07.08.2008
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For One More Day  Print E-mail
Book Reviews Fiction & Literature
Description
Books
Author: Mitch Albom
Price Paid for Book (and Currency): $26.95 (w/50% off) CAD
Book Obtained From: Amazon.ca
Book Length: About Right
Influence for Reading this Book: A new book from Mitch Albom? Nuff said!
Pros: It's far better than "The Five People You Meet In Heaven"
Cons: "Tuesdays With Morrie" is still Mitch Albom's best piece of work
Do You Have a Spoiler in Your Comments?: Yes


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Average user rating from: 1 user(s)

Overall Rating
5.0
 

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Above Heaven, but a day behind Tuesdays, 01.15.2007

Written by Kevin   -   View all my reviews   -   #1 Reviewer

Overall Rating
5.0
In "The Bell Jar", the protagonist, Esther says "If you expect nothing from somebody you are never disappointed" (Plath 56), but I found it virtually impossible to have no expectations from an author like Mitch Albom, especially after he set such a high standard of excellence with "Tuesdays With Morrie." So even before reading "For One More Day", I had it in my mind that 4/5 was the highest rating it could possibly earn, but I'm glad to say that I was mistaken and Albom was still able to deliver yet another phenomenal book! So if you're a fan of Albom's works, you won't be disappointed and if you're not a fan, you will be once you've read "For One More Day"!

The book warns against choosing self-serving goals (such as pursuing status or material wealth) over your family (especially those who love and always support you) because family is the most important thing in life. For instance, the protagonist of the story, Chick says "I always thought it was so important what came after your name. Chick Benetto, professional baseball player, not Chick Benetto, salesman" (134), but "All that happens when your dream comes true is a slow, melting realization that it wasn't what you thought. And it won't save you" (6). Unlike a realized dream, which only disappoints and melts away like an ice cream cone (84), family is always be there to support you in your time of need. The book further demonstrates this message with Chick saying "I believe my mother saved my life" (194), "She loved me coming and going, at my worst and at my best. She had a bottomless well of love for me. Her only flaw was that she didn't make me work for it" (33), but "I knew so little about my mother over the last decade of her life. I had been too wrapped up in my own drama" (117). "So many times, I had chosen not to be with her. Too busy. Too tired. Don't feel like dealing with it. Church? No thanks. Dinner? Sorry. Come down to visit? Can't do it, maybe next week. You count the hours you could have spent with your mother. It's a lifetime in itself" (150). Albom stresses the importance of how time is both valuable and limited, and therefore should be spent with loved ones or you may one day live with regret just as Chick does when he loses his mother.

And while I enjoy reading the "Harry Potter" series and Michael Crichton books as much as the next person...after about three to six months, I find it increasingly difficult to recall any events or details about them. On the other hand, a Mitch Albom book like "For One More Day" is different from other works of fiction in that it's not just compelling from start to finish, but one that you'll probably remember for the rest of your life. The book is a catalyst for making a change in your life and I wouldn't be surprised to find its readers reciting quotes from it even years after they've read it or living by its positive message. In fact, Albom's writing possesses that rare ability to touch you at your core, pull on your heart strings (with emotionally moving chapters entitled "Times My Mother Stood Up for Me" and "Times I Did Not Stand Up for My Mother"), and force tears to well up in your eyes because you (like millions of others) will be able to identify with what heís saying. And that's a trait of a true literary masterpiece.
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