"There is a reason God limits our days."
"Why?"
The Time Keeper
by Mitch Albom
The story begins with Father Time sitting in a cave. H e is condemned to never age while humanity continues, and he must constantly hear the pleas from Earth wishing, always, for more time. For six thousand years he endures his sentence until the moment when he is released back to Earth to find two souls crying out, one for less time, one for more.
How many times do you check the time everyday? In Dor's time no one did. Time didn't mean anything. Days went by and people didn't keep count. But Dor was different. He loved counting his steps while running after Allie while they played together on the hill, he counted the clouds, and he learned how to count the days, months, and hours. This small boy's discovery went on to change the world. And through this book Mitch Albom puts forward the idea that the discovery of time was possibly for the worse because once people start counting days, they start counting down.
More time. Most everyone is always asking for more time. Little children constantly ask for "five more minutes" of playing with their toys when asked to go to bed. This wish does not disappear when those children grow up. We want more time to study for tests, to travel, to do everything we want to do, and especially more time to live. This is the problem with being able to count the days because it also means we can count down, and the obsession with counting can interfere with enjoying life. This is what happened to Dor who became Father Time. He spent his whole life counting time, which kept him from experiencing life, and now he is put back on Earth so he can teach this lesson to two people in jeopardy. These two souls are Sarah Lemon and Victor Delamonte.
Victor is a rich old businessman who has just found out that his cancer will only give him another two months to live. In defiance of his impending fate he uses him incredible influence and wealth to try to accomplish one thing; more time. While Sarah, a teenager, is starting to believe that her life is insignificant and not worth living. Instead of Clarence the Angel coming down from the stars to help them learn an important lesson, they get Dor, Father Time himself.
In three peoples stories Albom presents his ideas on time. Everything in this book is short and to the point as the narrative rotates between three very different characters leading very different lives. Dor counted his days and never lived them, Victor is willing to compromise real living in favor of lasting, and Sarah is about to give up on her remanding time on Earth. In each character the reader learns a different lesson about time, and contributes to the message as a whole. While the story wasn't that impressive and lacked flow the meaning behind it made a real impact. It acted in the way of a children's book, lacking a substantial plot but conveying the lesson effectively. This book turns the readers eyes inward to closely examine, maybe for the first time, their own perspective on time and life. Father Time teaches them that they should not focus on counting the days, but "To make each one precious."
