The+Five+People+You+meet+in+Heaven

Book review by Jinho Park The Five People You Meet in Heaven is fiction written by Mitch Albom, the author of the international bestseller Tuesday with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson, For One More Day, as well as five other books. Mitch Albom was born in 1958, and now he lives with his wife, Janine Albom, in Michigan. He has various jobs; he is a writer but also a newspaper columnist, a broadcaster and a play writer. The Five People You Meet in Heaven is Mitch Albom's first novel, which was written in 2003. In the beginning, he dedicates the book to his uncle, Edward Beitchman, who considered himself as an unimportant existence, but realized how much he was loved by friends and family. The story begins with moments of the protagonist Eddie dying at Ruby Pier, an amusement park by a great gray ocean. Eddie is an amusement park mechanic, who worked there for a long time. One day when he was working on Freddy’s Freefall, one of its cables is snapped causing the cars to be suspended in the air. After the people in the car escape safely, the car is released and begins to drop on a young girl. Eddie saves her by sacrificing himself about to be crushed. After he dies, he finds himself in the heaven where he encounters five people: The Blue Man, The Captain, Ruby, Marguerite and Tala, who have significantly affected his life and will explain him the meanings of lives. From the third person he meets in the heaven, Ruby’s story of the building the pier, Eddie learns the main theme of this novel, the events before we are born still affect our lives significantly. For instance, the circumstances that my parents had before I was born such as economic strength and relationships with people affected me a lot. It somewhat limited and narrowed my views of the world. When I read this part, I could feel what Eddie might feel; we were somewhat connected to each other. In The Five People You Meet in Heaven, there is one strange writing skill. The novel starts by Albom saying, “It might seem strange to start with an ending. But all endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time.” (Albom 1) This passage implies me that all the events that occur around me are related to each other and there is no ending. Every single time we think something is over; its new start is already begun. The thought relates with the concept that Ruby teaches Eddie in the heaven. In this book, Eddie ends his life at Ruby Pier; however, his death actually indicates new start of another life in heaven. Therefore, the Pier symbolizes the idea of all endings are also beginnings. Since I read this book, I learned one important concept of my life: all endings can be also beginnings. It tells me that do not give up when you face serious problems. There is no ending in your life. If you keep trying, you can overcome the difficulties and succeed your goal whatever it is. Therefore, I strongly recommend this worthy book to all people, especially who think that their lives are already over. This book will give them hope for the better future.

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