By: Anthony Zhang

8/10

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom talks about a man named Mitch who reunites with his college professor, Morrie. As a child, Mitch is able to learn compassion because his mother dies at a young age and his brother, David, has a disease in which he is unable to move his body. This story begins when Mitch sees Morrie on the Nightline show hosted by Ted. Morrie has ALS and is unable to do certain tasks. When Mitch arrives at Morrie’s house, he is greeted by one of Morrie’s helpers, Caroline. After learning that ALS is lethal, Morrie is coming to terms with himself and getting ready for death. Mitch goes to Morrie’s house every Tuesday and they talk about the meaning of life and life lessons. After a few Tuesdays, Morrie is getting weaker and is unable to do a lot of things. On the last Tuesday with Mitch, Morrie is very weak and is even unable to talk. On a Saturday, he passes away due to complications of ALS.

One part that makes the book enjoyable is the style Mitch writes the story in (this is creative nonfiction and the narrator is the writer). Mitch describes every Tuesday he has with Morrie with great detail, using a large range of vocabulary. He even writes in the personal parts of the story. Mitch writes, “Occasionally, he [Morrie] had to stop to use the bathroom.” Mitch’s writing style also drags the reader in and makes the reader wonder what lesson Morrie is going to talk about next Tuesday. The plot never gets boring and the reader stays attached.

Another aspect of the book is Morrie himself. Morrie is one of the fun, understanding, and wise people that Mitch meets. In the book, Mitch says, “The whole time I know him, I have two overwhelming desires to hug him and to give him a napkin.” This means that the writer, Mitch, is enjoying his time with Morrie and now is reuniting with him. He also calls Morrie an “easy marker. ” Mitch writes about every Tuesday with Morrie and flashbacking to the point when Mitch is in college and Morrie is his teacher in college. Having Morrie as Mitch’s professor and spending Tuesdays with Morrie leads Mitch to realize the true meaning of life. The reader can learn life lessons and appreciate people no matter their age.

The last aspect of the book is the plot twist in the beginning of the book. This is when Mitch sees Morrie on the Nightline show and decides to visit his professor from college since Mitch promised Morrie to reunite with him later in life. In the book, Mitch writes down what he sees on TV that day: “Ted Koppel, the host of ABC-TV’s “Nightline” pulled up to the snow-covered curb outside Morrie’s house….Soon the cameras were rolling in front of the living room fireplace.” This is how Mitch finds Morrie and keeps his promise of reunification. After watching, Mitch books a flight to Massachusetts and rents a car. This is the part where the story changes from talking about Mitch to talking about Morrie. This explains the title of the book. It reveals the story of how Mitch spends Tuesdays with Morrie and the reason the book is written.

Tuesdays with Morrie is worth reading and enjoyable. Mitch writes in a style that wants the readers to know what happened next Tuesday. He writes each Tuesday in great detail. There are always twists and turns in the story. All of this story would not have happened if Mitch does not see Morrie on television. After each Tuesday ends, the reader would think this is the end of the journey, but out comes the next Tuesday and a different life lesson. Lastly, Morrie is a nice man to get along with and enjoyable to talk with. This is one of the good books that teaches you big lessons. When the world has wiser people, we have wiser writers who can tell their lives showing the life lessons Morrie teaches.