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.
Mitchell David Albom born May 23 1958 in Passaic, New Jersey.After attending high schools in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, he left for college after his junior year. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1979 at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, majoring in sociology, but stayed true to his dream of a life in music, and upon graduation, he worked for several years as a performer, both in Europe and America.
He eventually returned to graduate school, earning a Master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, followed by an MBA from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. During this time, he paid his tuition partly through work as a piano player.
Mitch eventually turned full-time to his writing, working as a freelance sports journalist. In 1995, he married Janine Sabino. That same year he re-encountered Morrie Schwartz, a former college professor who was dying of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. His visits with Schwartz would lead to the book Tuesdays with Morrie, which moved Mitch away from sports and began his career as an internationally recognized author. Mitch is also an accomplished song writer and lyricist.
He lives with his wife, Janine, in Detroit, MI.
Sometimes you pick up a book and know from the start that it will be something special. The Time Keeper is a book like that. It starts with the following dedication
"this book, about time, is dedicated to Janine who makes very minute of my life worthwhile"An author giving so much attention to hook the dedication to the book he has written will catch my attention from that first page.
I saw this book about three months ago and totally fell in love with the cover and the title. After reading the synopsis I was intrigued and I knew I would not be able to wait to long before having to read this book. This month it got chosen in one of my book clubs and this I found a good reason to read it at once.
Where the story is very pretty, the use of language is even more beautiful. The author really manages to make you realize how important time has become using very beautiful written but confronting. At some point in the book he writes the following:
"Man alone measures time.There are more examples how human kind is forced by clocks, appointments and time passing by and how it influences choices made. It is very confronting and makes you consider how you are dealing with it.
Man alone chimes the hour.
And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures.
A fear of time running out"
The characters are a different story though. I very much liked Dor. He fits exactly in the whole philosophy and it is easy to form an image and see him wander around a dessert trying to get a grip on time. The other two main characters I did not really connect to. When their chapters where up I read them hoping for that moment Dor would be entering their lives and do something. I feel their stories could have been more specially Victor's with all that he has been trough.
Still if you feel the need to be confronted with how human kind devours in time this book is for you. I think it should be a must read before starting a time management course.
The last quote from the book I would like to share:
"Ends are for yesterdays, not tomorrows"
The Time Keeper
Author: Mitch Albom
Publisher: Hyperion
ISBN: 1401304702
ISBN13: 9781401304706
Pages: 224
Format: eBook
Hyperion: Hardcover
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon