Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

"Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it."

I read this book years ago (it has turned yellow inside out mind you) and on this very night, I "rediscovered" this book and speed read through it.

In this novel, Mitch met up with his professor; Morrie Schwartz, who've been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lou Gehrig's disease. And thus began "the final thesis" in which Mitch will spend almost every Tuesdays with his beloved professor, chatting, dissecting meaning of life and most of all, spending time together; talking about everything under the sun and sometimes, nothing at all.

Literally taking notes of the time they spent together before Morrie's final breath. All these so called "notes" will then culminate to be bounded into this book which I now placed on my lap as I typed this review.

I'm sure the review sounded flat but don't be fooled by such bad review coming from me. It feels different reading the same novel back then compared to now.. especially when personal loss mimic the novel's flow... And I hate to say this but tears began to gather at the edge of my eyes.

This book is really really good. I know I might sound biased in this context but trust me, things will definitely be different when there's paradigm shift in your life. I like the quote at the end of the book:

"My father moved through theys of we, singing each new leaf out of each tree (and every child was sure that spring danced when she heard my father sing)..."

-A poem by E. E. Cummings-

Personal rating: 10 out of 10

Cons:
1) N/A

Pros:
1) N/A

Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom

Finding some quiet time in your life, I think, is hugely important. - Mariel Hemingway

In the rush to complete things arranged based on priorities, some things are left behind; and this blog is one of the unfortunate "casualties". However, some turn of event has assured me ample time to play some catching-up by reviewing one of the most touching book I've ever read.

The book I'm talking about is entitled Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom. As many of you know, Mitch is a celeb so to speak with his highly readable book entitled “Tuesdays with Morrie” and “The Five People You Meet in Heaven”. I’ve read all of it and his book. IMHO, his books are way better than “Chicken Soup” books because all his books have characters which you can relate to.

p/s: btw, if this posting sounded plain, its because this is an emotional book, so, I have to put on my plain Tom mode when reviewing it. :-P

As quoted in the summary at the back of the book, it is about an unusual request from Mitch’s hometown rabbi asking him to deliver his eulogy upon his death. At the same time, Mitch stumbled upon a pastor (who was a reformed drug dealer and convict); who preaches to his flock from an abandoned church.

Along this unusual journey, Mitch discovered not only the subtle side of his rabbi but also re-discovered the faith he left years ago on his pursuit of achievement and material happiness. Intersperse between chapters are quotes from numerous sources which kind of spices up the flow of the story line.

Essentially, this is a really touching book about God and human relationship which transcends beyond its usual superficial ritualistic façade. It is about discovering oneself beyond historical and theological aspect of religion. It’s about discovering the real meaning of relationship and love. It’s about respect and care about one another. Most importantly, it’s about giving unconditionally and having faith in whatever you do.

This book might not induce the same amount of tears when you watch The City of Angels or I am Sam, but it will make you teary eye nonetheless. But one thing’s for sure, this book will leave an impression so deep that you’ll feel it long after you’ve closed the book.


Personal rating: 10 out of 10

Cons:
1) None that I can think of.

Pros:
1) Too many pros :-)

For One More Day by Mitch Albom

Alamak! 2 weeks?! I haven’t penned any book reviews for the past 2 weeks?! Time really flies when you’re saddled with endless tasks!

Well, I am glad to say that though I didn’t actually pen any reviews within that period of time, I managed to finish 4 books... :-) in which I will pen my review on one of them... (I haven’t gotten around scanning and reviewing my “old” read books yet. Too daunting a task... :-S)

What else could be better than re-starting a book review blog by writing about sob stories? :-P

First and foremost, I have to re-assert the statement that I didn’t cry when I read this book but I merely felt emotional and had wet-eyes on certain chapters of the book... on second thought, why re-asserting all these in the first place. Hmmm… don’t mind me, sometimes I contradict myself… :-P

In this book entitled, “For One More Day by Mitch Albom", we get to read about soapy stories ala Chicken Soup for the Soul all over again. However, instead of one or two pages long, it became a full fledge novel.

In this novel, purportedly tells the story of one down and out; former baseball player named Charley “Chick” Benetto and his chance encounter with his long dead mom.

I wish I can stop reviewing it after that because that’s practically the start and the end of the story itself :-P

However, the juicy parts are the innards.. yummy yummy…

This “Chick-y” guy was once a promising baseball player from a broken family; in which his dad suddenly packed his bag and left his mom to fend for herself and the family when he was a young chap.

He took it rather badly; sort of blamed his mom for his dad’s exit and grew up to become an adult with myriad of problems, which lead him to his eventual suicide scheme.

Somehow his suicide attempt failed and he ended up meeting his long dead mom.

From thence onwards, his mom brought him around his old neighbourhood, walked him thru his difficult childhood and explained things she did to raise the family; including the… jeng jeng jeng… the reason his dad left the family in haste!

His mom then literally helped him back on his feet and back on track before vanishing and Chick regained his consciousness.

In the end, this book is revealed to have been narrated by Chick’s estranged daughter, Maria.

What do I think of the book?

Well, it’s a nice read. Nothing remarkable to shout about but it has all the right ingredients to make the reader weep :-)


Personal rating: 6 out of 10 (mostly on sob factor)

Cons:
1) Not much character development

Pros:
1) Sob factor :-) its a good thing for me OK!