The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom

The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom takes us back to the inventor of Time and how is innocent invention lead to one of man’s complex concept. I have praises on other books by Mitch Albom, but the Time Keeper seems to lack something.

Ever wonder who created Time?  Why was it created? Why does Time eventually end?

The Time Keeper is about the story of Dor and how his curiosity in measuring time lead him to become Father Time himself. He eventually met two contrasting people: Sarah, a teenager who wants time to go faster, and Victor, a dying billionaire seeking to make time go slower. As their paths crossed, Dor finally understood the meaning and significance of time.  Why are our days limited?

The Time Keeper has a very simple plot told in about two hundred pages. While the message of the novel is striking, it was too much to read.  In fact, it can be as simple as a short essay. Mitch Albom chooses to expound the story.  He is good with the writing but it seems to be lacking in character and substance.

However, the ending still has the AHHH-moment that I like about Mitch Albom’s books. In The Time Keeper, we are once again reminded of the importance of time and what matters most.

Daddy Rating: 3 of 5

The Time Keeper Quote and Key Summaries

Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored.  Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creatures endures. A fear of time running out.

Soon man will count all his days, and then smaller segment of the day, and then smaller still – until the counting consumes him, and the conder of the world he has been given is lost.

Man invents nothing God did not create first.

“Only God can write the end of your story.”
“God has left me alone,” Dor said.
The old man shook his head. “You were never alone.”

Remember this always: There is a reason God limit’s man’s days.

Sometimes, when you are not getting the love you want, giving makes you think you will.

This time was different.  The tools of this era – phones, computer – enabled people to move at blurring pace.  Yet despite all they accomplished, they were never at peace.

Common sense has no place in first love and never has.

It is never too late or too soon.  It is when it is supposed to be.

Time is not something you give back.  The very next moment may be an answer to your prayer. To deny that is to deny the most important part of the future — Hope.

Ends are for yesterdays, not tomorrows.

Do you understand now? With endless time, nothing is special.  With no loss or sacrifice, we can’t appreciate what we have.

There is a reason God limits our days. To make each one precious.

Once we begin to chime the hour, we lost the ability to be satisfied.

When you are measuring life , you are not living it.