THIS is a book report I wrote about the book named 'The five people you meet in heaven'.
When I heard the news that the book for report
changed to ‘The five
people you meet in heaven’, I got shocked. Because, I didn’t even open
the book cover. So from that day, I started to read this book really fast
wherever I was; I read this book in school, academies and on bus. At first,
reading this book was annoying but after reading half of this book, I couldn’t
put it down. Because, this book is fiction and also somewhat fantasy that has
totally new and special theme for me. The most special thing in this book was
the first part; starting with ending. I wonder where the author, Mitch Albom gets these
creative ideas. I am so glad that I finally met this wonderful author.The main character is a man named ‘Eddie’ who worked at Ruby Pier, an amusement park as ride maintenance worker. When he was young, he participated in war and from that war he got wounded and he became a lame person. He thought he is useless person and his life is always the same, in the same routine. But one day, there was accident in Ruby Pier on ride. He sacrificed himself to save the people who were riding on it. It wasn’t the first time he did good things for others. When he was in war prison, a friend named Rabozzo who was really sick; could only barely stand, got hit from crazy wardens, he shouted at them “stop doing it” even he could die by that statements. I think even he seems like cold person, he is essentially warm and nice person.
Blue man is a first person who Eddie met in heaven. He died to save Eddie when Eddie was really young kid. Eddie was playing ball game with friends and for some reasons the ball rolls out to the road and blue man was driving truck on that road. Not to hit Eddie, blue man suddenly drove the car in wrong way. So he died. From him, Eddie learned about the relationships with others that we are ‘one’ which has connections.
Captain is second person who Eddie met in heaven. Eddie called him captain because he was captain for Eddie when they were in the war prison. In heaven, he tells Eddie that he shot Eddie’s leg but by listening to his reasons and how captain died, he understood him and learned about real sacrifice.
When he was young, his father always scolded him and never listened to him. So, he really hated him. But by meeting Ruby in heaven, he knew that his father who he really hatred and hated was a person who loved family a lot and forgave a drunken friend who did bad thing to his wife. So Eddie understood him and forgave him.
The fourth person he met was his wife, Marguerite who is Eddie’s only love and also passed away in the age 47 by tumor. She said to Eddie “Lost love is still love. It takes a different form. Even life has end, life doesn’t”. This was really touching statement for me. We live loving many things, losing and loving again. I’m really curious who will be that person who I really loved and meet in the heaven when I die.
The last person was a little girl who was waiting for her mother but died because Eddie fired the hut. She asked him to wash her body with water. When he washed her, her burned skin disappeared and changed to bright color skin. Before she leaves, she said “a girl, who you wanted to save from the ride crash, is alive. And that’s what I wanted”. This was the most heart breaking part because only 5 years old girl forgave him and showed beautiful smile to Eddie.
I think well organized with polished words attracted me to read this book. For example, “All endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time” and “When you sacrifice something precious, you’re not really losing it. You’re just passing it on to someone else.” These philosophical statements made me think of ‘what is sincere life?’
If I could change something about the story, I would change the last part. In book, it says Eddie is waiting for a girl named Amy or Annie, to be a person of five people who she will meet in the heaven when she grows up, love, age and die. But if he became a person in line of Dominguez, the coworker of Eddie, it would be more interesting, full of stories that happed during work. I think just like the captain who Eddie met, Eddie can teach a lot of things to him. I think this author wanted to say about the thing that there are some reasons and values in every lives even if people think that it’s insignificant themselves like Eddie. Because, a person affects other and other affects one another, meaning all lives is connected. And that’s what the world is like.
This book taught me that we always have to try to understand and to see the hidden parts of other people. And sometimes, we even need to have courage to forgive ourselves. And also we have to live with thankful mind for the days given to us thinking that ‘today is the time a person who died yesterday craved a lot’, ‘The five people you meet in heaven’ which gave me lots of lessons will be my best English book ever!
