All reviews of The Time Keeper

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  Not a total waste of time...

  by MissLiss

  2 months ago

  I liked this book. It was quick and easy to understand. However.....A little bland. I wasn't AMAZED at any point. I was INTRIGUED by the prospect of knowing "what if".... It's just a little life lesson. If I had a teenage daughter I would definitely be getting her to read it.

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  Found a new meaning in "time is precious"

  by boundbywords

  4 months ago

  I am still reeling from reading this. I haven't cried actual, real-life, tears while reading a book in such a long time-I was a mess. Heart-strings were pulled, lessons were learned, and as cliche as it sounds, I can honestly say that I've found new meaning to the phrase time is precious. It's such a beautiful thing, what words can do to you, and Mitch Albom is truly a master craftsman with his. Initially, the book alternates in very small chapters between the life and eventual introduction of Father Time (Dor), and the lives of two random citizens, Sarah and Victor-victims of time: one wanting it to speed up, the other wanting it to slow down. The small chapters completely worked for this book, it helped move the story along at a pace more suited to it's lesson. I felt like I was able to take in a lot more this way. The story eventually reaches a collision of sorts, all three characters are within the same time of existence. Dor has been sent to Earth, after spending 6000 years trapped in a cave, his punishment for constantly measuring time-for drinking in the power of this new found phenomena, and thinking of little else. His mission: to help Sarah and Victor-and eventually himself-realize the fault in their decisions, and the consequences that come with wanting to bend time to suit your needs. These characters did not need long-winded back stories, they were you, and they were me. We know ourselves well enough to know that we too, are all such shameful victims of time. We all want more, sometimes we want less, it's never enough to just appreciate the now, soak in the goodness of this very second..yes, this one..and now this one... Yes it's an obvious enough lesson, but how often is it pointed out to us? How often do we actually take it and put it to use in a positive way? This book was a much needed knock upside the head for me. Time slowed down as I read this, and by the end of it I was in tears-for the amazing eventual outcomes of the characters, and for my own realizations. We all need this book. I don't care what genre you read, or how big or little a Mitch Albom fan you are. This book will always be needed. Appreciate the people and moments you have in your life right now, this second. Time is just numbers on a clock.

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  Short and sweet!

  by Chris Thibault

  5 months ago

  Enjoyed this. I guess the author did not want to take up to much of our time...short easy read. Thought provoking and to the point.

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  Blech

  by CANDI

  5 months ago

  I enjoyed the underlying moral of the Time Keeper which is to not waste the time you have. I did not enjoy the rest of it which involved a rather bland plot peopled by predictable characters. I do not agree with the idea that people who are aware of time passing suddenly become obsessed with the counting and this is the reason we waste time. Being aware of the time of day does not make me appreciate things less.

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  Timeless

  by Marie Knell

  5 months ago

  One of Mitch's finest pieces of work. I have passed it on to two other people. It is a very timely piece of work with all the emphasis on depression and mental illness lately. Thank you Mitch. Keep on writing man...keep on writing.

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  Better than 5 People

  by DLOTS

  6 months ago

  The Five People you Meet in Heaven was my first read from Mitch Albom and was planned to be my last as the story and writing style did not grab me. For some reason when I came across this book I decided to give it a go and am glad that I did. The characters in this book were so much more interesting and the book had a nice flow to it. The time commitment to Mitch's books seems to be pretty short so it is easy to squeeze in between some longer reads or when you have an afternoon free and would like to read something start to finish. Well worth reading.

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  Awesome!

  by tinceilings

  7 months ago

  I just loved this book. It brought so many thoughts to my mind as I read it. I had never thought about time like that before and this book put it all into perspective for me. I am hooked.

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  The Time Keeper

  by Margaret Fraleigh

  7 months ago

  Excellent book - I have enjoyed all of Mitch Albom's books, and this was no exception.

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  The Time Keeper: A Review from The Bibliotaphe Closet

  by Zara Garcia-Alvarez

  8 months ago

  The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom is a short novella about the story of Father Time and his call to redirect the lives of two people who most require it in their own personal battle with time. It is the story of Dor, the first measurer of things, obsessed with the tally of his knowledge who is then banished to a liminal cave where he must live in “solitude” and listen in to the voices of people who cry out in suffering throughout the ages. It is also a story of the character, Sarah Lemon, an insecure teenager whose personal rejection at school and in particular, by a boy whom she has feelings for, pushes her to attempt and unthinkable and desperate act. While the character, Victor Delamonte, a successful and wealthy businessman struggles against a terminal illness that compels him to attempt to resist death and prolong time altogether as a direct result of his power, influence, ambition, and sense of control. The story is somewhat scarce in its narrative, sometimes over-simplified or over-generalized in an attempt to articulate what hasn’t been named or imaginary. It’s periodically formal in its tone, which is aside from being perhaps the author, Mitch Albom’s writing style, is also a way in which the author may intend to emphasize the drama and significance of the story’s message. While the polarity of the two above characters are stereotypical, which almost borderline cliché, the message of the book is an important one as evident in such passages as: …Time is not something you give back. The very next moment may be an answer to your prayer. To deny that is to deny the most important part of the future.” – p.195 and “Everything man does today to be efficient, to fill the hour?” Dor said. “It does not satisfy. It only makes him hungry to do more. Man wants to own his existence. But no one owns time.” – p.208 And yet while these messages are crucial to our knowledge and understanding—even wisdom—they themselves on being overtly and directly told to the characters, rather than shown in the narrative through action or implied subtlety, also fall to the danger of cliché. The book is more an inspirational vignette than a novel: being only 228 pages long on 5 1/4″ x 7 1/2″ paper and a story that wishes to instill faith in a nugget of wisdom that is already known and understood, but often unfulfilled without conscious effort and wilful direction. Which makes this book a kind reminder toward that idealism of time and the importance of its balance and quality over quantity. Kudos to Mitch Albom for aspiring to inspire his readers towards hope and faith without the weight or dogma sometimes associated with religion. This book is inclusive to all and can easily be read by anyone. While the intention of the work is admirable and its message important, I would have preferred a more concrete narrative and a richer portrayal of the characters that would deter them from becoming an over-generalized representation rather than authentic and compelling characters who command the reader’s attention, empathy, and applause. Is The Time Keeper worth the time to read? Sure. Just don’t stop any clocks for it and expect a life-changing epiphany. Take it as it is: a kind reminder to slow down and be present in the precious value of the moment. Zara from The Bibliotaphe Closet http://zaraalexis.wordpress.com

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  Thought Provoking......

  by Gwen Fernandes

  8 months ago

  The Time Keeper was a strangely written book. It isn't like Mitch Albom's other writings, however, after getting in to the book, I enjoyed it and found myself wanting to read it to the end. The book really makes you question what is important in life. Different from Mitch's other books, a little hard to read at first, but once you get in to it, it is really quite awesome and as I said in my title very thought provoking.............

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  The right time ...

  by Crista

  8 months ago

  A very interesting read. The usual Mitch Albom pace, which I always enjoy. A bit of a departure in storyline, but the underlying message was uplifting and what I've come to expect from this author. My favourite takeaway from this book: "Its never too soon. Its never too late. Its always exactly when its supposed to be." My all-time favourite Mitch Albom is still "The 5 people you meet in heaven", but this one was an inspiring read that I hope will continue to remind me to enjoy each moment while I'm in it.

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  The Time Keeper

  by Arlene Smith

  8 months ago

  Despite our best human efforts, we have not found a way to contain, control, or even effectively measure time. Despite our best human efforts, we have not even found a way to properly understand it. In this short fable, Mitch Albom explores the elusive qualities of time and the perils of trying to cheat it, extend it or grasp it too firmly. This story begins with Dor, the first man to notice the similarities between the shadow cast by the sun one day and the shadow cast by the sun the next. Dor starts to predict the shadow castings, making him the first man to try to capture time. He is also the first man to experience the dangers of trying to contain time in neat little packages. His obsession with counting it and measuring it leads to a torturous banishment and then to encounters with two others who want to manipulate time. Sarah, a socially awkward teenager, and Victor, a wealthy entrepreneur, must learn their own lessons about unconditionally accepting the universal gift of time. Albom's thought-provoking fable illuminates our human obsession with running our lives on schedule, and the ultimate futility of doing so. It's a call to align ourselves with the frequency of the universe and to become like two tuning forks vibrating at the same frequency. It's a call to live on the pulse of nature's time and not our human interpretation of it. In the acknowledgements at the end of this book, Albom sends thanks to his "faithful readers, the ones who picked up this book without even asking what it was about". I am one such reader of Albom. He had me at Tuesdays with Morrie. This book did not move me as much as Tuesdays with Morrie or Have a Little Faith,but it did leave me pondering the morals of the story. It did make me a little more mindful my relationship with time. It's a simple tale with complex layers. It's also a short book, and reading it doesn't take much time.

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  They can't all be 5 star

  by Brandon Lovell

  9 months ago

  I have read all of Mitch's books up to this point and have been absoloutly blown away by the sheer power of his words. Though short, each of them tends to touch your heart in a big way. His are the only books that I wish were longer. That being said I found that this one was a bit flat in comparison. It didn't have the same heart warming effect. Would I suggest it to a friend, maybe, would I still run out to the closest store in hearing Mitch had released his next one, absoloutly!

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  Excellent book

  by Glass Butterfly

  9 months ago

  This latest Mitch Albom book is, in my opinion, his best one yet. The subject matter of time is extremely relevant to everyone today because, if you are like me, time, rather than money, is the main currency. I need more time, I'm too rushed, I wished this meeting/class/traffic jam would go by faster. This is the story of the man who first started counting time and what he has to do as a punishment for taking time for granted. It is also the story of people who take other things for granted, like life, health, and family. It is a story of second chances.