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The Five People You Meet in Heaven

by Mitch Albom (Goodreads Author)

3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 · rating details · 244,860 ratings · 10,483 reviews

Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It s a place where your life is explained to you...more

Hardcover, First Edition, 196 pages

Published September 23rd 2003 by Hyperion

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Jul 27, 2007 AJ Griffin rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: drippy, sentimental pieces of shit who love lifetime tv movies

what providence: i just remembered this book after I read some holier-than-though pretentious bullshit Mitch Albom wrote about Harry Potter. Mr. Albom-Winfrey seems to think the mass marketing of Harry Potter has ruined the theoretical lives of such figures as Winnie the Pooh, Clifford, Curious George, etc., despite that his own shitty books have been thrust upon the world under the same kind of marketing blitz.

As if I weren't annoyed enough at his article, I was subsequently reminded of this l...more

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Aug 20, 2008 Jamie rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the great things about checking out audiobooks from the public library is that I can take a chance on something I normally wouldn't buy, and I end up loving it. And then, of course, there are the times I take a chance on something I wouldn't normally like and end up really hating it as predicted. See if you can guess which is the case here by the end of this post.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven is about Eddie, an amusement park maintenance guy who dies and goes to heaven. Spoiler alert...more One of the great things about checking out audiobooks from the public library is that I can take a chance on something I normally wouldn't buy, and I end up loving it. And then, of course, there are the times I take a chance on something I wouldn't normally like and end up really hating it as predicted. See if you can guess which is the case here by the end of this post.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven is about Eddie, an amusement park maintenance guy who dies and goes to heaven. Spoiler alert, I guess, though you could probably figure that out from the title. From there he meets five people whose lives touched his and learns why he was such a unique and special little snowflake while on Earth. The book's main shortcoming is that I only get to enjoy seeing something kill Eddie on one occasion. And that was over within the first few pages.

Seriously, this thing is so ham-fisted in its moralizing, so infused with cliches, so sentimental, and so naked in its attempts to manipulate emotions that I only finished it because it was blessedly short. The worst part about this last point is that the audiobook brings up violins --VIOLINS!-- in the background at the most supposedly sentimental parts. Which is to say, constantly.

Oh, and Albom apparently never heard of the "show, don't tell" rule when it comes to establishing character and showing reactions. I guess everyone in Heaven describes their mental processes in flagrant detail. There's also the issue of proclamations that sound wise at first, but crumble under any amount of thought. For example, there's a line to the effect of "Sometimes, when you sacrifice something you don't lose it. You just give it to someone else." Now, I haven't a dictionary in front of me to help me through this moral morass, but I fail to see the difference off the top of my head.

At any rate, I certainly wouldn't recommend this. If you really want to read a good book about the afterlife, pick up Dante's The Divine Comedy, read the first few pages, then throw it down in frustration and decide that there's no good middle ground.(less)

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Jul 20, 2007 Claire rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I never had any desire to read this book (or Tuesdays with Morrie for that matter), but a girl in my LSAT class gave it to me to read, so I felt like I had to read it.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven is an incredibly quick read. It has small pages with big font and the content is not at all challenging. You could easily read this book in a weekend. That said, I don't know if you would want to. While the book was mildly entertaining and held my interest (I kept wanting to know who Eddie would...more

32 likes · like · see review

Apr 15, 2009 Harun Harahap rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: punya, fiksi, terjemahan

seperti buku2 Mitch Albom lainnya, di buku ni alur ceritanya pun maju mundur..mungkin ni ciri khasnya..oiya diantara babnya pasti ada tulisan2 khusus di masa lampau..*gw suka gaya lo..hihihi..*

sesuai dengan judul bukunya, Eddie, Sang tokoh utama menemui 5 orang di alam baka setelah kematiannya itu..dan setiap orang yg ia temui memberikan satu pelajaran kepada Eddie..

Orang pertama mengajarkan klo hidup semua orang itu saling berkaitan..kita tidak menyadari mungkin di saat kita bergembira..di sudu...more

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Nov 03, 2012 Venus added it · review of another edition

Shelves: novel

عشق از دست رفته هنوز هم عشق است.فقط شکلش عوض می شود،همین.دیگر نمی توانی لبخند عشقت را ببینی یا برایش غذا ببری یا موهایش را نوازش کنی و یا با او برقصی،اما وقتی این حس ها ضعیف می شوند،حس های دیگر قدرت می یابند خاطرات، خاطرات شریکت می شوند.تو آن را غذا می دهی.بغلش می کنی . با آن می رقصی!
هر کس در زندگی اش یک لحظه عشق حقیقی را می بیند و آن لحظه تا ابد مانند یک تصویر در ذهنش حک می شود.
...
زندگی باید به پایان برسد ولی عشق نه!

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Dec 21, 2008 Joelle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: quarter1

Joelle Huertas
904 W.A.
Book Review On The Five People You Meet In Heaven

The Five People You Meet In Heaven
By Mitch Albom
208pp Passaic, New Jersey
ISBN-13: 9781401308582
Hyperion $10.80

This book was so amazing that it remained on the New York Best Seller List for 95 weeks. If the book wasn’t that marvelous why would it have remained there? Mitch Albom’s book The Five People You Meet In Heaven is an extraordinary book. You might think it’s a religious book because the title itself, but it isn’t....more Joelle Huertas
904 W.A.
Book Review On The Five People You Meet In Heaven

The Five People You Meet In Heaven
By Mitch Albom
208pp Passaic, New Jersey
ISBN-13: 9781401308582
Hyperion $10.80

This book was so amazing that it remained on the New York Best Seller List for 95 weeks. If the book wasn’t that marvelous why would it have remained there? Mitch Albom’s book The Five People You Meet In Heaven is an extraordinary book. You might think it’s a religious book because the title itself, but it isn’t. It is a captivating book that deals with fait, death, and how everything you do affects someone else. I found myself comparing little choices or decisions I made to the ones Eddie, the main character made. I’m not into books about heaven or death but I found myself loving every minute of it. I found myself gasping, crying, and laughing with the characters because of the way Mitch Albom portrays Eddie is so moving. If you want a good fiction book, this is a MUST read!
Eddie is a character who is alone in life, no family, no friends, just his job at the amusement park as janitor. It breaks your heart how alone he is. It’s so poignant the way it is written that it makes you want to befriend the aged lonely man.
The way the book starts is like the saying the end is only a new beginning. The beginning is the tragic, horrifying death of Eddie, and the death, or end, is only the beginning to his afterlife and the entry to heaven. The book puts such new perspectives on life to you and gives you knowledge of how to live life to the fullest.
So many quotes can apply to your life, or help you out. For example Ruby, one of the five people Eddie meets in heaven, says to Eddie “Holding anger is a poison...It eats you from inside...We think that by hating someone we hurt them...But hatred is a curved blade...and the harm we do to others...we also do to ourselves...” I personally love that quote because it help me let go of things because I was filled with anger. I learned to let go, appreciate what you have and to have faith. The book is like having a mentor or role model who teaches you how to deal.
While reading the book you find yourself astound on how every little thing one does can alter someone’s life. Take Eddie for example. He is playing ball in the street, when the blue man is in a car. Eddie drops the ball, and chases it into the street where the blue man suddenly has a heart attack due to the scare he is facing of hitting this little boy in the street.
Eddie goes through so much in the book. With deaths of every one he loves, to his own death in the very first chapter. He has to learn to accept death, fait, letting go, there are no random acts in life, and that love always wins! The way he learns is so amazing because he is so realistic, he’s a kind, old, and he would sacrifice himself for others. The way Albom shows this it makes you feel like you know him, to me I felt as if he was my grandfather.
Essentially this book is a must read whether you believe in heaven or not. I guarantee you will be moved by this book. There is even a movie too! One thing you will wonder after you finish reading this book is who will be your five people you meet in heaven?

(less)

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Oct 10, 2007 Fretty rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: novel

"Lost love is still love, Eddie. It just takes a different form, that's all. You can't hold their hand... You can't tousle their hair... But when those senses weaken another one comes to life... Memory... Memory becomes your partner. You hold it... you dance with it... Life has to end, Eddie... Love doesn't."

The book that taught me the idea of death, God and life's never ending unanswered questions.

I vaguely remember when exactly I read this but I remember I read this couple of months before I...more "Lost love is still love, Eddie. It just takes a different form, that's all. You can't hold their hand... You can't tousle their hair... But when those senses weaken another one comes to life... Memory... Memory becomes your partner. You hold it... you dance with it... Life has to end, Eddie... Love doesn't."

The book that taught me the idea of death, God and life's never ending unanswered questions.

I vaguely remember when exactly I read this but I remember I read this couple of months before I broke up with my current-boyfriend and it was around the end of the year. Maybe September-October to November. It is significant to know when I read because it is one of the reasons why this book just stays in my mind.

I pictured myself as Eddie. An old man with so many bruises (physically and emotionally) draging the last breath he had to carry before he died and saved a little girl's life. With a cause he died (which for me is amazing!) and the sky went darker like any scene we might see in movies or stories about the long tunnel after we are no longer connected to this life and earth (classic - but I kinda fond of this typical scene). Then he met the five people that bumped into his life for a second and even for a lifetime that he might didn't remember or know them before when he was alive. These five people were there to answer all of his unanswered questions about his life and why God had purposes with him in his life even when he thought that he had no value at all - This too amazes me still; have you EVER wondered why are you here on earth? why God made you so grand that He let you breath-eat-work-smoke-have sex-make decision-go crazy-fall in love-make mistakes-cheat-be bad-curse-etc? doesn't that make you feel so little to know that now?)

And the story evolved from there. And all the classic questions that I believe WE all are facing now are written so nicely by Albom. With jokes, with poems, with simple everyday words. Albom didn't preach within this book which I think it is the risk of writing such subject - and the fact that he didn't preach makes it universal for all races and religions to read. And be spiritually touched.

And so how does this effect on me with the broke-up? Highly emmense. I was angry all the time and didn't understand why I was treated so bad by a man and how I thought I have not a value to go on. Then a friend's death which rolled me back to the time I read this book in the first place reminds me of how life goes on (and how life NEEDS to go on). God has purposes with us, even if it means only to be a bell-boy of a grand hotel, or to be a mistress, or to be a virgin queen or to be an ordinary guy standing on the train station. Little things matter the most.

On the account of this book, I got to know that Albom had written another grand book about life-death-God previously before this book. I haven't read the previous one; Tuesday with Morrie (which led to a movie), so I am really looking forward to read it after reading this. I hope that book will be highly amazing and enlight me like Five People did.(less)

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Jul 30, 2007 Roos rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: friends

Shelves: novelia, indonesian

Buku yang bagus terutama bagi yang suka memaknai dan menghargai Hidup, membuat kita untuk selalu bersyukur kepada Sang Pencipta.

Pelajaran 1:
Tidak ada kehidupan yang sia-sia. Satu-satunya waktu yang kita sia-siakan adalah waktu yang kita habiskan dengan mengira kita hanya sendirian.

Pelajaran 2:
Pengorbanan bagian dari kehidupan, bukan untuk disesali jika mengorbankan sesuatu yang berharga, karena kita tidak sungguh-sungguh kehilangan itu, Kita hanya meneruskannya pada orang lain.

Pelajaran 3:
MAAF....more

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Nov 17, 2012 Blanches Jeanne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: me-gusta-of-all-time, heart-touching

“All endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at the time."

pernah berpikir akan seperti apa surga itu? well rasanya sangat sedikit manusia yang masih hidup yang tau seperti apa wujud surga. Diluar konsep keagamaan apapun yang kita anut, di buku ini, mitch memberikan konsep yang sangat menarik tentang surga. Surga dalam buku ini berupa suatu moment paling membahagiakan dalam hidup kita (atau yang paling bahagia yang bisa kita bayangkan) yang tidak akan pernah habis habis.. pernah mengal...more

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Dec 03, 2008 Endah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Awalnya, membaca judulnya , saya mencurigai buku ini sebagai kisah religius tentang kehidupan sesudah mati, tempat orang bertemu malaikat, bidadari, dan Tuhan. Atau hanya kisah lucu-lucuan tentang surga. Ternyata, kecurigaan saya salah semua. Ini "hanya" sebuah novel "biasa" tentang seseorang bernama Eddie yang semasa hidupnya hampir seluruhnya dihabiskan bekerja di bagian pemeliharaan (maintenance)--karena itu orang-orang lalu mengenalnya sebagai Eddie Maintenance-- di sebuah taman hiburan bern...more

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Jul 16, 2007 Fira rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Orang-orang asing adalah keluarga yang masih belum kaukenal…. Tidak ada kehidupan yang sia-sia. Satu-satunya waktu yang sia-sia adalah ketika kita menghabiskan waktu dengan mengira bahwa kita hanya sendirian.”

Keseluruhan novel ini sangat layak untuk diambil sebagai bahan reramuan mengolah hidup dan kehidupan. Tentang kerja dan profesi, ada catatan penting tentang harga dari sebuah profesi, terutama pada aspek nilai penting pekerjaan kita bagi orang lain. Apakah kita cukup sekadar melihat pekerj...more “Orang-orang asing adalah keluarga yang masih belum kaukenal…. Tidak ada kehidupan yang sia-sia. Satu-satunya waktu yang sia-sia adalah ketika kita menghabiskan waktu dengan mengira bahwa kita hanya sendirian.”

Keseluruhan novel ini sangat layak untuk diambil sebagai bahan reramuan mengolah hidup dan kehidupan. Tentang kerja dan profesi, ada catatan penting tentang harga dari sebuah profesi, terutama pada aspek nilai penting pekerjaan kita bagi orang lain. Apakah kita cukup sekadar melihat pekerjaan dari besarnya upah atau status?—tidakkah akan sangat menyenangkan sekiranya kita bisa memiliki profesi yang bisa memberi bahagia untuk orang lain, untuk memberi makna bagi orang lain? Tentang nasib, adakah kita cukup mengerti apa dan bagaimana kita di dalam keseluruhannya? Tidakkah kita hanya sekadar tahu dari sudut pandang dan pengetahuan kita semata, dan bukan dalam jaringan hidup yang saling mempengaruhi dan kait-mengkait? Soal pilihan-pilihan, apakah kita benar-benar memilih dengan benar, untuk kemudian menyesali pilihan itu—atau kita tidak memilih dan kemudian menyesalinya. kenapa kita tidak membiarkan semuanya berjalan apapun adanya dan kita menjalaninya dengan bahagia?

Adakah yang lebih berharga melebihi cinta? Novel ini secara keseluruhan adalah kisah tentang cinta, bersama pahit dan getirnya, manis dan indahnya. Cinta antara lelaki dan perempuan, anak dan orang tua, kawan dan sahabat, lingkungan dan kenangan, dan lain sebagainya. Tentu saja, bagian terindah dari kisah cinta itu adalah perjalanan cinta sepasang anak manusia. Orang sering mengatakan mereka “menemukan” cinta, seakan-akan cinta sejenis benda yang tersembunyi di balik bongkahan-bongkahan batu. Tapi cinta mempunyai berbagai bentuk, dan tidak pernah sama bagi setiap pria atau wanita. Yang ditemukan orang sebenarnya cinta tertentu. Dan Eddie menemukan cinta tertentu dalam diri Marguerite, cinta yang didasari rasa syukur, cinta yang mendalam walaupun tidak menggebu-gebu, cinta yang ia tahu lebih dari segalanya, tidak bisa digantikan oleh apa pun. Alangkah bahagianya, sekiranya kita adalah Eddie, ketika Marguerite, istrinya, dengan lembut berkata, “Aku tahu… bahwa kau sangat mencintaiku.”

Buku ini terutama layak dibaca oleh para dewasa dan mereka yang ingin menjalani hidup dengan lebih dewasa, lebih arif dan bijaksana. Layak juga untuk orang tua yang hendak menelaah kembali hubungan mereka dengan anak-anaknya, atau calon anak-anaknya, dan untuk anak yang ingin mengupas kembali hubungan mereka dengan orang tuanya. Layak juga buat mereka yang tengah mencari dan/atau kehilangan cinta….(less)

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Jul 20, 2010 أروى rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

منذ مدة طويييلة لم أقرأ شيئا لامس أعماقي كهذا الكتاب، يجعلني أطرق وأفكر ، أنظر للبعيد الماضي وأتسائل عن القريب المقبل..

الكتاب يتحدث عن رجل مات في حادث أثناء تأديته لعمله في مدينة الملاهي ، بعد ذلك ينتقل هذا الرجل "إدي" إلى الجنة ليقابل هناك 5 أشخاص تقاطعوا معه بطريقة أو بأخرى في حياته..كل منهم كان ينتظره ليحكي له قصة كان لها تأثير على حياته وعلى تقرير مصيره في الدنيا، كانوا يساعدونه على فهم وتفسير كثير من الأمور التي لم يكن لها منطق واضح وقتها...

القصة مثيرة وترابط الأحداث متقن يظهر كم هي مصائر ا...more

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Apr 18, 2010 nat rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: various-fiction

Five People You Meet in Heaven adalah novel Mitch Albom yang mengisahkan perjalanan setelah kematian yang ditempuh seorang kepala maintenance di lokasi permainan yang bernama Ruby Pier, yang lebih dikenal sebagai Eddie Maintenance. Eddie menjalani hari-harinya sebagai kepala bagian maintenance dengan bosan, karena ia sebenarnya tidak menyukai pekerjaan itu, dan karena tiada lagi orang-orang dekat yang dicintainya.

Kisah berawal dari hari kematian Eddie, saat dalam menjalankan tugasnya menyelamatk...more Five People You Meet in Heaven adalah novel Mitch Albom yang mengisahkan perjalanan setelah kematian yang ditempuh seorang kepala maintenance di lokasi permainan yang bernama Ruby Pier, yang lebih dikenal sebagai Eddie Maintenance. Eddie menjalani hari-harinya sebagai kepala bagian maintenance dengan bosan, karena ia sebenarnya tidak menyukai pekerjaan itu, dan karena tiada lagi orang-orang dekat yang dicintainya.

Kisah berawal dari hari kematian Eddie, saat dalam menjalankan tugasnya menyelamatkan pengunjung yang nyaris celaka karena kerusakan di arena permainan Freddy's Free Fall akibat sebuah kunci terselip ke dalam mesin-mesinnya dan menggesek kabel utama menjadi putus. Pengunjung-pengunjung tersebut selamat, namun sebuah tindakan mengakibatkan kabin yang semula ditempati penumpang tersebut meluncur menuju daratan, di mana seorang anak perempuan berada. Dengan nalurinya, Eddie bergerak untuk menolong gadis kecil itu, namun tak dapat menyelamatkan nyawanya sendiri akibat tertimpa kabin.

Dalam perjalanannya di alam kematian, Eddie digambarkan bertemu 5 orang yang telah meninggal sebelumnya, yang membawa maksud tersendiri baginya.
Orang pertama, orang yang berubah warna kulitnya menjadi biru, adalah orang yang meninggal dengan 'campur tangan' Eddie sewaktu ia masih anak-anak. Eddie menyadari bahwa hidupnya sangat berharga, tidak sia-sia.

Orang kedua adalah sang kapten, yang memimpin pasukan Eddie saat ditugaskan di perang Filipina. Dalam usaha penyelamatan, demi menolong Eddie, sang kapten melakukan suatu tindakan yang mempengaruhi kehidupan Eddie bahkan terus disesalinya hingga Eddie bertemu sang kapten di alam baka. Eddie belajar tentang arti pengorbanan.

Orang ketiga adalah Ruby Pier, yang merupakan istri dari pemilik arena permainan itu pada awalnya. Ruby menceritakan pada Eddie bagaimana asal mula Ruby Pier hingga bagaimana ayah Eddie mulai bekerja menjadi maintenance. Ruby pun menjelaskan penyebab dan bagaimana ayah Eddie meninggal, demi sebuah persahabatan. Sosok ayah bagi Eddie yang selama ini rusak, karena sejak kecil Eddie tidak pernah merasakan keintiman kasih sayang seorang ayah, serta melihat sosok ayah yang mengecewakan karena suka mabuk dan berjudi/bertaruh. Dari pertemuan dengan Ruby ini, Eddie akhirnya mengampuni sang ayah, Eddie belajar tentang pengampunan.

Orang keempat adalah Marguerite, istri Eddie yang telah lebih dahulu meninggal karena tumor otak. Eddie diingatkan pada masa-masa awal ia menikah, hingga masa-masa sulit yang dihadapinya setelah kematian sang ayah, demi kasihnya pada sang ibu. Eddie yang kehilangan Marguerite sebelum usia 50 tahun, sangat merindukan masa-masa bersama istri yang dicintainya itu. Dan dalam perjalanan Eddie setelah mati itu, ia akhirnya bertemu dengan istri yang sangat mencintainya bagaimanapun kondisi dan perangai yang diperlihatkannya.Eddie belajar tentang cinta.

Orang kelima adalah sesosok anak yang dilihat oleh Eddie di Filipina. Sosok anak kecil itu, menyadarkan peranan Eddie yang bukan sekadar kepala bagian maintenance, namun juga pembawa kebahagiaan banyak anak, dan juga untuk menyelamatkan nyawa satu anak di hari kematian Eddie. Eddie akhirnya menyadari peran pentingnya di dunia.

Mitch Albom mengisahkan jalinan peristiwa dengan sangat baik. Setiap tahapan yang dilalui Eddie saat bertemu 5 orang tersebut digambarkan sesuai dengan masa usia nyata Eddie pernah bertemu mereka. Gambaran pergumulan Eddie setelah mati tersebut diselingi dengan beragam kisah di ulang tahun Eddie mulai lahir hingga Eddie menua dan meninggal di hari ulang tahunnya yang ke 83. Kisah fiktif ini membawa suatu pesan, alangkah baiknya suatu pendamaian dilakukan sesegera mungkin, tanpa menunggu dan menunda, karena kita tak akan pernah tahu kapan kita dipanggil pulang ke rumah Tuhan, sebelum tiada waktu lagi untuk melakukan pendamaian.

Berdamai tidak berarti kalah. Berdamai adalah menang atas segala rasa benci, rasa takut, rasa dendam, rasa marah, luka dan kepedihan yang pernah kita alami.(less)

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Feb 02, 2012 mikha ϟ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, 2010, favorites, lcc-library, kindle-♥

I just loved the fact that the fifth and last person here in this book is a Filipino. :D

I learned that we affect other people's lives however small we do to others. :D

15 likes · like · see review

Apr 27, 2008 Rachel rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is just the most awful book I have ever read. I hate this book!

17 likes · like · see review

Sep 09, 2008 Kellie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2006-reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. What an incredible book this was. This was about a man who dies. He dies trying to save a little girl at the amusement park he worked as a maintenance man. After he dies, he meets 5 people who actually show him his life had meaning. Eddie, didn’t believe he was worth anything. He thought his life meant nothing. He first meets a man he accidently helped die after the man almost kills him with a car. The second one he meets is his captain in the army. He helps him understand what actually happened...more

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May 13, 2008 Sarah Sammis rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: released

The Five People You Meet in Heaven is one of many books that follow the protagonist as he or she travels into the after life. In this case, it's a maintenance man from a local carnival named Eddie and he dies after being crushed by a falling ride. From there he learns the ropes of Heaven from five mentors whom he knew in his life.

These books can either be mind blowing explorations of the human spirit and imagination (The Inferno by Dante Alighieri), fantasy romps that straddle the morose and the...more

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Aug 18, 2007 Lizzy _3 rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favoritebooksever, bookswithamazingendings

This book is very imaginative I'll give the author that much at least. I don't know if I liked the story so much as the way it was written. Don't get me wrong, the story was very creative and it made you think, but he wrote so poetically it was hard for the words not to sink into your soul. The story was about a old crippled man named Eddie. Eddie worked at an amusement park called Ruby Pier and he was the head maintenance worker. The book starts on the day of his death. There was this little gi...more This book is very imaginative I'll give the author that much at least. I don't know if I liked the story so much as the way it was written. Don't get me wrong, the story was very creative and it made you think, but he wrote so poetically it was hard for the words not to sink into your soul. The story was about a old crippled man named Eddie. Eddie worked at an amusement park called Ruby Pier and he was the head maintenance worker. The book starts on the day of his death. There was this little girl in the amusement park and her mom had left her alone so she could go on the rides with only her boyfriend and not her daughter. There was this ride at Ruby Pier called Freddy's Free Fall and it is one of those rides that you're at the top of a really tall pole and it just let's the cart drop and it's really fast until something catches it and you slow down right at the very end. So anyway, as Eddie is doing his rounds Freddy's Free Fall breaks and the cable is starting to snap (but nobody knows this yet) and there are people at the top and Eddie goes and tells his co-worker to get the people out of the cart and then to let the cart drop. But then as his coworker has gotten everyone out of the cart and preparing to let it drop Eddie realizes that it's the cable and if they let the cart drop, the cable will snap and it will fall off its tracks into the crowd of people that had formed below. Eddie tries to yell to his coworker but he doesn't hear him and so Eddie yells to the crowd to get back. The people listen...all except for the little girl. So as his coworker lets the cart down Eddie runs to save her but as soon as the cart falls on him, he feels two little hands in his. He doesn't know if he saves her. Then he has to go to heaven and meet five people that will explain to him about his life. I think this book was very inspiring. I was surprised at the ending and I thought that is was very good. I just really enjoyed reading Mitch Albom's work mainly I think because of the poetry. It was written in a very captivating style. I think that my favorite phrase that the author used was to describing Eddie. "...this was who he was and who he would always be, a man with sand in his shoes in a world of mechanical laughter and grilled frankfurters." Mechanical laughter and grilled frankfurters. This book should be read by anyone and everyone and although it is not very religious, it really made me think about life and life after death. VERY GOOD READ!(less)

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Mar 27, 2012 Aly (Fantasy4eva) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed-from-library, conflicted-thoughts, it-s-you-not-me

Having read it some years back, I still saw it as a book that I would love.

And I did during the first half. However, towards the second half, it definitely started to dwindle a bit. I found myself caring less and less about who he was going to meet and found this somewhat of a short book very much dragging. Man, it sucks to see things so differently years later.

I always thought that it wasn't preachy. I mean, whenever I looked back on it, I was SO sure that it wasn't. But boy was it preachy :/

Ed...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Donna Ledesma rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I thought this novel was clever. The fact that there was a scene in the Philippines, and Eddie in a conversation with a Filipino kid at the end of the story added up to a satisfying read 'cause, well, yes, I'm a Filipino.

Anyways, almost two years after reading it, I realized I can't recommend this to genuine Christians, because, well, obviously this isn't our concept of what heaven is, and what it will be like if we get there. I think The Five People You Meet in Heaven is too shallow a read. The...more

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Apr 29, 2010 Kimmy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The five people yo meet in heaven starts out with a grumpy old man named Eddie. The reader in unaware of his past and why he is so lonely. Eddie works ar a carnival which has deeper meaning to him than just spinning rides and cotton candy stands. On his 83 birthday he had no idea it would be his last. Saving an innocent girl from a broken carnival ride, he gave his life. Now sent to heaven he meets five people who remind him of his past. They show how he affected the world in a way that was unc...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Ron rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For my outside reading book I read "five people you meet in heaven" by Mitch Albom. after reading this book i truly understand the sense of what a true hero is, probably if you were to ask me what a hero is before i read this book i would say someone who has unstoppable strength and always get the girl, wait don't forget the cape. this book will surely show you that you don't need super human strength to be deem a hero but by just doing something or show you care a little will do the trick but t...more For my outside reading book I read "five people you meet in heaven" by Mitch Albom. after reading this book i truly understand the sense of what a true hero is, probably if you were to ask me what a hero is before i read this book i would say someone who has unstoppable strength and always get the girl, wait don't forget the cape. this book will surely show you that you don't need super human strength to be deem a hero but by just doing something or show you care a little will do the trick but the book is not all about that it is about Eddie's journey to find his true heaven (sound confusing well that beacuse you need to read it and find out what it is and trust me you will love it just like me).

In the first chapter which is entitled "the end" this is because the book is beginning with the end of Eddie’s life, i find it ironic that the day of his death, was his 83rd birthday (life and death). Eddie was a war hero (yes a war hero but that's not the kind of hero the book talks about). Even though it was Eddie's birthday he still went to work and made people simile by making an animal for a little girl out of pipe cleaners ( Eddie was a maintenance man at Ruby Pier, which is an amusement park; his main job is to keep the rides safe. He checks every attraction, test rides the amusements, and looks for broken boards, loose bolts and worn-out steel)this is the place Eddie he found the love of his life Marguerite. It can be inferred that this took place in the late 1940’s. Eddie remembers how he and Marguerite danced and how he bought her a lemon fizz.Eddie was daydreaming when an unfamiliar voice alerted him; a woman had brought to his attention that one of the carts was tilted on Freddy’s Free Fall and people were clinging on to keep from falling out. Eddie tells Dominguez to go up the ladder and tell the ride operator, Willy, to release the safety restraint so he can get the passengers out.As Dominguez was getting the passengers out, Eddie noticed that the cart’s cable was unraveling. Eddie yelled for Willy not to release the cart but no one heard him. The carts began falling and one killed Eddie, so the chapter end with the dead of Eddie but it was far form over for our hero his journey had only just begun.

This brief chapter describes Eddie's journey to heaven. Eddie is floating and he does not feel any pain. He remembers lunging toward the little girl but he is not sure if he saved her or not,but he saved her. Eddie had started to remember this childhood like the time his older bother who his looked as his role model was about to get beaten up by a group of boy but Eddie ran to his brother rescue and saved him Eddie ran there not knowing what the out come of the fight would be but his main focus was saving his brother.He also remember as a child he would come to the park (the same park he worked at) as a child with his brother for him those was his best memories. Eddie then met what it appeared to be a blue man.

this person was one of the five people Eddie met in their heaven (reading so you can get what their heaven's mean)the person explained why this was his heaven Eddie remember the blue man he work in the park as one of the person in the freak show. i believe that these five person Eddie met were people who impacted t=his life in some sort. Eddie wander what would his heaven be like will it be his fondest memory of something relaxing.

this book i would say was one of my best reads well because is was something about a simple man doing something with think of what could happen to him but just doing the thing before someone gets hurt.i would also say what Eddie did was selfless by giving his life for another there can be no reward for what he did they are many who say that will give there life willingly for another and sadly only a few had shown that they posses that will for saving a life at any cost and Eddie was one of that few. Also earlier the the review i mention the little girl that Eddie made the animal for with the pipe cleaner she was the girl Eddie save so in the end Eddie die like a true hero and will be remember forever ,l he also found his heaven which was ( what not that easy read it and experience the book for yourself you will not regret it). (less)

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May 31, 2008 Jeff rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If I met this book in Heaven, I would be very disappointed.
And, OK, I only read about fifteen pages, but that was enough.
You don't have to eat 130 bowls of shredded wheat to know that you can't stand it.

And I actually sort of liked his book about the old guy, and I guess his dog book is probably pretty awesome and all, but, oh man, this book, excruciating...
for fifteen pages...but, really, that's a pretty good chunk of this.

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May 24, 2011 Tasos Anastasopoulos rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Tasos by: Ellen Isabella

Shelves: kindle

First of all i owe a huge thanks to the person that recommended me to read this book... and in general to start reading Mitch Albom's novels. I find it first of all original that he's dealing with a unique kind of subject,how can heaven really be like. It's remarkable how he's managed in not so many pages to mention so many things... "5 people you meet in heaven" is an hymn to some very fundamental values of life, the writer being a sport's journalist himself seems to be aware that it takes no c...more First of all i owe a huge thanks to the person that recommended me to read this book... and in general to start reading Mitch Albom's novels. I find it first of all original that he's dealing with a unique kind of subject,how can heaven really be like. It's remarkable how he's managed in not so many pages to mention so many things... "5 people you meet in heaven" is an hymn to some very fundamental values of life, the writer being a sport's journalist himself seems to be aware that it takes no complicated or sophisticated words to pass some messages to his readers... the more simple words and phrases he uses the more will really understand the true meaning... nothing is hidden behind symbolisms, you don't even need to sharpen your brain to find out where's he is guiding you to...it's just there in front of you,so no matter if you have graduated from english literature university or just entered junior high school you still feel the catharsis inside you...the one that Eddie feels meeting each one of the five persons in his after life experience.
Some people may say that this book is very "christian" but there are very few times that God is mentioned, almost nowhere the church is involved... it's all about values, Albom is spreading the whole world that nobody's life is as simple as we think it is, we -the whole world- are somehow connected, everything we do, every single action interacts to others and changes their life... People say that when the time approaches to leave this world we settle with everything try to forgive the ones that we think that harmed us and ask to be forgiven by the ones we did something wrong... well in this book there is a whole different perspective of how easy it is for this to happen, if heaven is indeed like that it clears out every possible problem that might have bothered all of us during our whole life... it's not a place that makes you forget everything, it's not a paradise like "Eden" for instance... it's a place that you really enjoy all the good things that happened to your life...all the good things you did and their consequences to others who may not be persons that you know but still they got benefit from that... It seems that sometimes you don't have to change your life to become a better person, you just have to reconsider who you are and what to do to acknowledge that not only you are a really nice one but also a really important one to the whole world... Well i am looking forward to his next book, if the first one seemed like that i will ask permit to use a 6th stars in the ones following hehe :)
P.S I also watched the film right after having read the book...it was a very loyal "transfer" not so much changed that it mostly happens, and despite its length it was impossible not to skip some certain parts of the book... for a tv production it was very good, Jon Voight was an excellent choice for the main role, in case you like movies don't miss it...(less)

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Nov 17, 2008 Brooke rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The most boring book ever written.

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Feb 03, 2009 Karlie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book, The Five People you Meet in Heaven, is about a man named Eddie, that on his 83rd birthday, got killed in a tragic accident at an amusement park, trying to save a little girl. As Eddie is dying, he feels two hands in his, than his world rapidly goes black. He awakens and the skies are changing colors above him, and every wound he had on his body is now healed. Throughout Eddie's journey, he meets five people. People he has not met before, or people he has only came across once, but have...more

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Aug 07, 2011 David rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Firstly, I reckon this book deserves a two and a half rating. I wavered between giving it a two or a three, I eventually opted for the two, because I think it is closer to a one than it is to a four.

What I did like about it is that it is an easy read that romps along very nicely and never bogs down in the detail of the narrative- it is in fact more an account. I also really liked the idea behind it. Eddie, a likeable old man, dies in a tragic accident on his 83 birthday and is spirited off to h...more Firstly, I reckon this book deserves a two and a half rating. I wavered between giving it a two or a three, I eventually opted for the two, because I think it is closer to a one than it is to a four.

What I did like about it is that it is an easy read that romps along very nicely and never bogs down in the detail of the narrative- it is in fact more an account. I also really liked the idea behind it. Eddie, a likeable old man, dies in a tragic accident on his 83 birthday and is spirited off to heaven. In heaven, he learns he will meet 5 people that will help him make realisation of his life. Great concept. What’s more, Albom delivers heaven in a unique manner that is altogether believable; and god knows, I wanna believe.

The trouble I had with the book is that is lacks any real impact. Despite the great concept, it feels like something that belongs ensconced in the small screen tripe genre; look out CSI screenwriters, there is a new kid on the block. And, without spoiling the plot, I absolutely loathed the claptrap contained in the second meeting.

Given that I really liked the concept, I just think that there should have been so much to take from it. Indeed, there were a few gems.

‘YOUNG MEN GO to war. Sometimes because they have to, sometimes because they want to. Always, they feel they are supposed to. This comes from the sad, layered stories of life, which over the centuries have seen courage confused with picking up arms, and cowardice confused with laying them down.’ (p. 59)

At page 59, it is fairly early on in the book. I was struck by that paragraph. Wow, I thought, I’m loving this book. It is simple yet insightful; that is the mark of a genius writer. Unfortunately, though Aldom maintained the simplicity, he could not deliver insight.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves to sit in the sun and not be challenged. Hey, that’s me. That’s the problem, I read it in winter. I’m off to somewhere north of Tweed Heads and south of California to read Tuesday with Morrie.
(less)

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Jan 05, 2009 Kyna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My best friend and college roommate gave this to me at Christmas in '07. I read it in the first quarter of '08. She was well intended and I think thought it would help me as I was maneuvering to recover from the loss of my mother who died unexpectedly Christmas day '04. The year she gave it to me I was having trouble with my breathing. And, it was an unexpected way for me to be dealing with the third anniversary of losing her. What I had a hard time with in this book was the actual experiences t...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Heidi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-favorites

This is a really cute "short story." It tells the story of an elderly man who has worked in matenience at a boardwalk amusement park his entire life. The story starts with his pushing a young girl out of the way before part of a ride falls on her. He ends up dying and finds himself in "Heaven", which is really a person who is connected to his past. The story flashes back to his life story with each person he meets. The fifth person is a young girl whom he doesn't recognize, but in the end she br...more

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Oct 26, 2010 Melisa Mariani rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Seperti judulnya, buku ini berkisah tentang pertemuan seorang yg telah mati dengan 5 orang berbeda di "surga". Tapi entah kenapa judul terjemahan Indonesianya jadi "Meniti Bianglala" bukannya "5 Orang Yang Kautemui di Surga". Judul kedua kurang menarik kali ya ;P

Dan sama seperti buku Mitch Albom yg pernah saya baca sebelumnya, Have a Little Faith: The Story of a Last Request, penggalan2 dalam buku ini dibuat pendek-pendek dan dengan alur maju mundur. Bagi beberapa orang yang tidak suka "menyatuk...more

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About Mitch Albom

Mitchell David Albom is an author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have collectively sold over 35 million copies worldwide; have been published in forty-one territories and in forty-two languages around the world; and have been made into Emmy Award-winning and critically-acclaimed television movies.

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Have a Little Faith: The Story of a Last Request

Fab Five: Basketball, Trash Talk, the American Dream

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“All endings are also beginnings. We just don't know it at the time.” — 2,791 people liked it

“Holding anger is a poison...It eats you from inside...We think that by hating someone we hurt them...But hatred is a curved blade...and the harm we do to others...we also do to ourselves.” — 1,675 people liked it

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