Eddie is an old, burly chested, maintenance man at Ruby Pier, a local amusement park. All of the kids love him, but all the teens hate him, and he hates those teens right back. Eddie gets into an accident at Ruby Pier where he meets certain death face to face. From there, the book journeys with Eddie through the five different people you meet when you get to heaven. Each person has had an impact on Eddie's life, in one way or the other, whether he knew them as family, or didn't know them at all. This story also ventures with Eddie through flashbacks of his life, such as birthdays, his marriage, and war. But throughout the book, Eddie is left with two questions he is dying to know: Did he save the girl who he tried to push out of the way of the falling cart, and what was his purpose on earth?
I think that Mitch Albom did an exquisite job writing this book. I had previously read Tuesday's with Morrie, and I thoroughly enjoyed that book. Although I felt that Tuesday's with Morrie was a slightly better book, I still think that The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a book that is worthy of reading. One downfall to this book, I feel, is that it is a little corny at some points.
I think that Mitch Albom's view of heaven has some believable points and some points that are not. I loved the way he described the sky, how it changed colors, because it adds a new element to the imagination, the way you see the scene he is describing in your head. But on the other side, I think that the whole five people thing is a little far-fetched. It just seems a little too odd. For example, the bestseller The Lovely Bones has some points that are similar to this book.
Overall I believe that this book gets a 9 out of 10. It wasn't perfect, but I still took pleasure in reading it. I would suggest it to people ages 13 and up.

A Big Disappointment After ¿Tuesdays With Morrie¿

After being absolutely enthralled by Albom's previous book, "Tuesdays With Morrie," I eagerly picked up "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" only to be extremely disappointed with the outcome. Albom's attempt to make a conjecture regarding the aftermath of one's life leaves much to be desired. Albom's introduction of new characters is terse and poorly developed, and although the book is designed to be a quick read, it may sometimes feel like characters are simply thrown in to meet a clandestine quota. I believe that the flaw in "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," is largely due to the fact that it is Albom's first attempt at writing a work of fiction whereas all his prior books center largely on retelling an existing story, something that parallels Albom's occupation as a sportscaster. His nonfiction writings, particularly "Tuesdays With Morrie," required very little creative juice, for its main appeal was its simplicity; Albom makes the mistake of using the same approach in writing this book, neglecting the fact that the current book is a different genre of literature. The majority of the characters lack vivid descriptions and remain static throughout the book, whereas the imagery he tries to paint faisl to exist. Therefore, while the characters in "Tuesdays with Morrie" evolved on their own, the characters in this present book do not, and any curious reader will walk away with a medley of unanswered questions. Albom needs to take a creative writing class before attempting another work of fiction-in the meantime, he should stick to what he has done well with in the past, namely reporting nonfiction in a simplistic, heartwarming manner.