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Of all the glorious books out there my school could have picked for ninth grade literature class...
In the words of Marcus Aurelius, "Despise not death, but welcome it, for nature wills it like all else." That’s one significant message Mitch Albom tries to convey to us readers in this emotional ride. ‘Tries’ not quite being the key word, but even so, eliciting only limited success. More on that later ahead. Tuesdays With Morrie depicts the moving relationship between the author and his former professor, Morrie Schwartz. It delves into the strong bond they begin to develop over time, as Mitch shares Morrie’s lasting gift with the universe…
(n oooooohn)
The book circulates around various sentimental themes: love, family, friends, relationships, happiness and death, expressed through Morrie’s personal experience. In terms of language and style of writing, Mitch likes to keep it simplistic and casual, so to say, but maintains that sombre mood surrounding his teacher’s demise. We can see that he’s supportive of him and his ideals, curious to learn more. But it’s hard to forget about the tragedy that is bound to come, is it not? Some readers will become attached to Morrie and mourn over his departure, but the hopes he gives them from his teachings is enough to satisfy and not leave you in an emotional wreck. Notice how I say some and not all— now despite the generally morbid theme concerning Morrie’s impending death, the presence of aphorisms and anecdotes manage to make the situation more acceptable and less heartbreaking. Mr. Albom successfully lightens the mood throughout the book, but unfortunately ends up overdoing it a bit (okay, a lot). At least in my opinion. Now this is where the problems begin to sprout.
The way Morrie finds the best in his sufferings and shares his knowledge of the world should make us experience the urge to adapt that into our own lifestyle. Granted, that impulse might stay there for a couple days, but it utterly fails to leave a permanent mark upon me. The whole plotline is presented in such a drastically sappy manner that it makes you feel like you’re reading a compilation of those cheesy motivational wall decors everyone detests in the form of a 192-paged, overly hyped ‘bestseller.’ In his attempt to avoid a depressing atmosphere, Mitch overflows his novel with excessive words of wisdom imparted through a rare 79-year old; words that I’m sure all of us have heard one too many times, and presented in a rather unoriginal fashion. So why should this spontaneously change our views on living any differently?
I am well aware of the fact that this was published over a decade ago, and not having read many -or any- other similar non-fictional books along this vein, I wouldn’t really know if Tuesdays was a burst of something fresh back in its day. But even if it wasn’t a considered a cliché when it was first released, the fact that we are expected to finally understand the deep meanings of life and have it create an impact is far beyond unrealistic. What I did understand was that the criticality of this novel stems from Albom’s desire for his audience to think about and learn from the piece (like so many others). Alas, his intentions to bestow a load of inspiration upon us only resulted in making you eat it up, but not fully digest it.
In conclusion, I wouldn’t recommend this particular book for anyone facing troubles in their life (aka everyone), but who knows? Maybe I’m just an extremely pessimistic critic over the issue and this jumble of typical, wise quotes might end up inspiring you, if only just a tad bit. Being an avid reader of fantasy books, it is only once in a blue moon that I find myself indulging in a spiritual book such as this one, but it saddens me to say that Tuesdays With Morrie has turned out to be one of the least influential books I’ve read among others.
(Why yes, this is, in fact, my school essay because I'm too lazy to rant over it again Goodreads style :P)
In the words of Marcus Aurelius, "Despise not death, but welcome it, for nature wills it like all else." That’s one significant message Mitch Albom tries to convey to us readers in this emotional ride. ‘Tries’ not quite being the key word, but even so, eliciting only limited success. More on that later ahead. Tuesdays With Morrie depicts the moving relationship between the author and his former professor, Morrie Schwartz. It delves into the strong bond they begin to develop over time, as Mitch shares Morrie’s lasting gift with the universe…
(
The book circulates around various sentimental themes: love, family, friends, relationships, happiness and death, expressed through Morrie’s personal experience. In terms of language and style of writing, Mitch likes to keep it simplistic and casual, so to say, but maintains that sombre mood surrounding his teacher’s demise. We can see that he’s supportive of him and his ideals, curious to learn more. But it’s hard to forget about the tragedy that is bound to come, is it not? Some readers will become attached to Morrie and mourn over his departure, but the hopes he gives them from his teachings is enough to satisfy and not leave you in an emotional wreck. Notice how I say some and not all— now despite the generally morbid theme concerning Morrie’s impending death, the presence of aphorisms and anecdotes manage to make the situation more acceptable and less heartbreaking. Mr. Albom successfully lightens the mood throughout the book, but unfortunately ends up overdoing it a bit (okay, a lot). At least in my opinion. Now this is where the problems begin to sprout.
The way Morrie finds the best in his sufferings and shares his knowledge of the world should make us experience the urge to adapt that into our own lifestyle. Granted, that impulse might stay there for a couple days, but it utterly fails to leave a permanent mark upon me. The whole plotline is presented in such a drastically sappy manner that it makes you feel like you’re reading a compilation of those cheesy motivational wall decors everyone detests in the form of a 192-paged, overly hyped ‘bestseller.’ In his attempt to avoid a depressing atmosphere, Mitch overflows his novel with excessive words of wisdom imparted through a rare 79-year old; words that I’m sure all of us have heard one too many times, and presented in a rather unoriginal fashion. So why should this spontaneously change our views on living any differently?
I am well aware of the fact that this was published over a decade ago, and not having read many -or any- other similar non-fictional books along this vein, I wouldn’t really know if Tuesdays was a burst of something fresh back in its day. But even if it wasn’t a considered a cliché when it was first released, the fact that we are expected to finally understand the deep meanings of life and have it create an impact is far beyond unrealistic. What I did understand was that the criticality of this novel stems from Albom’s desire for his audience to think about and learn from the piece (like so many others). Alas, his intentions to bestow a load of inspiration upon us only resulted in making you eat it up, but not fully digest it.
In conclusion, I wouldn’t recommend this particular book for anyone facing troubles in their life (aka everyone), but who knows? Maybe I’m just an extremely pessimistic critic over the issue and this jumble of typical, wise quotes might end up inspiring you, if only just a tad bit. Being an avid reader of fantasy books, it is only once in a blue moon that I find myself indulging in a spiritual book such as this one, but it saddens me to say that Tuesdays With Morrie has turned out to be one of the least influential books I’ve read among others.
(Why yes, this is, in fact, my school essay because I'm too lazy to rant over it again Goodreads style :P)