Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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211 of 219 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
To Live In Hearts We Leave Behind Is Not To Die, October 8, 2006
Mitch Albom pays homage to all mothers with this novel that beautifully shows the enduring power of a mother's love, a love so strong it can transcend even death. The moral of the story is not particularly original and not even handled in a unique way. But, grab the hankies and prepare to spend several hours reminiscing along with Chick Benetto about the things you wish you had done better with your own mother. Chick Benetto has hit rock bottom---divorced, alcoholic, has-been baseball player, and now comes the ultimate slap-in-the-face---his beloved daughter does not invite him to her wedding. After being shut out of the biggest day in his only child's life, Chick sees no point in continuing his miserable life and attempts suicide. But for his suicide he is drawn once again to Pepperville Beach, to the modest home where he grew up with his mom, dad, and sister. That is, until his dad deserted the family and life changed dramatically. The surprise for Chick is that his mom is still in the house. Intellectually, he knows she died ten years ago but here she is---cooking his food, sharing stories, giving advice.
The reader learns about all the times Chick's mom stood up for him and all the times he let her down. The writing is smooth and poignant, the memories both joyful and sad. If you have lost your own parents, the words will be doubly sad. But Chick has been given a very special gift: he learns that when someone is in your heart, they're never truly gone and they can come back to you, even at unlikely times. Chick has the unheard of luxury of being able to spend just one more day with his mother, having the chance to ask questions about things that have bothered him, finding out at last why his father left, and much more. How does it happen? Is this just another ghost story or a religious experience for non-believers? I think I shed the most tears when I realized at novel's end who was telling the story.
I think sentimental readers will find this one enjoyable and uplifting. So take it for what it is, a nostalgic trip back to childhood, that period of time that never lets you go, even when you're so wrecked it's hard to believe you ever were a child.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Love your mother, October 10, 2006
By far, "Five People" is my favorite Mitch Albom book, but this book is worth a read. The other negative reviewers are missing the point, I think. Yes, the main character is a deflated, defeated, shell of a man, but that is precisely the point. The man is no hero....but again that is the crux of the story....how many of us are heroes? How many of us would like to reflect on our lives and maybe try and see things more clearly, try to better understand the choices we made, and the choices the people closest to us made? To understand the sacrifices people make for love?
Read the book, and then call your mother....if possible....if not, make peace in your heart..this book will help you do that.
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122 of 151 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Greater Texture and Focus Elevate Another Sentimental Journey Upward, September 26, 2006
I have to admit that I found Mitch Albom's "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" a mostly unsatisfying piece of sentimental treacle, but I was led to his latest book because of the subject matter, the death of one's mother and the palpable regrets afterward for a life underappreciated. Whose life is what makes this a more textured effort since one expects the book to focus primarily on a put-upon mother when it becomes as much an exercise in rebuilding one's self-esteem. The book becomes even more worthwhile when the perspective moves away from the occasional navel-gazing.
Perhaps because I find some of the experiences depicted in the story quite cathartic, I am unexpectedly moved by the author's work this time. The rather simplistic story focuses on former baseball player Chick Benetto who is still depressed over his mother's death eight years later and attempts suicide. In the process, he gets to spend a day with his mother as he reflects on the past. You can see the moral messages coming a mile away and the supernatural aspects take on a somewhat unctuous quality, but Albom manages to make the story resonate in some unexpected ways. It's a quick read that I recommend for anyone who has experienced the loss of a parent.
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