The Five People You Meet in Heaven

9781401391348: The Five People You Meet in Heaven
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN is a wonderfully moving fable that addresses the meaning of life, and life after death, in the poignant way that made TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE such an astonishing book. The novel's protagonist is an elderly amusement park maintenance worker named Eddie who, while operating a ride called the 'Free Fall', dies while trying to save a young girl who gets in the way of a falling cart that hurtles to earth. Eddie goes to heaven, where he meets five people who were unexpectedly instrumental in some way in his life. While each guide takes him through heaven, Eddie learns a little bit more about what his time on earth meant, what he was supposed to have learned, and what his true purpose on earth was. Throughout there are dramatic flashbacks where we see scenes from his troubled childhood, his years in the army in the Philippines jungle, and with his first and only love, his wife Marguerite. THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN is the perfect book to follow TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE. Its compellingly affecting themes and lyrical writing will fascinate Mitch Albom's huge readership.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
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.

Albom takes a big risk with the novel; such a story can easily veer into the saccharine and preachy, and this one does in moments. But, for the most part, Albom's telling remains poignant and is occasionally profound. Even with its flaws, The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a small, pure, and simple book that will find good company on a shelf next to It's A Wonderful Life. --Patrick O'Kelley

About the Author:

Mitch Albom is the author of the international bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie, as well as six other books. He works as a newspaper columnist and a broadcaster, and serves on numerous charitable boards. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherHyperion
  • Publication date2008
  • ISBN 10 1401391346
  • ISBN 13 9781401391348
  • BindingAudio CD
  • Number of pages4
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9781401308582: The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9781401308582
Publisher: Hachette Books, 2003
Softcover

9780751536829: The Five People You Meet In Heaven

Time W..., 2004
Softcover

9780786868711: The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Hachet..., 2003
Hardcover

9780316529082: The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Hachet..., 2018
Hardcover

9780751536140: the five people you meet in heaven

Sphere, 2004
Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Albom, Mitch
Published by Hyperion (2008)
ISBN 10: 1401391346 ISBN 13: 9781401391348
New Quantity: 16
Seller:
8trax Media
(Mansfield, MA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New factory sealed AudioBook. audioCD New Ships fast! 2008Unabridged. Seller Inventory # BF-071274

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 9.98
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Albom, Mitch
Published by Hyperion (2008)
ISBN 10: 1401391346 ISBN 13: 9781401391348
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_1401391346

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 21.42
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Albom, Mitch
Published by Hyperion (2008)
ISBN 10: 1401391346 ISBN 13: 9781401391348
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Wizard Books
(Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard1401391346

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 25.46
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Albom, Mitch
Published by Hyperion (2008)
ISBN 10: 1401391346 ISBN 13: 9781401391348
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think1401391346

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 27.67
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Albom, Mitch/ Singer, Erik (Narrator)
Published by Hyperion Audio (2008)
ISBN 10: 1401391346 ISBN 13: 9781401391348
New Quantity: 1
Seller:
Revaluation Books
(Exeter, United Kingdom)

Book Description Audio CD. Condition: Brand New. unabridged edition. 4 pages. 5.75x5.25x0.75 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __1401391346

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 19.26
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 12.73
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Albom, Mitch
Published by Hyperion (2008)
ISBN 10: 1401391346 ISBN 13: 9781401391348
New Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover1401391346

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 30.13
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.30
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Albom, Mitch
Published by Hyperion (2008)
ISBN 10: 1401391346 ISBN 13: 9781401391348
New Quantity: 1
Seller:
BennettBooksLtd
(LOS ANGELES, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 0.19. Seller Inventory # Q-1401391346

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 58.33
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.13
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds