Boekverslag Mitch Albom

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Datum ingestuurd:	13 oktober 2003
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Titel:	Tuesdays with Morrie
Auteur:	Mitch Albom
Jaar van uitgave:	1997
Aantal pagina's:	212

Auteur:	Mitch Albom
Geslacht:	man
Nationaliteit:	Engels
Geboren:	23 mei 1958
Populaire titels:	2003The five people you meet in heaven (2) 1997Tuesdays with Morrie (1) 2006For one more day (1)

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Mitch Albom Tuesdays with Morrie ( an old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson )

What I want to say before I start is that it was difficult to me to make a short summary of this book. It has got 27 chapters and 192 pages.

SUMMARY
There is a sort of intro. The author tells about the reasons he made the book. In the life of every person is a sort of teacher. Someone who tells you about the things in life and has got answers to your problems. In the life of the author was a teacher like that. It was his teacher in college.
Then there is a flash-back. The graduation of the author. He describes what happened there and, after all the speeches, how he leads his parents to his teacher. And they say hello and good-bye. And Mitch promises that he will keep in touch (but he doesn't).
This is afterwards: Morrie Schwartz (the teacher) gets to know he is going to die. He is a moving man. He likes to dance (and he is good at it) he likes to take long walks and he likes to swim. When an accident takes place and Morrie has to go to the hospital, the doctor tells him he has got a terrible disease and he is going to die. His life won't be longer than one, maybe two, years. It is something called amyotrophic lateral sclerocis (ALS). The illness is like a lit candle: 'it melts your nerves and leaves your body a pile of wax.' So Morrie is going to die slowly. Starting with his legs, his thigh, his bottom. And that is how his whole body will be useless in the end and he can't talk anymore although his brains still work. Morrie was in a shock after he heard the news. So was his wife. He wandered why the people on the street were still doing their daily business. "I AM DYING !" he wanted to scream. But he made a very important decision. Morrie could be full of sadness and grief because of his death sentence. But he wouldn't. He wanted to get the best out of his latest time. He wanted to live as usual until he really couldn't deal with it any more. He continued teaching classes. He wasn't able to dance but he could still walk with a little help. Morrie wanted to make the best out of his time left. He wanted to learn how he would live the end of his life. He wanted people to learn from him.
Then a colleague passes away suddenly. At his funeral al the people say how much they had loved the man and how they admired him, how sweet and good and wise he had been, how much they had loved to be in his company. Morrie listens to it and don't want it to happen to him. He thinks it is a waste: the good dead man hasn't heard any of it. Morrie plans a living funeral for himself. People come and read poems, they speak, they cry and laugh. It is wonderful because Morrie enjoys hearing his beloved say they love him too.
In the same time Mitches life continues. He tells about his great uncle who got a cancer and died. He tells a little about his girlfriend and later his wife, and he tells a lot about his work. He is a working man. Everything is about making more money and getting more fame. He starts to write sports columns. He watches games and writes about them. He gets to know the world of sport a bit and about the big money and the arrogant players. When he was a boy, Mitch wanted to become a famous piano player.
The media is seeing a good story in Morrie and some famous guy called Ted Koppel wants to interview him for his show. Morrie doesn’t like the man at first but later, when they had talked, Morrie agrees and Mr. Koppel comes with his crew. Morrie thinks that the television will give him a good way to tell the world (America) his story. It is a great success. Morrie receives very very much letters and he tries to answer them all with help of his family.
At a normal day Mitch is driving his car and suddenly he gets the sight of his old professor. Morrie. He gets out of his car and is going to say hello. Mitch goes home with Morrie and they talk. Then Morrie asks Mitch if he wants to learn how it is to die. They are going to see each other on regular base. ‘The lesson of life has begin’.
And because Morrie and Mitch are Tuesday people they meet every Tuesday from that moment.
The first Tuesday they talk about the world. There is much trouble in the world and it is okay to be sad about it.
(There are still flashbacks in the book but I won’t pay attention to them here)
The second Tuesday They talk about feeling sorry for yourself. Mitch realizes that he is depressed because there is a strike in Detroit where he is working in the news business. -Why? Many things are worse and he is feeling sorry for himself when his plane arrives to late. Morrie says he sometimes feel sorry for himself. When he thinks about how his life would be if he wasn’t sick. And that he ‘takes a good cry’ and thinks about the good things in life. About the people who love him and the parts of his body he still can move.
The third Tuesday they talk about regrets. They talk about the things you would regret when it’s to late. Like telling your secrets to someone, doing that one fabulous thing which you dreamt of your whole life.. etc. Mitch makes a list with all the things on it he wants to discuss with Morrie.
The television show turns out to be successful. It’ll be continued. Thousands of people wanted to know about Morrie and wrote the TV-station. Mr. Koppel asks what Morrie would do if his voice leaves him and is no longer able to talk to the people he loves. Morrie answers: ‘we will hold hands’
Here’s a chapter about Morrie’s youth. How he played with his brother David until the boy wasn’t able to move. He had polio. And how he had to read on official letter from the hospital which said his mother died. Morrie had to read the message out loud because his dad was an analphabetic. Morrie had a very difficult life when he was young.
The forth Tuesday they talk about death. Everyone is going to die but no one believes it. If we did we would do things differently. People would start to live.
The fifth Tuesday they talk about family. You have a very important band with your family. They know you. Having children is different. ‘there is no experience like having children.’
The sixth Tuesday they talk about emotions. Emotions are always good. Never hide them.
(while their talks continue Morrie gets sicker. There are helpers in his house and his wife cares a lot about him. But he wanted her to keep working. He can’t eat very well anymore. And he has troubles with washing himself. Someone has to wipe his ass.)
The seventh Tuesday they talk about the fear of aging. Morrie has got this view on his sickness: He enjoys the care like he is a baby. He needs help with everything he does. Like a baby. But now he realizes it and takes pleasure out of it. And he loves all the personal touch he gets.
The eight Tuesday they talk about money. It isn’t good to be an materialist. Stuff shouldn’t be more important than persons.
The ninth Tuesday they talk about how love goes on. Morrie is shore people will remember him, his voice and the things he said when he isn’t with those people anymore.
-Morries father died suddenly. Of a heart attack. Morrie had to identify his body. He wasn’t very old when that happened. His brother lives in Spain and travels over Europe from hospital to hospital. They don’t have contact a lot. (like never.)
The tenth Tuesday they talk about marriage. Mitch takes his wife, Janine, to Morrie. She is a professional singer. Almost everyone Mitch know has got a problem with marriage. Something very important: You have to believe in it. Marriage is something very very beautiful. (‘you have got to try it’ Morrie says.)
The eleventh Tuesday they talk about culture. There are many different cultures on this world and they are all important. Our culture is weird.
The twelfth Tuesday they talk about forgiveness. Forgiving people is a very important. Never be to proud. Forgive yourself and forgive others.
The thirteenth Tuesday they talk about the perfect day. Mitch asks Morrie what he should do if he had one day to live. Morrie pictures a normal day. An average day. That is the point: Get joy out of your daily live.
The fourteenth Tuesday they say good-bye. Morrie is very weak. And not strong enough to talk. They just say good-bye. Morrie gets Mitch to cry. Mitch never cries. Morrie asks Mitch to continue talking to him when he is dead.
The funeral was on a Tuesday.
The last chapter is a conclusion. Mitches life has changed since Morrie. He is a much happier person at the end.

CHARACTERS
Morrie & Mitch. (Do I need to say more about them??)
Morrie had a busy and happy life. It looked as if everything was great. And when he heard he was going to die he made a decision. Die with a reason and make the most unusual and best out of my time left. I think this is a good point. Morrie thinks and talks a lot. He has very much love to give and to get. He is optimistic about everything. He laughs a lot.
Mitch is a hard working man. He has got nothing else on his head. Until he meets Morrie for the second time. His life chances. He starts thinking and starts to act more like a human with feelings and emotions. I like the guy much more at the end than in the beginning of the book.
THEME
-The final class over life of a dying teacher. All the things will experience in your life. Living is something very special and you should be grateful for it. Life is a gift and you should be open to the things you can learn. Life is difficult, life is complex. But there is so much to love and so much to learn.

OPINION
I liked this little book very much. It wasn’t difficult at all. I read it in 3 or 4 hours. I laughed about Morries ironic, skeptical way to look at things. It was sweet beautiful. Maybe I did learn things about life from it. And during the book no one should interrupt me. I was inside. I also got critic on referring to the book all the time.
But I’m not sure if this is literature (what is the definition of literature anyway).
And this is why I think so: 1. The critics on the back all talk about the beautiful little book and not about a novel (roman). 2: This is not fiction. This is a true story. (told in a special way, but still it is.) It is not made up. It’s a more a report. (Not a diary.) The author just tells what happened. 3: And maybe it is to easy, to clear, to be literature (but why does literature have to be hard or difficult?) I’m not finished with this yet.