TIME WELL SPENT
Years ago I wept as I read
Mitch Abom’s ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’. So
when I saw he had a new book on the horizon I thought now was a good time to
reacquaint myself with his unusual style and take on the world.
In ‘The Time-Keeper’, he
writes an engrossing parable on the meaning and value of time. Imagine if you
didn’t have a word for time? There
wouldn’t be a tomorrow. There would be no plans for next weekend. We would live in the moment. It’s a difficult thing to imagine in this
technological world we now inhabit, where every second, thanks to smart phones
and iPads is usually filled with some kind of plan.
Our world before the concept
of time is the place into which Abom first introduces us to his lead character.
Dor, an early inventor, one day happens upon the measurement of time, building
the first sun-dial and devising other concepts for tracking time. When Dor’s beloved wife Alli falls ill he confronts
and challenges God to save her. In
response God banishes him to a mystical cave where he is transformed into Father Time,
and then forced to endure the constant pleading from the inhabitants of earth
forever. They beg for more time, less time, time to speed up, and time to slow
down; the time he invented now rules the world.
As his soul withers from the
constant voices and the monotony of isolation, he is granted the chance to escape
his prison by saving two seemingly unconnected people using a magical hourglass. Sarah Lemon is counting down time as she anticipates
her first date. Victor Delamonte, one of
the world’s richest men, finds his wealth can’t save him from a terminal
disease, until he devises a scheme to cheat death. How can Dor save these two people when he
cannot even save himself?
This very question kept me
reading way past my bedtime. Abom writes
in a unique and simplistic style but his lessons are deep and thought
provoking. Whilst reading you will be
reminded of at least one truth: time passes quickly when you hold in your hands
a fabulous book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MITCH ALBOM is an
internationally renowned and best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter,
playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have
collectively sold over 33 million copies worldwide; have been published in
forty-one territories and in forty-two languages around the world.
All three of Albom’s best
sellers have been turned into successful TV movies. Oprah Winfrey produced the
film version of Tuesdays
With Morrie in December 1999, starring Jack Lemmon and Hank Azaria.
The film garnered four Emmy awards, including best TV film, director, actor and
supporting actor. The critically acclaimed Five
People You Meet in Heaven aired on ABC in winter, 2004. Directed by
Lloyd Kramer, the film was the most watched TV movie of the year, with 19
million viewers. Oprah
Winfrey Presents Mitch Albom’s For One More Day aired on ABC in
December 2007 and earned Ellen Burstyn a Screen Actors Guild nomination. Most
recently. Hallmark Hall of Fame produced the film adaptation of Have a Little Faith, which
aired on ABC in November 2011. It starred Laurence Fishburne, Bradley Whitford,
Martin Landau, and Anika Noni Rose.
In 2010, Albom was named the
recipient of the Red Smith Award for lifetime achievement by the Associated
Press Sports Editors.
He lives with his wife,
Janine, in Detroit, MI.
Destiny Romance, Penguin Australia’s digital romance imprint is offering romance lovers a free digital short story by popular romance author Anne Gracie this month. Anyone who registers at destinyromance.com, will have the opportunity to read The Laird’s Vow, a charming historical romance by this three time shortlisted RITA award author.
