Mitch Albom is a self-made journalist who became famous with his previous, non-fiction book “Tuesdays with Morrie”. In “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” Albom tries to give a vision of what happens when a person dies and what “Heaven” could mean. The author buys into the age-old idea that life is a learning experience and that everything happens for a reason, even though we might not see it at the moment it happens, or … at any other moment during our lives, then why not recapitulate all the reasons and find all the answers after we die?
Although the book hardly rises above the commonplace clichés and “live a good life” mantra, it is written in clear, concise and emotional style. He says many things without using too many words, and the reader cannot help but identify with the main character Eddie, a grumpy but lovable old man of 83 who spent his life as a maintenance at an imaginary amusement park called “Ruby Pier.”
The book has three, almost parallel storylines: the last hour of Eddie’s life on earth and the subsequent cleaning of his apartment and the reactions of his friends; flashbacks to the main events in Eddies life, from his childhood to just before his death; and the final line that happens in Eddie’s heaven where he meets the five people. Flashbacks are commonly used literary device, and although some might think it difficult to use in a story like this, Albom pulls it off quite well and the story line flows uninterrupted.
The story is syrupy and tries to be a tearjerker at times, but even despite these obvious flaws it does rise above the usual preachiness at times and can be called a satisfying read on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
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