BOOK REVIEW : FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN Books Used for Review:
1. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom 2. Meniti Bianglala alih bahasa oleh Andang H. Sutopo
Information about the Author
Mitchell David Albom is not only a best-selling author, but also a newspaper columnist for the Detroit Free Press, radio host for ABC and WJR-AM in Detroit. Mitch Albom wrote seven other books, including the bestseller, Tuesdays With Morrie (1997). His other works include Live Albom I (1987), Live Albom II (1990), Live Albom III (1992), Live Albom IV (1995), "BO" (1989), which is the autobiography of former University of Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler, and Fab Five (1992), which is a story about the University of Michigan's men's basketball recruits who became starters as freshman, during the 1990's. The Five People You Meet in Heaven was published in 2003. Aside from writing novels, Albom has also been deemed the #1 Sports Columnist in the Nation by the sports editors of America. He received over 100 writing awards from National Sportswriters and Broadcasters Associations, Headliners Club as well as many others. His work also appeared in publications such as Sports Illustrated, GQ Magazine, The New York Times, USA Today, and TV Guide.
Synopsis
The story in The Five People You Meet in Heaven tells about Eddie, an old, wounded war veteran who had lived a common life. His job was fixing rides at a seaside amusement park which
unfortunately led him to a tragic accident that killed him when he tried to save a little girl from a falling cart on his 83rd birthday. He awoke in the afterlife, where he learned that heaven was not a destination. It is a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of them you knew, others may have been strangers. Those five people were The Blue Man, The Captain, Ruby, Marguerite, and Tala. They were people who influence Eddie‟s life consciously or unconsciously. One by one, from childhood to his time as a soldier and later to his old age, Eddie's five people explained their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his "meaningless" life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: "Why was I here?"
What makes this book interesting?
The Five People You Meet in Heaven is one of literary novels written by Mitch Albom, author of the number one bestseller Tuesday with Morrie. This novel is the one with good figurative language that explores the unexpected connections of our lives, and the idea that heaven is more than a place. Heaven’s unique depiction such as; it appears as a journey in searching the life meaning, it emerges as a familiar place to Eddie. However, it remains that Heaven is the greatest God’s gift. This book has good messages dealing with faith and death, and how everything you do affects someone else. Book is one of the best media to spread messages. Through this book we can learn how to respect your life and others. There’s no random act in this world, we are all connected in this life.
What makes this book less recommended?
The novel becomes well-packaged by its flashback plots. However, this is what actually makes the reader feel a little bored when reading it. This book may not be enjoyed by people who don't really like this kind of genre (philosophy and religious novels). Especially those who wish there was a twist in it. Because actually this story is already meaningful with profound narratives without any twists and surprises in it.
Rating (out of 5) 4.6/5
The differences between English and Indonesian
If we look at the title alone, it is clear that there is a difference. The original title says, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," while in the Indonesian translation it says, "Meniti Bianglala." This difference in the title could be due to the perspective of the translator, who thinks rather than taking it literally he chooses to highlight “Bianglala” (The Ferris wheel) as the key point that takes Eddie to heaven and meets
the five people he connected with in the past. In addition, there are also several cultural borrowings in the novel and its translated version, as in:
SL: …, passing cigar shops and sausage stands and the “flat joins”, where suckers lost their nickels and dimes. (Albom, 2003:34)
TL:…, melewati toko-toko cerutu, kios-kios sosis, dan “permainan ketangkasan” dimana orang-orang bodoh kehilangan uang mereka. (Sutopo, 2005:40)
Nickels and dimes in SL becomes uang in TL. The meaning of nickels is a coin of the US and Canada worth 5 cents (Oxford, 1995:988) and dimes is a coin of the US and Canada worth 10 cents (Oxford, 1995:408). In this case, nickels and dimes translated into uang by changes the spelling and pronunciation, although the language is not same but there is the same function or meaning in each other.
