The First Phone Call from Heaven

A Novel

By: Mitch Albom

Narrated by: Mitch Albom

Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

The First Phone Call from Heaven tells the story of a small town on Lake Michigan that gets worldwide attention when its citizens start receiving phone calls from the afterlife. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax? Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, is determined to find out. An allegory about the power of belief - and a page-turner that will touch your soul - Albom's masterful storytelling has never been so moving and unexpected.

Readers of The Five People You Meet in Heaven will recognize the warmth and emotion so redolent of Albom's writing, and those who haven't yet enjoyed the power of his storytelling will thrill at the discovery of one of the best-loved writers of our time.

©2013 ASOP, Inc. (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"The author narrates the ensuing confusion and controversy, as well as the varying viewpoints of those who believe in the messages from the dead and those who don't. Albom portrays each individual's reaction with genuine compassion. Amid the excitement and bewilderment, he's still able to keep Harding's voice familiar and deferential. Albom uses a soothing, quiet voice--fitting and purposeful--for each phone call from the unknown. Sound effects such as a phone ringing, a doorbell, and a sudden knocking sound are all effective in achieving such a thought-provoking and inspiring story." ( AudioFile)

As Always, Mitch delivers

I've never been disappointed in one of his stories. This one is as engrossing as they all are winding us through the lives of the believers and non believers.

Predictable

Nice story, but predictable. I enjoyed hearing the performances, but felt a little bored. However, I would recommend

Good story

Mr. Albom continues to write creative and interesting stories. I highly recommend this book and enjoyed it.

great story

mitch has written a very thought provoking book. if we could get that call from heaven who would it be from?
mitch read it beautifully, he even added some sound effects which was nice, it really pulled me into the story more.
looking forward to more books from mitch.

The end is not the end

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel as I have all of Mitch Album's books. This is the first one I have listened to with Audible. I truly enjoyed the author reading this. It was excellent!

A great read (or listen)

Wonderfully written. As always, Mitch Albom gives us something to feel good about. I truly enjoyed this, as I have all his other books.

Heaven Calling...............

A clean mystery about good God fearing people, Mitch Albom’s latest book was interesting and thought provoking. I am not one to guess the outcome of books and I did not in this one either. The author kept the story moving, tamed the cast of characters and allowed the reader to insert themselves in such an interesting situation. This book added to quite the discussion at our house. My favorite parts though were the little Alexander Graham Bell snippets intertwined within the story. What a basket of juicy little historical facts!!

Mitch Albom does not have a believable voice for fiction. He comes across as a motivational speaker not a fictional story teller. Mix that with a Heaven topic and the first few chapters I had keep convincing myself over and over that I did actually have a fictional book and not something that was soon going to turn into a sermon. It doesn't. It actually turns intoa good mystery.

I got to mention the sound effects. This book uses them A LOT. The first few chapters the sound effects verge on annoying. Then they stop or you can see a ringing phone or doorbell coming. Towards the end of the book I was listening in the middle of the night when someone knocked on the door (in the book) and jumped a foot off the bed. Totally scared me to death.

A little disappointed

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I have read two of Albom's other titles and thoroughly enjoyed them both. This book was disappointing. I didn't finish it to be completely honest. I kept waiting for something to happen or some great tidbit of wisdom or even something especially heartwarming, it never came, so I gave up.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The people calling from Heaven should have something a little more insightful to say. Angels should call too, at least, if not God.

Be Careful What You Wish For!!

This is another great read/listen from Mitch Albom!

The premise is certainly intriguing, but the consequences from this type of phenomenon can be unwelcome. And then the story takes a twist ...

I highly recommend all of this author's work, and look forward to more great books in the future--

Breathtaking

Wow, what a captivating book! I loved how each persons story mixed with the other characters pain and joy. I couldn’t stop listening to this. Must read for sure!