Book Name:	The Five People You Meet In Heaven
	Author:	Mitch Albom
	Number of Pages:	240
	Publisher:	Sphere
	Price:	£3.99
	Rating:	(5 / 5)

The Five People You Meet In Heaven is a book written by Mitch Albom whose other literary pieces include Tuesdays With Morrie and For One More Day. All of his books have a very heart-warming feel to it and The Five People You Meet In Heaven is no exception. The Five People You Meet In Heaven is one of my favourite books of all time and a book I have re-read at least two or three times and it still doesn’t get old at all. My initial encounter with The Five People You Meet In Heaven came by way of a recommendation from an old work colleague of mine who was raving about it.

I was, generally skeptical about the book and couldn’t imagine it was as good as my friend said it was and it wasn’t until a couple of years later when I came across the book again and picked it up….So what is The Five People You Meet In Heaven about? Well it’s about the death and life (in that order) of a man named Eddie and who, in the latter part of his life continued working in Maintenance at his local fairground. Events take place that set up a terrible accident. As the event unfolds Eddie tries in vain to prevent the accident and also save the life of a little girl caught in the middle of the drama. As he run’s to save the little girl from being killed, his legs give way. As he falls forward he tries to push the little girl away from danger but is killed himself not knowing whether he succeeded or not in saving the little girl with the last thing he sees and feels are two little hands holding his. What happens next is Eddie’s journey through heaven, meeting the five people he once knew during the course of his life and how he touched the lives of those people, sometimes unknowingly.This journey through heaven breaks off in flashbacks to the earlier parts of his life to explain his relationships with the five people he meets. These flashacks explain elements of the story like why his legs gave way and whether he saved the little girl or not.

My thoughts on The Five People You Meet In Heaven

The Bad Points of The Five People You Meet In Heaven

While the flashbacks were important to explain the relationships and back story, there were frustrating moments when you just wanted to find out more of what was happening to Eddie in heaven. If you persevere your patience is rewarded.

It is an American centric book so there are a lot of old American terms that European readers may not know or understand but this doesn’t detract or negatively impact the book overall too much

The Good Points of The Five People You Meet In Heaven

The flashbacks were quite compelling, sometimes sad, shocking in some areas but keep you hooked and wanting to read more.

It’s a book you can read quite easily in a day or two, three tops. I found it un-putdownable and wanted to get to the end.

Although it is about the death of the main character, when you get to the end of the book, it turns into a very feel good, uplifting and soulful read.

A book that can make you laugh, cry, smile, make you think has the hallmarks of a good book. The fifth and final person Eddie meets brought a tear to my eye. I remember that moment as I was sitting on packed train in rushhour at the time.

There isn’t another book that has managed to achieve that and I won’t spoil the ending by explaining what happens.

So where a friend recommended this book to me all those years ago, I’m doing the same here and hope you enjoy and appreciate the book as much as I did!

Ian

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