Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - The Five People You Meet in Heaven

"the world is full of stories but the stories are all one"—The straightforward way of narrating the story to introduce a lesson on why we live and what we live for, as if tracing the dots, you realize it all happened for a reason when you look back. The different angles; sacrifice, forgiveness, then unveiling it to find a purpose; that your life wasn't a waste, you made a difference. It was striking to put it with the backward format of the novel, which began from the ending. It makes you think about life in general, because all of your suppression, hatred, denial, and emotions reveal how you have been living your life.

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gameoftomes's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I don’t know how to rate this book. The ending is very well done and emotional. What the author was trying to say with the book is intriguing and meaningful, but excluding the ending, I don’t think he pulled it off. Especially the lesson with the 3rd person. I do not feel that the text showcases what the author was trying to convey.

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clemrain's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

The Five People You Meet in Heaven was not for me.

Found it hard to sympathize with Eddie. I normally like characters that can be hard to root for, but Eddie didn’t fit the bill. The more people he met in heaven to explain his life, the more irritated I got with Eddie. His life goes against many of my own morals and maybe that’s why. I tried to keep an open mind and meet the books end to understand the character better but it didn’t happen.

The way this book makes you see the “good side” of abusive and shitty people is absolutely gross. What was especially out of touch was Ruby telling Eddie to forgive his father when she is a total stranger to him and his situation . His father was abusive and self righteous. This is one of the morals that contradict mine. Forgiveness isn’t necessary to move on.

Also Eddie’s mom was in the middle of being sexually assaulted and somehow his father ended up being the victim but also a good guy because he forgave the person who was doing it??

Like yeah I get message. People are complicated. However. there is absolutely a better way of showing that than what the author went with.

The writing was simple. Nothing spectacular about it. It is interesting to read a piece of fiction by someone who primarily works in non-fiction. It really reads in the writing style. I do think this story could’ve been shorter and I’m glad it wasn’t longer.

Ending

was predictable and exactly what I thought it’d be. Does that make it bad? No. But it’s adds to the lack of memorability of this book.

I really wanted to like this book and I had expectations going into it. Maybe that contributed to my disappointment in it.

Side note: I also did not appreciate how the little child was described at the end of the book and it turned my mood sour for it.

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below_average_baker's review

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sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I really liked the concept of this book but the execution felt rushed and disappointing. The "morals" felt like inspirational quotes you see on facebook rather than something actually deep and meaningful. The main thing that I hated was excusing his father's lifelong abuse and making Eddie forgive him because the dad didn't quite kill the guy who sexually assaulted his wife
. That seems very poorly thought out without considering the nuance and complicated emotions that would actually be involved in the situation.

If you like the idea of this story, I would recommend "The Midnight Library" by Matt Haig instead, or even "On the Other Side" by Carrie Hope Fletcher. Personally, I enjoyed them far more.

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dohertys17's review

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inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Note: This was one of my late grandma's favorite books and I read it this month to celebrate her birthday.

Likes:
- Quick, easy read
- Not overly preachy/God toned language
- Liked the theme of someone who is unhappy with where they are in the world being able to come to terms with their life and find some sort of meaning.
- Learned that Kewpie was originally plastic dolls and not just Japanese mayo hahah

Dislikes:
- I kept forgetting that Eddie was in his 80s. The way he was portrayed made him seem like he was much younger. Also, I feel that he likely had some time to reflect during his aging process and not be so shocked by his death (although it was caused by a horrific accident)
- The 5-year-old Asian girl somehow knew English but not well enough to speak properly. Find it sort of sad that the main/only POC character in this book was portrayed this way (especially in the magical world of heaven)
- Throughout the book I felt like I was being told how to feel rather than feeling it for myself.
- His relationship with Margueritte felt unhealthy, as if he idolized her, yet we don't find out that she has died until near the very end. Why was he not looking forward to potentially meeting her in heaven?

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