The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Rating:
Summary: What you already know about heaven
Review: The book tries hard to be touching and sincere. And it succeeds in doing that. But if you are hoping to expand your spirituality, explore your ideas of heaven, or, in fact, do anything else except read a soft book about a unknown topic and come away with a slightly gauzy, filmy view of heaven, buy another book. I read it because it got such enormous hype, a lesson I apparently haven't learned yet, and will probably meet again in heaven and have explained to me.
It may be appropriate to read to a child of about six to eight, who is interested in knowing what happens when we die, if you are not an "ashes to ashes" kind of person.
I'm just not the right person for slow-pitch, sweet heaven stories. The central theme is that five people in your life touched you in ways you didn't understand at the time, and that you touched others in way you didn't understand either. In heaven you understand it all. Connectivity explains the rest. I found it unsatisfying even as a simple, sweet story that teaches us to be kind to everyone. If I have to spend the first portion of eternity finding the five people and have them explain their connection to me, and the next part of eternity waiting for others to die so I can explain my part in their life, I'm not going to be buried in sturdy shoes and a good book--but not this one.

Rating:
Summary: Five People Who Bore You In Heaven
Review: Reading the NY Bestsellers List can sometimes lead you to books that sound interesting but turn out to be a complete waste of time. The idea was an interesting one; you die, you meet five people who teach you wonderful insights on your life that you overlooked while you were on earth. However, that would work much better had the main character led a corrupt life in the corporate world or had actually overlooked something in his life (which would have been cliche but much more believable). This was not the case in this book. Eddie seemed to be a man who had some ghosts in his past but overall was a very loved man and a led a very quiet life. This made the lessons he learned almost seem redundant. To top it off, the writing was very poor. It wasn't much of a page turner and at many points, it was very predictable and bland. If you really want to learn some life lessons that enlighten you, pick up his other book, "Tuesdays With Morrie."

Rating:
Summary: A Gentle Take on Tragedy
Review: The best way to describe "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" is "pleasant". That sums it up rather nicely. It is a short book. It didn't even put a dent in my evening to read it. At the same time, it was long enough to tell the story it needed to tell. I didn't feel cheated by the shortness of the book, actually rather appreciative. The use of flashback is reminiscent of "My Fractured Life," although with an obviously more gentle take on tragedy, although no less moving. The tenderness is reminiscent of "The Secret Life of Bees," but without the length. All together, a pleasant experience to read.

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: What a waste of an evening. This book can be judged on several levels - all of them bad. It is poorly written, philosophically shallow, theologically trite, and only mildly amuseing. Mercifully, I got through it quickly. I would give it 0 stars if the option were available.

Rating:
Summary: Author over-rated
Review: I must admit that I read this book because of its sales rank, and also because I read the author's another book, "Tuesdays with Morrie." I read "Tuesdays with Morrie," because of its sales rank, and its overall favorable reviews, and because a very close friend of mine read it. My impression: both books and the author are way over-rated.

I more or less agree with another reviewer, Dr J E Robinson's view that this is an either you love it and you may even cry while reading it type of book, or you may, just like me, have no feeling/reaction to it. First, I don't find the author a good story teller. Obviously, he tried hard to be one, but in my opinion, he failed. This book can be written in half its length without losing anything except some revenues, as the book is much shorter. Second, the whole story reflects only the author's view/interpretation/inspiration of what life is about. And I find some of his views quite shallow.

My guess is, for those who are really really touched by this book, probably they might have shared one or some experience of the story's character, Eddie's. Overall, I can believe that this story is written by a college freshman as a term paper.

Rating:
Summary: Touching, quick read
Review: Don't let the title mislead you. Although this book describes what a man named Eddie experiences in heaven after his death, the story itself is more about Eddie's life than his after-life. Read it as the story of how an ordinary man's life touched and changed the lives of others in relatively extraordinary ways. It's a super-quick read, and if you like literature that falls on the more touchy-feely side, you'll like this.

Rating:
Summary: A weekend well spent reading this story
Review: I am very happy that I picked up this book on a Saturday afternoon and read it through the day and finished it on Sunday. I thought the book was very well written. I do think the uncle's picture should have been in the front of book or on the cover. He reminded me of my father. I thought the story line was different and important to read as that I have lost many close family members. I hope the deceased members of my family have had similar ventures in heaven meeting people that they knew and didn't know but found out why their lives were important to people around them. I will read more books from this author just to find out what he will have to say next.

Rating:
Summary: Your Welcoming Committee...
Review: I loved the concept of this book and felt that it deserved five stars for this alone. I would not have missed reading this book for anything.
I also accidentally happen to see his uncle's picture located at the end of the book, before I started reading and I'm so glad that I did. I feel that it should be placed at the beginning of the book because after viewing the man, I felt an even greater attachment to him.
There are characters in this book that are just brilliant, such as the "Blue Man." What creativity in describing him!
Some of the characters though, just didn't seem as developed...as though he had a deadline that didn't allow him to expound upon them.
I suggested this novel to my sibling who emailed me, " I think I'd rather be surprised over my Welcoming Committee. " Not me! I immediately started thinking about the 5 people I will meet in heaven. I have to say, my dog was right there at the top.
Mitch - a wonderful tribute to your Uncle!

Rating:
Summary: You'll Be Moved
Review: Strange to say what makes certain books and stories work. It's a strange combination of pacing, ideas, characters. THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN is a book that shouldn't work. At first, the story may sound sentimental, but ultimately, by some magic, it works. It's the story of a 'nobody' who has an opportunity to reflect on his 'pointless' life only to discover it wasn't so meaningless, after all. It truly carries a powerful theme. Mortality and the afterlife, regret and fear -- love and acceptance. This little book packs a whallop. I recommend it. Also recommended: [e-mail] by Tom Grimes, THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional
Review: Only a master storyteller, could weave such an intriguing story. Well written and deeply thought-provoking...Mitch Albom not only draws the reader in, but in his subtle manner, also succeeds in raising one's level of 'conscious,' as this story challenges the casual reader to think deeply and profoundly...
about this journey, we call 'life.'

A wonderful book that deserves its rightful place on everyone's 'Must Read' List.