Book Review: Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom

The Stranger in the Lifeboat

by Mitch Albom (Albom)

 

When bad things happen, some people call out to God for help. What would happen if you cried out and he suddenly appeared in front of you, saying here I am?

 

In The Stranger in the Lifeboat, a luxury yacht called the Galaxy sinks fifty miles from the West African coast. The Galaxy was owned by a billionaire businessman and suffers a series of “explosions” on its maiden voyage with some of the world’s rich and famous. No survivors are found.

 

Roughly a year later, a life raft belonging to the Galaxy washes up across the North Atlantic on the shore of the Caribbean island of Montserrat. The raft obviously didn’t inflate itself. Someone must have survived. The island’s chief inspector, a man with his own difficult history, finds a diary onboard, but doesn’t tell anyone about it.

 

Someone has survived. But that’s not the most remarkable fact Inspector LeFleur discovers.

“When we pulled him from the water, he didn’t have a scratch on him,” the diary begins. Ten survivors from the sinking yacht have gashes and bruises, but when they find another survivor without a life jacket three days later, he is unmarked. “Thank the Lord we found you” the survivors say. “I am the Lord,” he whispers.

 

The stranger says the life raft occupants called to him for help, and he has answered their prayers. And once all those onboard the life raft believe he is who he says he is, they will be saved. Miraculous things happen. The stranger seems to be responsible. But the occupants of the life raft still are dying, one by one. Is the stranger responsible for the deaths, as well?

 

I really enjoyed The Stranger in the Lifeboat. The author Mitch Albom also wrote Tuesdays with Morrie, another great book, as well as The Five People You Meet in Heaven. The Stranger in the Lifeboat would be a fantastic book for a book club. The book grabs you from the first chapter with the “I am the Lord” statement. Then the mysteries build until you aren’t sure what you should believe. It’s a short read, but packed with thought-provoking material. Definitely worth checking out if you are looking for a quick, emotional thriller.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom or The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner.)

 

( official The Stranger in the Lifeboat page on the official Mitch Albom web site )

 

Recommended by Cindy K.
Bennett Martin Public Library

 

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