Tuesdays with Morrie

I have devoured one more book by Agatha Christie since I last wrote here - Sparkling Cyanide.Surprisingly this one had neither Poirot nor Miss Marple but it was as delectable as any other Christie book. I had one of my usual feelings when I turned the last page - a curious mixture of happiness at the enjoyment of a good book and sadness that the book is over!

The choice of the next book, however proved to be a tough one. I deliberated over a collection of ghost stories by well-known authors (like Agatha Christie and Oscar Wilde), "Many Lives, Many Masters" (by Dr. Brian Weiss), Tolstoy's War and Peace (must confess here that its sheer size convinced me that it will take me no less than a month to work through it!) and Tuesdays with Morrie (by Mitch Albom). Finally, I took "Tuesdays with Morrie" home with me.

Looking back, this choice seems rather a strange one because as a rule I stay away from self-help books or from books that deal with serious subjects like death. However, I wanted to know what this professor - who was spending his last days on earth crippled by a cruel disease - had to teach in his last ever course which was attended by only one of his students - Mitch Albom.

As I read through the first few pages, I am reminded of the movie "Anand". Years before, when I had watched the movie I had wondered how someone who is about to die can remain so cheerful. In fact, Anand seemed more alive than those around him who had years to live. He seemed so not afraid of death. I feel this professor Morrie was like that.I want to find why and how.

And I am hoping that he answers some of my questions on life and death as he goes on teaching Mitch. God knows I have many - so many in fact that sometimes it seems like there are more questions than answers!