The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2003)

I thought this was a wonderful short story and really enjoyed reading. ( )

This could be a perfectly decent fluffy piece of fiction if there weren't so many people touting it as great inspirational literature. ( )

I read this on the recommendation of a good friend. It was fine---gripping enough to pull me through it, and short enough to have been read in a day. While there might be some chicken-soup-for-the-soul stuff here for someone, that person wasn't me. It's a nice reminder that nobody is an island and that being a bitter, curmudgeonly old man is no way to live your life. Also, go give your dad a call. ( )

Writing: 4.5; Theme: 5.0; Content: 4.0; Language: 3.0; Overall: 4.0; Very good writing by Mitch Albom. This is the second book that I have read from this author. The theme of this volume is quite interesting- a man who goes to heaven and visits five people who were greatly affected by his life. This was an inspirational tome, however, the Bible teaches that only those who have been born-again will enter into heaven (and the author gave no indication that Eddie had made this commitment in his life). This volume also unfortunately used God's name in vain on one occasion and also used at least 10-15 additional vulgarities. Recommend with caution due to the above problems. ***October 9, 2020*** ( )

3.5

"Learn this from me. Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves." ( )