So I read The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Yes, it’s that book by that guy that wrote Tuesdays with Morrie. And yes, your parents have probably read it.

Well, I have a secret for you: it’s actually decent. That’s right, I said decent.

Despite a surprising beginning, Five immediately develops a flow and a pattern, making the read easy to follow and enjoyable. The strategically sequenced events in the main character’s life seem jumbled and out of place at first. However, with each person he meets in heaven and each lesson he learns, their relationship to his life and to each other become clear.

Eddie, the main character, is your average Joe. He has the same job his whole life, which he loves and hates at the same time. He falls in love and never falls out. He has a wide array of familial memories, ranging from wonderful and happy to sad and wrong.

The exquisite thing about this book, however, lies in the ending. It will seem rapid and surprising to an engaged reader, so make sure you don’t get so into it that you’re reading too fast and miss it.

Mitch Albom’s somewhat sophomoric style of writing makes the profound events in Five plain, concise and not too sugar-coated. That is another thing I should tell you: contrary to what I expected, this book was not corny or disgustingly happy or anything that you might expect. This is a book you really should not judge by its cover.

With that said, I certainly cannot let this book off without any criticism. There are very graphic descriptions of war that could have been easily avoided and replaced with graceful, carefully selected words. Moreover, while Eddie’s memories are functional to the story, they are used in excess and would have had greater impact if less frequent.

For the record, if you give yourself an hour or two, it’s short enough that it can be read in one sitting. If this New York Times bestseller isn’t enough for you, check out Tuesdays with Morrie, also by Mitch Albom.