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The Five People You Meet In Heaven: Summary and book reviews of The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom, plus links to an excerpt from The Five People You Meet In Heaven and a biography of Mitch Albom.

The Five People You Meet In Heaven

The Five People You Meet In Heaven
by Mitch Albom
Hardcover: Sep 2003,
198 pages.
Paperback: Mar 2006,
208 pages.

Publication information
First book/First Novel


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BOOK SUMMARY

From the author of the phenomenal #1 New York Times bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie, a novel that explores the unexpected connections of our lives, and the idea that heaven is more than a place; it's an answer.

Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It's a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his "meaningless" life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: "Why was I here?"
BookBrowse

The Five People... is at BookBrowse because it more than met the criteria of having received exceptionally good reviews (even from tough critics such as Janet Maslin in the New York Times), and certainly visitors appreciate it (the reader reviews are glowing). However, at the risk of being exposed as the cynic I am, I found it fairly hard going. I think I would have been happier if it had been titled 'The Two People You Meet in Heaven', or perhaps at a stretch, 'The Three People', because by the time Eddie met his 4th person I was beginning to feel that the point was being labored just a bit.  (Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).

Full Review Members Only (407 words).

Media Reviews

  Library Journal - Mary K. Bird-Guilliams
Morrie fans will want to read this first novel, and readers daring to examine their own lives may enjoy as well. For all public libraries.

  People Magazine
Fans of Tuesdays with Morrie will be delighted with this novel.

  New York Times - Janet Maslin
Sincere. . . . A book with the genuine power to stir and comfort its readers.

  Booklist - Brad Hooper
....the novel's "point" is that apparently insignificant lives do indeed have their own special kind of significance. A sweet book that makes you smile but is not gooey with overwrought sentiment.

  Publishers Weekly
...this wonderful title should grace national fiction bestseller lists for a long time.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Nick
Moving
Read it.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by taylor
Beautiful
I was forced to read this book, and at first I really didn't want to. Reading further, though, I found that this book is a mix of simple lessons, and wonderfully woven sentences that bring me to the verge of tears. I recommend this book to...   Read More

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Ann
Such a wonderful book!
The book The Five People You Meet in Heaven was written by Mitch Albom, who is the same author who wrote the famous book Tuesdays with Morrie. It brings you into a place that we each have dreamed about: heaven. In this book there is a...   Read More

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Catherine
BBE(Best book so far)
"The Five People You in Heaven" is a great book. I had to a book report on it and I loved it. Too bad I haven't seen the movie yet:)

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Ji
I love it.....
I read it for my English project and it is really interesting. It changed my views about heaven, and it inspired me.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Nicole
Awesome
This book is an outstanding, attention-grabbing and a New York Times bestseller. Mitch Albom has a way with words that makes you deem that you are in heaven with Edward experiencing the different lessons.

...105 More Reader Reviews

Mitch Albom had published a handful of books before he hit paydirt with Tuesdays With Morrie in 1997 which, surprisingly, far outsold Morrie Schwartz's own book, Morrie: In His Own Words which had been published earlier.

Albom says that the lead character in The Five People... was inspired by his uncle, Edward Beitchman, who was also a World War II veteran, who also died at 83, and also lived a life like that of the fictional character, rarely leaving his home city, and often feeling that he didn't accomplish what he should have.

Readalikes Full readalike results are for members only

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These are 2 of the 4 readalike suggestions for The Five People You Meet In Heaven. Members have full access to all readalikes. If you are a member, please login. To find out more about membership, click here.


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