First Phone Call from Heaven (Albom)

Book Reviews
(Starred review.) Albom has a nose for “thin places”: places where the boundary between secular and sacred is porous, and ultimate meaning is easier to encounter. In his new novel, Coldwater, Mich., is this thin place, a town where people who have lost loved ones begin receiving phone calls from the dead in heaven.... Another winner from Albom
Publishers Weekly


Albom's story is simplistic theology about love's eternal nature, forgiveness and the afterlife. There's a hint of romance and some formulaic secondary characters.... Framed by short anecdotes relating to Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone, Albom's story unfolds in reportorial-style sketches, right up to a double-twist conclusion. A sentimental meditation on "[w]hat is false about hope?"
Kirkus Reviews