My friend Lola recommended reading Mitch Albom’s Time Keeper, and since she doesn’t usually say, “Hey, you’ve got to read this” about books, I listened. (Her last recommendation was John Saul’s “Second Child”, a nicely creepy tale.)

Because someone has already written a succinct and spot-on synopsis at goodreads.com, I will unashamedly quote them:

In this fable, the first man on earth to count the hours becomes Father Time. The inventor of the world’s first clock is punished for trying to measure God’s greatest gift. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more days, more years. Eventually, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time.

The book does moves back and forth between the past and the present, as well as among the stories of the three different characters – Dor (aka “Father Time”), Sarah (a teen), and Victor (an octogenarian) — so just a head’s up if that device is a turn-off for you. At times I wanted to shake some sense into Sarah, and I usually thought Victor a jerk, but when an author makes me feel something about characters, I’m a happy reader.

It’s a quick read, and although not overtly Christian, “The Time Keeper” seemed like an allegory to explain Ecclesiastes 3. However, if you’re not religious, I don’t think you’d find this book off-puttingly preachy.