Audiobook: The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom

Read by Dan Stevens

Synopsis: In Mitch Albom's newest work of fiction, the inventor of the world's first clock is punished for trying to measure God's greatest gift. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more days, more years.

Eventually, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time.

He returns to our world--now dominated by the hour-counting he so innocently began--and commences a journey with two unlikely partners: one a teenage girl who is about to give up on life, the other a wealthy old businessman who wants to live forever. To save himself, he must save them both. And stop the world to do so.

My Thoughts: I've heard many great things about this book and have finally decided to pick it up as an audio. The only other book that I've read by Mitch Albom had been The Five People You Meet in Heaven. It was a nice story so I my expectations for
The Time Keeper were pretty high. Luckily, I was not disappointed. This was a very heart-warming story that made me think about the importance of life and what it means to keep track of time.

The story centered around how keeping track of time had obsessed humans and had destroyed the idea of what life was supposed to be about. It centered around the tale  the first person who captured time and how he was "punished" for doing so. His story was told along with two other characters. Though these three characters lead a different life, had different stories, and were on different emotional levels, they became connected to each other to show a moral message.

I loved the message that Mitch Albom portrayed. In today's age, we are obsessed with time. We keep track of it not only by hours but by minutes, seconds, and milliseconds. We are constantly rushing and trying to keep our time schedules. We even use expressions such as, "If we only had more time," as evidence as to how much we depend on it. This story opened up my eyes and made me think about how I treat my time. We should really live and enjoy in the moment and not worry about how much time we have.

This book was narrated by Dan Stevens and he did a fantastic job. He was able to capture my attention and helped me visualize how the characters felt with his voice skills. I did not find myself bored but in fact was attuned the whole time. Stevens did a wonderful job in bringing to life Mitch Albom's message.

In all, this was a wonderful production. I greatly enjoyed the story, the message, and the narrator. It left me sighing at the end because it really hit home for me. I rate it: