Mitch Albom author of The Five People You Meet in Heaven is an internationally renowned and best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician”, and according to writer’s digest “His book, The Five People You Meet in Heaven has sold over 12 million copies in 38 territories and in 36 languages.” Albom was born on May 23, 1958 in Passaic, New Jersey to Rhoda and Ira Albom. Little did they know their son would eventually graduate from Columbia University and become a well – known journalists.
Albom has various writing styles ranging from non-fiction to creating scripts. According to writer’s digest Albom stated that “he views all writing as the same. I’ve always said I have one skill.That skill – if I have it at all is storytelling.” One of his core values when faced with writing a piece is discovering if there is a meaning to what he is writing and will it resonate with people.
At the first glance of The Five People You Meet in Heaven one would think it would be unsatisfying because nothing about the cover entices the reader. Overall it lacks detail and illustration which gives it the impression that the text would be structured in more of an explanatory form of why the nature of heaven and God exists. The phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover” really comes into play when considering to read this book. 
The genre of the best seller is philosophical fiction which explores questions and concepts that are both public and infrequent within society by using the characters and the plot of books as a vehicle. What makes The Five People You Meet in Heaven unlike various other books is that Albom uses a very unique writing style that many authors fail to use, and that is being very detailed in not only how he explains the characters but also giving vivid explanations of the setting and the different layout of scenes that is characters may enter. Which allows the reader to envision, slightly what the author may have seen when he was writing his piece. “He heard thunder-or something like thunder, explosions, or bomb blasts- and he instinctively fell to the ground, landed on his stomach, and pulled himself along by his forearms. The sky burst open and gushed rain, a thick brownish downpour” (Page 57 The Five People You Meet in Heaven).
The main character of the book is a man named Eddie who recently passed away and has been sent to heaven to look at the deeper meaning of his past life. I can relate to Eddie the most mainly because he is constantly in a state of confusion and trying to put the pieces of his life together to see the whole picture, rather than just glimpse. What I also enjoy is that his life unravels before his eyes several times which gave him the opportunity to understand why certain events took place within his life.
Overall, The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a great read and I would recommend the book to any person who enjoys to read about the life of a character unfolding and are open to questioning events that may have occurred in their life due to the messages that the book sends. I do not have a least favorite part of the book because in my opinion all of it was intriguing. The sequence of the book is what really gives it its character. Many may find it helpful that the reader is constantly jumping from the characters past to his present because it will help people understand the depth of Eddie’s life.
