Part melodrama and part parable, Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven weaves together three stories, all told about the same man: 83-year-old Eddie, the head maintenance person at Ruby Point Amusement Park. As the novel opens, readers are told that Eddie, unsuspecting, is only minutes away from death as he goes about his typical business at the park. Albom then traces Eddie's world through his tragic final moments, his funeral, and the ensuing days as friends clean out his apartment and adjust to life without him. In alternating sections, Albom flashes back to Eddie's birthdays, telling his life story as a kind of progress report over candles and cake each year. And in the third and last thread of the novel, Albom follows Eddie into heaven where the maintenance man sequentially encounters five pivotal figures from his life (a la A Christmas Carol). Each person has been waiting for him in heaven, and, as Albom reveals, each life (and death) was woven into Eddie's own in ways he never suspected. Each soul has a story to tell, a secret to reveal, and a lesson to share. Through them Eddie understands the meaning of his own life even as his arrival brings closure to theirs.

Wonderful Story

I really loved and enjoyed this book. I also saw the movie first and that made me want to read this book. I would really recommened this book. It even made cry. I also recommend the other book by Mitch Albom "Tuesdays with Morrie -An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson".

I enjoyed this book greatly

The story of Eddie, an aging machinist at a seaside amusement park, his life, his loves, and his frustrations, "The Five People you Meet in Heaven" reminds us once again that it is not always what we do consciously that affects people the most, but that merely by living we affect the lives of more people than we could ever be aware of. In Mitch Albom's follow-up to his bestselling "Tuesdays with Morrie", Albom uses the fable form to drive this message home, with mixed results.

I think that more so than any of his previous work, "The Five People you Meet in Heaven" is probably going to prove to be Mitch Albom's most divisive book. Almost everyone I have spoken to was favorably impressed by "Tuesdays with Morrie" - some loved it, some felt it was "good for a first attempt", and others felt it was "a bit overrated, but not bad." Those same people have a much broader set of reactions to "The Five People...". One felt that it was opportunistic garbage, designed solely to make money. Another was "disappointed" and expected more. And so it goes. From like to hate, and everything in-between is represented in peoples' reaction to this book.

As for myself, I thought it was a better book than "Morrie"; I read it in one sitting (admittedly not a difficult feat) and I did indeed cry when I reached the end. Eddie is by far one of the most believable fictional characters I have met in recent years, and his reactions to the events chronicled in the book are very human. If the basic messages that Albom is trying to get across seem preachy or simplistic, ask yourself when was the last time you took time to consider any of them personally? Coming up with grand new truths to share is a wonderful thing, but the ability to focus our attention on things which are simple, yet forgotten can at times be even more meaningful.

If I had one critique to make about this book it would be that I think Albom erred in placing the first person before the fifth person. It seems that a great deal of the first person's message was lost (or its impact lessened, in any event) once we meet the fifth and reconsider what has been revealed in that new light. As a shock ending the fifth person works well (I know I was expecting something completely different) but it brings up all sorts of questions which remain unanswered.

Which, I guess, is part of the point. Whether you have five people or fifty, there are always going to be questions unanswered. That's life. I enjoyed this book greatly, but try it for yourself. Pick up a copy! Another book I need to recommend -- completely unrelated to Mitch Albom, but very much on my mind since I purchased a "used" copy off Amazon is "The Losers' Club: Complete Restored Edition" by Richard Perez, an exceptional, highly entertaining little novel I can't stop thinking about.

Inspirational story

I really enjoyed this book. It made me think of how people have affected my life and how I've affected others. The story was so well written I couldn't put it down. I stayed up till 2 in the morning just to get to the end. I haven't enjoyed a book that much in years.