Tuesdays With Morrie, Mitch Albom, 1997

Rating: 5/10
Like The Five People You Meet In Heaven, this book's storyline compels one to pick it up immediately. Like the other book, this one attempts to intersperse a story with thoughtful comments and makes one sit back and think through certain aspects of life. However, unlike the other book, Tuesdays With Morrie ultimately degenerates into one of those countless self-help books, and that's very disappointing. This book has been highly recommended by many respectable publications and individuals, but for me this is a 5/10 at best.

Mitch Albom says this is his real-life experience with his favourite university professor, Morrie Schwartz, during the latter's last days. The book discusses 14 Tuesdays when Mitch visits Morrie who discourses on various issues such as the marriage, family, money, aging and death. Mitch mixes the professor's challenges during his last days, mainly his inability to perform daily tasks, with the discourses. To my mind, this is where the book fails. It tries to be too many things in a short package - it tries to be a self-help book on too many issues and he tries to interweave a story in between, resulting in a somewhat superficial analysis of important human issues.

Pros: Interesting setting, well-meaning

Cons: Tries to pack in too many things