The writing style of Mitch Albom in the book The Five People you met in Heaven

Introduction

The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom, is about an elderly man named Eddie and the journey he goes on once he passes away. Eddie works in an amusement park named Ruby Pier and has done so for the past 50 years. Every day, he goes to work regardless of how tired he is and does his job watching generation after generation come and go from the park. It is one of the few things keeping him going in his old age. One day while at work on his 83rd birthday, Eddie is involved in a tragic accident trying to fix one of the rides and he is killed. Upon entering heaven Eddie meets five people. There are some people that he knows really well while there are also others he's never met (Ignacio, 139). Regardless, they all have had a huge impact on his life without him knowing. Each of the people teaches him an important lesson that many of us in our own lives find difficult to learn. As he meets every person, he realizes what his purpose in life was.

Discussion

The book itself was written very simplistically. Mitch Albom used no complex language, no major tangents by the author, just straight and to the point. I thought this writing style worked best for the book because it allowed the reader to figure out what the message was before it was stated. Each of the lessons Eddie learned came with a back-story and included moments in his life that had helped shape him in into the man he was. This was one of my favorite aspects of the book (Lasley, 45). The book's saturated with the idea of there being no shame in living an ordinary life, in fact, the very idea that there's no such thing as an ordinary life rings loudly at the book's end. Despite Eddie's simple life, as a reader you're encouraged to take a certain pride in him and the work he does. It would be so easy to feel sorry for Eddie, but Albom does not let you. That's not what this story's about. We're not here to pity anyone, merely to learn from them and the life they've lead. Even though the simplistic writing style made it a quick read, the book still left me with life-long messages. It makes you wonder about heaven and what happens to us once this life on earth is over. The characters, Eddie in particular, are well written. I am sure we would all recognise people like them in the real world. Albom has a lovely turn of phrase, and there is a great bit where he describes children like glasses and how all parents damage their children some just smudge the glass, others crack and others destroy it totally.

I wasn't sure about reading this novel, but I think it is important to at least try to read books ...