The Stranger in the Lifeboat

 Another book another blog about my thoughts.

I have never read any book by Mitch Albom. He has been quite popular from his Tuesday with Morrie book but I never got into it. Now I decided to pick up his latest book. I will admit, it was an intriguing read. It kept me engaged throughout the book. It was written in three story lines - the lifeboat, a future in which the lifeboat has been found and a reporter's accounting of what is happening when the lifeboat has been found.

The book is about 10 people stuck in a lifeboat when a man boards the lifeboat and claims that he is God. The book is written from the perspective of one man, Benji, who is writing the stories of the survivors of a boat explosion. The lifeboat is stranded in the middle of the ocean. God has said he would save them all, but they ALL need to believe in him. Well, that does not happen, so the survivors are dying one by one. 

In the future, a man comes to a police officer and shows him the lifeboat that has floated to the island. There is the journal found in the lifeboat which the police officer does not tell anyone about. It is the journal of the Benji that he is writing about his day to day survival to his wife and about the impending doom/death. 

There is a little girl also in the boat who never speaks. One of the survivors takes a knife and kills the man who is calling himself God - so that means he was not God. The little girl says she is God when only she and Benji are left. The thing about Benji's story is that he first thinks his cousin caused the explosion and then later realizes that he may have been the one to cause the explosion. The girl/God makes him realize that he did not in fact cause the explosion and he actually jumped off the yacht to commit suicide. He was really depressed and decided to end his life, but he did eventually got saved by God. It was actually Benji who showed the police office the lifeboat.

Now Benji lives to make life good for people, he helps them get through tough times. 

I feel sometimes that just like any other thing in our life, books also come in our lives at particular times. Another book I just read was "Many Masters Many Lives" by Brian Weiss. It was about how Weiss, a therapist, cured his patient through hypnosis. But the main part of the hypnosis was that the patient went into her past lives during that time. During hypnosis she recalled more than 80 past lives. My friend had told me to read this book 15 years ago, but I read it only now. Similarly the Albom book, I just decided to pick it up. Both books are about spirituality, believing in God and doing good.

I don't have many spirituality issues, and am usually quite happy. Lately though I have been wondering if there is something that is bothering me. Maybe that is why these books are coming into my life.