Rating:  Summary: sweet and simple Review: i liked this book. there's no need to try and read too much into it or call it preachy. it's only preachy if you feel like you're in need of preaching to. for me, it only reinforces the notion that one should make the most out of life. this book had a whole lot of heart, more than i can say for most people.
Rating:  Summary: Delightful Review: This was a wonderful read, and worth the expense of time and money. Not quite the life-changing experience of Tom Leonardi's book "Secrets of Sensual Lovemaking" -- but many worthwhile nuggets here for observant readers with good comprehension skills who enjoy a good story.
Rating:  Summary: A simple and heavenly read!! Review: The Five People You Meet In Heaven is Mitch Albom's second novel I have read -- and if you liked Tuesday's with Morrie, I believe you will like this one too. Don't expect anything earth shattering....there is not necessarily ONE profound message that this book sends. Rather - it sends five messages -in the form of people, as they are each presented to Eddie - head of maintenance at Ruby Point amusement park, after he dies trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. Heaven, instead of a lush garden, is a place where the similar earthly pain is revisited WITH each of the five people that Eddie meets. They are each part of Eddie's life and are people he knows, or they can be distant strangers whose lives have impacted or have been impacted by that of this tired and hopeless 83 year old man. Though pain is experienced in heaven, there is also a beauty that Eddie finds in bringing closure to each of the five people he meets in his heaven, for even though death is looked at as an "end" Eddie is able to see how it IS really the beginning....It is the beginning of the journey to finding out what meaning one's life carries with it....and also what one's life has meant to others, and how it has changed them. Even if you didn't realize it when you were on earth. The skies of heaven shed light on those reasons. While this book was simple and perhaps not as complex and detailed as the drawn out death we see in "Tuesdays With Morrie," I did find that it shed a brighter light on the whole idea of death itself. In his first book, I felt that Albom was making the reader feel comfortable - and coming to terms with - the fact that death is nothing to fear. Yet in this novel, I found that there was a more positive message, because it doesn't focus only on endings and accepting one's wrongdoings.....it is rather more focused on new beginnings, and remembering not just one's own wrongdoings - but those of others (or the perceived ones of others). It makes me think, who would be the five people in my own heaven?
Rating:  Summary: Thought Provoking Review: I loved the concept of entering heaven and finding out what purpose your life had on earth. I couldn't help but feel sad for Eddie who just didn't "get it" while on earth, but this book showed that every life has meaning. An easy read, I finished in just a few hours and it has stayed with me. I highly recommend.
Rating:  Summary: Sappy Fluff! Review: The comparisons to A Christmas Carol are true, but Dickens' book is superior. The reviews that this book is preachy are accurate as well. Think Celestine Prophecy. I thought that this would be a nice light interesting read with some substance. True, this is a light read that will take less than a couple of hours of your time. False, there is no substance to this book and your time is worth more than this.
Rating:  Summary: Something to think about ... Review: I admit that I bought this book with the simple hope of a decent story without a winding plot. Decent story? Yes. Winding plot? Still trying to determine that. As with many good tales this one left me with a few "Ah ha!" moments. After all, isn't a good story supposed to leave you thinking about it afterwards? I would put this book in the same category as The Lovely Bones with the simple message of "This could happen to anyone - especially you." In a time where we are bombarded with the media coverage of wars, snipers, teen suicide, late-term abortion debates (and anything else that could turn your stomach while listening to the evening news with your family) it seems that a story such as The Five People You Meet in Heaven is something that should give people a reason to step back and think about the really important things in life and what's waiting for you on the other side. Drama aside, this story left me looking at the strangers I bump into everyday differently ... it truly leaves you thinking about your everyday decisions in a different light.
Rating:  Summary: Good for 5th graders Review: You have to give Mitch credit, he has a simplistic writing style and tired worn out feel good messages that appeal to the masses. This book is flat-out shallow, and will be enjoyed by the same readers who think the Da Vinci Code is a good book. I laugh at people who say this is a classic. If you're one of those readers whose lips move when you read and you use your finger to keep your place on the page then "5 People" is for you!!! Otherwise, don't waste your time like I did.
Rating:  Summary: Say it ain't so, Mitch Review: Dear Mr. Albom, Please tell me you didn't publish this wretched book. One of my favorite books was "Tuesdays with Morrie," your book also, and now this. It's not even a good Tom Swifty. It probably took more time for me to read it than it did for you to write it. I think too much of you to want anyone to buy this book. I hope I can wave people off from buying it. It hurts your reputation. I ask you, "What would Morrie think of this trash?"
Rating:  Summary: Simplistic yet valuable Review: I had a hard time paging through the first chapter, entitled "The End"; it read like an episode of Highlights. Mitch Albom maintains this style throughout the book, somewhat similar to the style in Tuesdays with Moorie, and that style deters me as a reader somewhat. I would expect more from a well-spoken drive-time radio commentator. The message in the book is profound, however. I myself did not find it preachy. Albom has a way of working in his principles that, if taken seriously, can offer an altering view on life. While I would not read the book again, I would advise anyone seeking to read it to deal with the low-level storytelling to in exchange reap the benefits of his underlying message.
Rating:  Summary: A prayer answered Review: An amazing book about an ordinary guy with an ordinary life. Both inspirational and lovely. I won't say anymore because I don't want to spoil the book for you.
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