The five people you meet in heaven by Mitch Albom

Title- The five people you meet in heaven.

Author- Mitch Albom

Genre- fiction

No of pages - 114

Format- e-book

Publishers- Hachette books.

About the book-

A work of fiction which deals with the events of the life ( more precisely the events following the death) of a man called Eddie (Edward). It starts with his death and goes on to his journey towards heaven of meeting five different people who help him get a clearer picture of his life on Earth. The hows and whys get answered in the end and he finally gets the peace he longed for. As pointed out by one of the characters that dying is not the end of everything, we think it is. Whatever happens on Earth is only the beginning.

My rating is ★★★☆☆

My review-

We are exposed to the concept of heaven and hell and life and death at a very early age. While heaven is depicted as a blissful placed devoid of sufferings, hell is the place where the sinners go. While life is depicted as a bountiful reserve, death is shown as the Grim Reaper who puts an end to this reserve.

However this book is different. It portrays death not as the Grim Reaper but as the medium which let's people have an opportunity to make sense of their lives on Earth. 

We are taken on the journey,  starting with the death ( unlike most books, this goes backwards) , the death of Eddie, our protagonist. He dies while trying to save a little Annie or Amy at the Ruby pier, the amusement park in which he worked as a maintenance staff. He falls to his death with the question whether he was able to save her.?

The story then shifts rapidly between past and present, the past showing incidences from his birthdays specifically and snatches from his life as a whole. In the present he meets five people who he has either encountered in his life or has been affected by them in someway.

These five people tend to his comprehension of what exactly had happened back on Earth and how his life had been affected by the certain incidents involving them. 

Through these revelations Eddie finally understands five important lessons which are-

    1. The human lives are connected in a way he didn't understand. That's the reason one gets to live and some other dies, it's because death misses one person and takes another, changes lives.

    2.It's important to take the less wrong decisions, to make sacrifices for the greater good.

    3. He should let go off the grudge against his father. His father had reasons for his life and death and he valued loyalty even though it took his life.

    4.There is no end to love, even beyond death, it stays.

   5. The dreams that haunted him throughout his life had been meaning to pave his way towards his death to relieve him of the burdens he faced in life.

The book has a simple story, doesn't antagonize death ( one thing that I personally loved ), smooth transitions between past and present, elaborate descriptions of the encounters in heaven and Eddie's life on Earth. 

However the stroy has a rather abrupt end. Yes, Eddie gets all the answers to his questions but the fifth person who helps him the most has the shortest time. The ending didn't connect well with me because it was not as emotional as it was supposed to be. The build up in the story escalated quickly only to lead to a dissatisfied ending. The lack of emotional connection just doesn't concur with the expectations.

An average read it was but I would suggest this to anyone who wants light reading or loves elaborate descriptions.

Characters-

Eddie/ Edward- the protagonist who has been deeply unsatisfied with his life. Having served his time in the war he was a crippled old man by the end of his life .He had a nagging feeling of being stuck at the place he was in. He has always felt his life was not worthwhile but the end of his life finally cleared this feeling.

Other characters are the ones whom Eddie met on the way to heaven. They include his wife, the blue Man, the lady named Ruby, the little kid and his commanding officer from the war. They give the lessons to Eddie, but what they told and in what order they appeared, read the book to find out.

Writing style-

The writing as such is very elaborate. Not only the conversations but the description of the characters and the surroundings are also very detailed. 

A bold step of not antagonising death, appealing to the reader's emotions but at places seems disconnected from the reader. 

Inspite of everything a rather smooth flow of events and prefect transitions between past and present.

About the author-

Mitch Albom is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, dramatist, radio and television broadcaster and musician. He has achieved national recognition for sports writing in the early parts of his carreer and is perhaps best known for his inspirational stories and themes.