“The Five People You Meet in Heaven” by Mitch Albom
I’m hooked from the get go. This is a very well written book about a character named Eddie, an old man who works as a maintenance guy at an amusement park for the majority of his life. Straight from the beginning of the book Mitch Albom wrote this incredibly descriptive backstory of who Eddie was, well enough that only few pages in I started to develop a compassion for him and not wanting him to die. But of course he died, and this is where the journey takes place, in heaven.
Albom’s idea of heaven is quite interesting: When you die you get to meet 5 people separately one by one. These are the people that you’ve crossed path with, who will explain the most significant events in your life and each will give you 1 or 2 important lessons. “There are five people you meet in heaven”, one character in the book explains to Eddie in heaven. “Each of us was in your life for a reason. You may not have known the reason at the time, and that is what heaven is for. For understanding your life on earth.”
It is layer after layer of plot twists that are difficult to guess, with the story intermittently switches from Eddie’s time in heaven and the many stories of his different birthdays in the past that slowly paint a bigger picture about who Eddie is and the backstory of every single character in the story.
The 5 people that he meets are:
- A blue man “freak” who worked at the amusement park, whom Eddie barely know, and whom he accidentally killed when he was a little boy running across the road chasing a ball, forcing the blue man to instinctively skid while driving a car, spiking his adrenaline, which then led to a heart attack minutes later. His lesson: Everyone’s actions in the world are all connected to one another, even the smallest most seemingly insignificant move can unsuspectedly create a big ripple effect. And also: Why some people die and others get to live.
- Eddie’s commanding officer at the army during their time serving in the Philippines. This chapter tells an incredible story about Eddie’s military days, especially what happened with his legs that crippled him for the rest of his life. His lesson: About sacrifice. “Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you’re not really losing it. You’re just passing it on to someone else.”
- About his dad. This surprise mystery person number 3 provides a deep backstory about Eddie’s difficult relationship with his abusive and alcoholic father, which shows the foundations of a character which Eddie will have in the future. But this person also shows Eddie’s father’s life, as a contextual explanation of his own eventual behaviour. The lesson: On empathy and forgiveness.
- His wife, and finally the story about her whom has been sparsely told throughout the book without any further elaboration. It is the most heart-warming chapter for me, and the most heart-breaking at the same time that almost reduce me to tears while thinking about my own beloved wife. And just like what Eddie feels, I really wanted him to just stay there and not move forward to the 5th person. The lesson: Life has to end, love doesn’t.
- A total plot twist that I would not even dare to mention here (an already spoiler review). It is crazy how the book can get to this totally unexpected person. And the lesson of this person is the insanely brilliant conclusion of the entire story: About letting go.
The book is so beautifully-written, perfect from start to finish without a flaw. It narrates the scene by scene very descriptively as if I’m watching a good movie that feels like a blend of Forrest Gump, Big Fish, and Benjamin Button, with a back-and-forth sequences like The Butterfly Effect, or Slumdog Millionaire, or even that brilliant 21 Grams. Every chapter is a mystery and wonder, every new information about Eddie reveals an extraordinary life behind what looks like a painfully dull old man with a boring life.
I genuinely wish that this is what happens when we die, we get to learn and review our lives from 5 pivotal people. And I’ve never even though of this before; but I think if I can get my way, if ever I can choose who to write my obituary or biography, it would be Mitch Albom. Such a brilliant storyteller.
THE CHAOS THEORY 