The Stranger in the Lifeboat

Thanks to Netgalley and Publisher for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Plot:
Some of the richest, famous, talented, influential people take a ride on a yacht. Due to some accident the yacht explodes. 9 of them who survive the explosion drift away in a raft. Benji who is one of the 9 survivors writes down the day to day events of their survival and death. A year later, an inspector is informed of the wreckage of Galaxy and finds Benji's note. Benji writes about a stranger who they picked up on the 3rd day of their survival who calls himself the Lord. The inspector unravels the mystery behind the lost Galaxy through Benji's words.
Writing:
The chapters are split as 'The Sea', 'The Land' and 'The News'. While 'The Sea' is narrated in Benji's perspective, 'The Land' is narrated in the inspector's perspective a year after the Galaxy's explosion. 'The News' covers the incidents that happened after the explosion to the victim's families and how they're mourned.
Thoughts:
The way Mitch decided to make the reader question about what a person will do if the Lord answers one's prayer and appears in front of them was something alright. It makes one to ponder what a desperate person in need would do, what lead a person to that situation, what would it take for a person to be a better human?
I appreciate the minor twists even though they were predictable.

I have read all of Mitch Alboms works and this was no different a very thought provoking and affirming read that although was predictable it was no worse off for it in fact I kind of enjoyed the predictability of it.

This is another thought provoking read from Mitch Albom dealing with faith and loss in many different ways (it is in many ways a very philosophical book). I finished the book a few days ago and waited to review it as I needed to time to think about it and process its concepts - it was that kind of book. Do not be put of by this as it is a very easy and short read and I was totally drawn in and captivated by the characters and the storytelling.
This is a hard book to review without giving much away but it can be read on so many levels and I would, like all the other books, highly recommend it.

I've read a few of this author's books and have enjoyed them all and found them thought-provoking and interesting reads. This book focuses on a group of 9 survivors from a luxury yacht which had sunk. They pull a man out of the sea who claims to be the 'The Lord and he's come to help them like they have asked. Each of the survivors have their own opinion of the stranger and whether they believe him.

The book's chapters are broken into three different stories. Sea focuses on the survivors in the Lifeboat and is narrated by one of the survivors, Benji, who is keeping a written account of their days. Land tells the story of Inspector LeFleur who is investigating a life raft which has washed up on the shores of Montserrat. News features news reports from a reporter who was on board the yacht the night it sank.

Whilst it took me a few chapters to settle into the timelines of Sea, Land and News, I found myself intrigued by each of the stories. Sea was the most captivating for me as I got to meet the survivors and found more out about them. The author again has done a great job of drawing the reader into the characters lives and I found this part of the book quite emotional. I liked Inspector LeFleur's character but felt there was a great sadness about him. I loved how all the storylines developed, linking into each other as the book moved on.

If course the book gave us a lot to ponder on and posed questions which I've asked many times. The storyline was easy to understand and was beautifully written. You don't need to believe in God to read it, but either way you couldn't help but be drawn into the essence of the story. Well written, captivating and emotional. Would recommend.

I haven't read this author before and I was immediately struck by the beautiful simplicity of the writing and the way it involves you in the story unfolding with seemingly no effort.

A group of survivors in a lifeboat rescue another from the water. He claims to be the Lord and what follows is a tale of faith in adversity and of the individual nature of humanity

Hugely compelling with an ending that each reader will absorb in their own way, The Stranger In The Lifeboat is evocative, strange and wonderful.

Do you believe in the existence of God and how often do you question his very existence?

What can I say, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was gripped onto it from the very beginning. Though, when I start off, I found the book to be quite funny and was laughing, but as I progressed further into the chapters, it turned into this emotional rollercoaster, which got me pounding over a lot of things.

As for the plot, An Yacht named Galaxy owned by Jason Lambert has sunk. 10 stranger trying to survive are adrift on a raft, short on food, water and hope. When they spot a man floating in the water and pull him on board. This man claims he can save them but how? And who is he? Should they trust him? And how did the Yacht really sink? (Ok, I know I sound like the jacket of the book) but trust me, the more blind you go into this book, the more you are going to enjoy it.

The book is not a mystery or thriller, but it kept me guessing till the very end. I also liked the way the author has classified the book into Sea, Land and News, where most of the story is told to us by Benji, one of the survivors on the raft. Apart from this, the book also focuses on hope, faith, love, death and spirituality which I guess is very much a part of every Mitch Albom books. The book also got me reflecting on minor things like the mere existence of fresh drinking water, which, when we have in abundance we tend to waste but when in shortage, a mere thought can get us craving or for that matter, the thought of death, which we try are best not to acknowledge and always brush aside.

Overall this book was an easy and quick one to read. If you are in a mood for some thought provoking and some soul searching or even if you are not and just looking for your next read, I highly recommend this one because like me you too will enjoy reading it.

A big Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing this ARC. Will be posting this review near publication day on other reviewing site.

First let me preface this by saying I am not a religious person but I love the simplicity, the love and the faith portrayed in Mitch Albom’s books.
The stranger in the lifeboat has all of the above, simplicity, love and faith and it is a story that will bring you along wondering at the outcome.
I loved the way there were 3 points of view, the sea, the land and the news, the sea was my favourite.
A beautiful read for anyone regardless of their belief system.
Will definitely recommend to people and have no hesitation in giving it 5 stars.
Will be posting review to Goodreads, Instagram and Facebook.
Many thanks for the opportunity to read this book.

Mitch Albom is the king of beautifully written books and The Stranger in the Lifeboat didn't disappoint.
This book is so touching and well crafted..........it reaches where other books fail.

I absolutely loved this book and would highly recommend it.
Totally engaging and inspirational....a must read for Albom fans.

I always have mixed feelings when I read Mitch Albom’s books and this one was no exception. I find his books thought provoking, much like Murakami and Coelho but I do enjoy the simplicity of his books.

This book is broken into three different sections:

The Sea which focuses on ten survivors trying to stay alive on a lifeboat with little water and food. They were on a fancy yacht named Galaxy which suspiciously sank and left these survivors stranded at sea. This is narrated by one of the survivors, Benji, as he shares his thoughts in journal entries.

The Land is narrated by Inspector LeFleur who is investigating a life raft that has washed ashore in Montserrat. He found a journal which opens up a whole new perspective for this skeptical inspector.

The News feature reports from the yacht before and after it sank.

I felt that the three different parts come together really well. This story also reminds me of Life of Pi minus the tiger. This does not touch on religion, instead it touches on a person’s faith. How strong is your faith when you are in a peril or come face to face with death? How strong is your will to survive and live? When pushed beyond desperation, will you think of your humanity? I did enjoy reading this but it has given me alot to ponder on.

One of my favourite authors, this book did not disappoint! It was an incredibly quick read, broke down into Land, Sea and News and kept me completely hooked, questioning everything and still not sure of the answers! Will recommend for sure as want to talk about it with others

Mitch Albom has found his niche as an author by writing meaningful, comforting and still readable novels about grief and death. They're topics we all have to face up to at some point in our lives, and when you're struck by them, you'll try anything to help you make sense of things or feel better. If you're a reader, you're going to look for a book to do that. And in steps Albom with a collection of short novels that offer such literary succour. Of course, you can read them at any time - but they will have most impact and meaning for people who have suffered a recent loss. I know a couple of people who found reading his novels really helped them when grieving, so whilst my instinct is to be cynical, I have to accept the evidence of my own experience.

'The 'Stranger in the Lifeboat' is his latest, and it combines the usual philosophising about death, with a mystery element, which makes it very readable. A luxury yacht, packed with celebrities plus its crew, sinks in mysterious circumstances, with apparently no survivors. However extracts from the notebook of deckhand Benji reveal that some of those aboard did survive in a life raft. As they drift across the ocean, with hopes of rescue fading, they pick up a man who claims to be God. Could he be telling the truth? Alongside this mystery is that of what caused the boat to sink - and it soon becomes clear that the narrator knows more about that than he wants to admit.

Interspersed with the sections telling the story of the survivors, are transcripts of news reports, which help give useful information and background about the characters and their situation, which Benji wouldn't necessarily have known or plausibly have written about. There is also an unfolding story set on the island of Montserrat, where the local police chief finds the empty lifeboat a year after the yacht sank - and the notebook within it. His attempts to piece together what happened whilst dealing with tragedy in his own life provide a counterpart to the sea-based story.

It's an easy read and not long, especially for a modern novel. The mystery element about why the boat sank works well and adds pace to the story, as well as the uncertainty about whether 'God' really is a deity or just a deluded shipwreck survivor. It's perhaps more overtly religious than some of his other books - not any specific religion necessarily - the theology could probably apply equally to most major monotheistic religions. There is plenty of room for interpretation by the reader according to their own beliefs and preferences. But aside from religion, the overarching message of the book is that death can be accepted and moved on from.

It isn't the most gripping or brilliantly written book I've read this year, but it serves its function perfectly. I would recommend it to any readers who particularly enjoy novels with a 'philosophical' bent and to anyone who is looking for a book that might provide comfort following a bereavement.

Amazing story of mystery, survival, human connection and finding meaning in life! The book begins on a luxury yacht which explodes suddenly during a celebrity party at sea. 9 of the people aboard make it to a rescue raft and try to work together to survive. 3 days later, they find a man floating in the water, pull him aboard, and the first thing he says is that he is the Lord. The story is narrated by Benji, one of the castaways and Jarty LeFleur, a police inspector on the island of Montserrat, who finds their raft washed up on shore a year later.

This book surprised me, it has a lot more mystery and intrigue than I was expecting, but still delivered an emotional punch that I've come to expect from Mitch Albom. His writing has a beautiful simplicity to it and the story is short but leaves you with a lot to think about, it really made me wonder about different aspects of faith and loss. The ending was a complete surprise but I absolutely loved it!

Mitch Albom has a style and chooses subject matters that are all his own, and that is a good thing. His books are refreshingly different. The subject matters of his well known books evolve around Love, Relationships, Death and Heaven and The Stranger in the Lifeboat is no exception.
There are two components to the story. The first being narrated by Benji who was working as a deckhand on a mega-yacht when it exploded and a group of people from different classes who were on the yacht board a lifeboat. Benji keeps a journal of the struggles on the lifeboat whist they all wait to be saved and as they drift they save another person floating in the sea who did not appear to come from the yacht and claims to be god.
The second component is a year after the sinking and the lifeboat and journal wash up on the island of Montserrat where the mystery is looked into by Police Inspector Jarty LeFleur who is struggling with the recent bereavement of his daughter.
An extremely well crafted, enjoyable tale which gives the reader a lot to think about. Highly recommended.

Mitch Albom's books always make you think as he tackles the big questions about life, love and what makes us who we are.
The story is told in 3 different strands.
A group of survivors from a shipwreck are adrift in a lifeboat with seemingly no hope of rescue. A news reporter charts the events that happened on the boat before and after its destruction and a policeman tries to work out what happened from an account he finds on a washed up lifeboat.
Who was on the boat, what happened to them and did they really believe that one of the people could genuinely save them if they believed in him?.
A book that will stay with you after you have finished it. Albom's books always prove that you don't need to write a doorstop to be memorable.
An enjoyable thought provoking read.

Mitch Albom is a great writer whose fictional explorations of the possibility of an afterlife always capture my imagination. While his stories usually involve placing ordinary mortals in a heavenly context, The Stranger in the Lifeboat inverts the model, by bringing “the Lord” to earth – or rather, to sea – as He joins ten shipwrecked souls adrift in the ocean after an explosion on a billionaire’s yacht.
Lambert had brought a variety of the world’s top influencers on to his yacht to explore solutions for earth’s future in a project called The Grand Idea. Of these, only a few have made it into the lifeboat, including Lambert himself. Other survivors are staff from the yacht, a little girl and deckhand Benji, who recounts their adventures in letter form, in a notebook discovered by Inspector leFleur a year later when the lifeboat washes up, empty, on a Montserrat beach.
Between Benji’s letters, leFleur’s observations and news reports about the explosion on the Galaxy, different threads of the story are brought together in a tense and exciting narrative which sees the survivors of the explosion endure hunger, thirst, shark attacks and in-fighting. Will all, or any, survive? And why won't the Lord help them?
Aside from physical privations, Benji must also endure psychological anguish. Is it his fault the Galaxy exploded? Could he have done something to prevent it? As the first person on the lifeboat, is he responsible for the safety and well-being of the other lost souls?
This story has so many themes – it explores the questions of guilt and redemption, faith and salvation, and the meaning of life – all beautifully wrapped in a truly engrossing story of people’s determination to survive a cruel sea – and a cruel world.
Is the Lord really God, come down from heaven? Well, it’s Mitch Albom, and I believe what he tells me … you’ll have to make your minds up for yourself.

Mitch Albom writes really different, unique books. I saw this one listed on NetGalley and requested it on the strength of previous books I had read by this author rather than the blurb about this particular novel. Had I read the blurb, I would have realised there is a strong theme of faith and as a non religious person this may have put me off.

This short novel is about nine survivors of a sunken, luxury yacht, who are adrift in a life raft. One of the people in the raft claims to be God.

This is one of those books that make you consider what it would be like to be in the position of the characters in the book. How would you cope adrift at sea? What would you do when food and water started to run out? And how would you react if the person sat with you says he is God and that the situation will not be resolved until everyone in the boat believes in him.

This is a great story. There is plenty of tension. the book moves at a great pace and alternates between the story at sea, the story from the land and the news. It wasn't predictable, it isn't religious, but does make you think about faith and I absolutely loved the ending. Highly recommended. I will definitely continue to pick up other books by Mitch Albom.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have not read any books by Mitch Albom before but, I was intrigued by the blurb, so I requested it on NetGalley.
Billionaire James Lambert decides to set sail on his luxury yacht called the Galaxy with some of the richest and famous and influential people in the world. But something goes wrong, and the yacht explodes. The stranger in the lifeboat is story of the 9 of the survivors on a life raft when they see a person in a water. They bring if onto the raft and they find out that this person is GOD.
The story set in three stages The sea, The Land and The news. The land tells of Inspector Fleur leading an investigation when the life raft appears off a beach a year later in Montserrat.
This is a beautifully written, life affirming story of love and loss. It is also thought-provoking. What would you do if the lord appeared in front of you and you wanted answers to his actions and your own. The regrets that you have and what you could have done differently. I do believe in God so it will keep me thinking about this book for a while. I really enjoyed this tale, and I was engrossed through out and will make sure that I will check out the other books that he has written.

This is my first Mitch Albom book and as such I was launching into the unknown with an author I was unfamiliar with.

Some of the worlds most wealthy and influential figures have congregated on the luxury yacht Galaxy for a party, there is an inexplicable explosion and the yacht sinks leaving on nine survivors in a rescue raft in the Atlantic.

It took me a little while to settle into the rhythm of the book. It moved across three strands - ‘news’ (the media coverage of the Galaxy’s party and aftermath ), ‘sea’- stories of the survivors, and ‘land’ (the investigation into the Galaxy after the raft is found one year later in Monteserrat).

I eventually settled into the book, the very simple style of writing, and found it quite absorbing and unlike anything I’d read before. Without wanting to give away any spoilers, the book left me asking myself questions about survival, faith and humanity.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for making this advanced reading copy available to me and introducing me to the worlds of Mitch Albom.

Adrift in a raft after a deadly explosion, nine people struggle to survive at sea. Three days pass. Short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves. They pull him in. "Thank the Lord we found you," a passenger says. "I am the Lord," the man whispers.

This is the story of nine survivors of an explosion on the luxury yacht they were on. Then they spot a man floating in the waves. When they pull him the man aboard the raft. he claims to be the Lord and They're faced with crises of belief.

Mitch Albom's books are always thought provoking. The story follows the journey of the nine people on the rafts battle for survival and the attempts of those on land to uncover what had happened at sea. This is a short novel that's intriguing with so much depth. The book is arranged into three parallel storylines: 1) from one of the survivors 2) the investigator investigating what happened 3) from the media reporting about the yacht. This is another fantastic read by the fabulous Mitch Albom who's books never disappoint.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #LittleBrownBookGroupUK and the author #MitchAlbom for my ARC of #TheStrangerInTheLifeboat in exchange for an honest review.

I love Mitch Albom - such wonderful stories! I find them to be very comforting in their simplicity. The Stranger in the Lifeboat features a group of people who are stranded in a life raft after an explosion sank the yacht they were on. One of these people claims to be 'The Lord', which brings up many different feelings and conversations between the survivors. Surely this means they must be rescued? Surely He will help everyone on the raft? Surely He will bring comfort to them? Will he? What's he there for? Is he just a random guy making it up? However, we do find out everything that happened out at sea when the raft containing only a diary is washed up on Montserrat.

I love the way the book is written. The chapter are either 'Land', 'Sea', or 'News' so there's no confusion when swapping chapters and time or place. The way The Lord is featured has really made me think. I'm not religious so it's not that, but it's made me think about the faith and beliefs of others, which I find interesting anyway. I don't want to give anything away about the ending but I'd just say read it for sure!

I have read and loved every book I've read by this author. Ever since my ex-ma-in-law introduced me to his writing when she recommended I read The Five People You Meet in Heaven. This is a delightful book with a profound message that actually is quite pertinent in the dark days in which we live at the moment. I know that personally I've been thinking more of this side of things since March last year hit...
So, there's a shipwreck and a bunch of survivors have managed to all get to a life raft. They are kinda ticking along, albeit with scan long term hope, when they come across a man in the water. The pull him into the boat and start to interrogate him as to how he has managed to survive for so long on his own in the water. He then proceeds to tell them that he is the Lord...
And I'll leave the rest for you to discover as the author intended. Told in the recent past of the life raft - the main time line - with flashbacks to the long past, and the present when the life raft is discovered and reported to Monserrat's chief inspector Jarty LeFleur, we follow Benji, our main narrator, as he spins what turns out to be a very exciting, thrilling and poignant tale of trying to survive against the odds, hope and, of course, faith.
This book can be read on many levels. From the light where you only really consider the main story and don't veer too much from following what happens to the characters, all the way through to questioning every incident along the way and what that actually means in terms of faith. And all levels in between. It's a book you can read and take what matches, what works for you, discard what doesn't and, if you want, think about the middle ground a bit along the way. That's definitely what I did as I was reading. Don't worry, I'm not going to spill my stuff here, it was a personal read, one that touched me and one I will talk about with like minded people in my real life, but it was a personal journey and I think that everyone's experience with what is written herein will be just as personal and unique. Suffice to say, if you go in with an open mind and accept what is given to you, you will not be disappointed.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book