Mitch Albom’s latest book is The First Phone Call from Heaven. In case you have missed reading any of Mitch Albom’s books, he has written six very popular books starting with Tuesdays with Morrie.
Synopsis
His latest, The First Phone Call from Heaven is about a small town in Michigan where seven of the residents start receiving phone calls from relatives or associates that have died. Some of those who receive the calls feel that they need to tell the world the messages that they receive. One does not want to admit to the calls at all and one is not happy about the calls.
Sullivan Harding is not one of those receiving calls. He is trying to get his life back in order after time in prison and the death of his wife. He is angry. He is grieving. His seven year old son longs to receive a heavenly call from his mother. Sullivan Harding knows that the calls must be a fraud and tries to figure out how it is happening and why.
Thoughts
This book has gotten great reviews. Mitch Albom appears to be a really good guy. I have seen interviews with him and he seems nice and does some wonderful charity work. (Do you hear a giant BUT hanging out there?)
I have some problems with this book. I enjoyed most of the book. I stayed up late one night to finish it. I got up the next morning and re-read the last few chapters. I re-read the chapters because I had the word “why” floating over my impression of the book. Why did this happen? Why did this character do this? Why didn’t this character do this? It wasn’t that I wanted to re-write the book, I just wanted to understand it.
I wanted to like this book and tell you that I thought it was great and that you should hurry to read it. I have found Mitch Albom’s other books very entertaining. It might have been that I was being a little analytical when I read this and you might not feel the same way. In fact, I have a friend who read the book and loved it. When we spoke after I finished it and I raised my questions, she agreed but she did not have a problem with having those questions hanging out there unanswered.
Conclusion
While The First Phone Call From Heaven is a well-liked book, I would not suggest that you put it on the top of your “must read” pile.
A Suggestion for those Grieving
If you know someone going through the grieving process, my friend, Michelle Pond, has come out with a small book of poems entitled I Keep You with Me: Looking at Grief with Verse. Michelle has gathered some very understandable and lovely poems that she wrote while she was grieving.
Thanks for reading.
Carol Early Cooney 
The premise looks so interesting that I’ll put this on my TBR huge pile.
It is an interesting premise, isn’t it? Don’t we wish we could get a call – even just one?
I think it is an interesting premise and definitely wish I was getting a call. I think it will be a TBR for me, too. Thank you for suggesting I Keep You with to your readers, Carol. I hope that people who are reading it find it helpful.
Wouldn’t it be fun to get a call? I suppose it could be heartbreaking too. Well, I don’t think we will have to worry about it.
I really enjoyed Tuesdays with Morrie. I also read this one. I think with The First Phone Call, you need to suspend some disbelief. I’m not sure if I enjoyed the ending, but I could see why he took the story there. I did like how Albom wove in historical facts (although it did segment the story, but his writing has always been in bits and spurts).
I thought the historical parts were interesting. I had several “why” questions at the end. I guess I didn’t think that some things were explained very well.
I will put this on my reading list since I enjoyed Tuesdays with Morrie. A few days after my dad died, my mom’s phone beeped to say she had a message from my dad’s cell phone that had been disconnected months before. I’m a believer.