Book review time.

THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN -- Mitch Albom.

I got this book as a christmas gift from my family so given the circumstances I assumed right away it would be sappy. I wasn't as right as I thought I was; while it did have "Oprah's book club-esque" qualities, it still had enough literary merrit to talk about.

" Five People...." is the story ( or as NY times calls it, the 'fable' ) of 83 year old Eddie and his sudden death and journey to the afterlife. He gets stuck in a sort of limbo; the memories and heavens of other people. Each heaven is populated by a person who was effected by Eddie at some point in their lives....whether Eddie realized it or not. Each of the 5 people teach Eddie a "lesson" hence the fable aspect.

I think one of the themes of the book is tying up loose ends. Everyone has them whether they acknowledge it or not. There were so many things from Eddie's past that he had simply stuffed away...or wasn't conscious of at all. Maybe this is what makes this book appealing to many people; being able to identify with a flawed character...and then recieving the satisfaction of seeing all his questions being answered.

This book is riddled with descriptive flashbacks...adding heart to the story. Eddie's involvement in WWII for example is vivid....and gives insight as to why he sought after unconditional love from Margueritte and a stable job at the amusement park after living with such fear and uncertanity. However, the fact that the "lesson" is laid forth cut and dry in each little vignette leaves little to the imagination....when your writing has a higher purpose such as what Albom is trying to achieve, subtlety seems to make an idea all the more rich. He does capture innocent emotion well. His writing is very sentimental and never offensive.

Like in theme #2: Love....of all kinds.
" Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them. They move on. they move away. The moments that used to define them - a mother's approval, a father's nod - are covered by moments of their own accomplishments. It is not til much later, as the skin sags and the heart weakens, that children understand; their stories, all their accomplishments, sit atop the stories of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones, beneath the waters of their lives. "

" Lost love is still love. It takes a different form , that's all. You can't see their smile of bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it. "

Aww.

In conclusion, this book was pretty good. at 196 pages, it took me about a day and a half to read it ... thanks to my crappy job . It reminded me sooooort of of another book I read 2 christmases ago, I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE, by Wally Lamb. It has many of the same themes and even more rich, poignant observations of the events of ones' life. It's about 800 pages, but so worth the read. I think everyone would be a more loving and considerate person if they read this book.

Ok, well maybe not, but READ IT!!!
That's all for now.

Oh, go see '21 grams'. Brilliant, awesome movie.