Book Review: The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom

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The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I spent the first half of The Time Keeper trying to convince myself that I should continue on. That sounds like a statement that should hardly merit a 3-star review. The thing is, the second half felt like a completely different book. In fact, at times it was reminiscent of an Og Mandino book such as The Choice, which ranks on my top 10 books of all time. It never quite got there but Mitch Albom really, REALLY tried to pull it off in the second half of the book.

The Time Keeper is basically an inspirational self-help book packaged with an uplifting storyline. Books like this are always hit or miss. Like many others that play at this genre, the story often felt contrived but I'd be lying if I said that it didn't work to some degree. More than once I was teary-eyed and moved to the point of a lip-quiver. It was a story that most people could relate to so despite some corniness and over-indulgence by the author, the book was successful at communicating its message.

The message of the book is to be satisfied with the time you have and to live in the moment you are in right now. It's a good message and something that I desperately needed to hear - which is why I rewarded the book a star more than it probably actually deserved. This book is for those who enjoy reading self-help mixed with light stories. It's a spiritual message for those who need a short, uplifting read but aren't expecting too much in the way of literary depth.

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Amazon.com book description:


From the author who's inspired millions worldwide with books like Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven comes his most imaginative novel yet, The Time Keeper--a compelling fable about the first man on earth to count the hours.
The man who became Father Time.

In Mitch Albom's newest work of fiction, the inventor of the world's first clock is punished for trying to measure God's greatest gift. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more days, more years. Eventually, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time.

He returns to our world--now dominated by the hour-counting he so innocently began--and commences a journey with two unlikely partners: one a teenage girl who is about to give up on life, the other a wealthy old businessman who wants to live forever. To save himself, he must save them both. And stop the world to do so.

Told in Albom's signature spare, evocative prose, this remarkably original tale will inspire readers everywhere to reconsider their own notions of time, how they spend it and how precious it truly is.