Riya Kedia

The story begins with a heart touching quote - " Look into the depths of another's soul and listen, not only with our ears, but with our hearts and imagination, and our silent love." The narrator , Theodore J. Hamilton is an octogenarian lawyer. In the very first chapter, he is informed by his assistant about the decease of his bosom friend, Howard Red Stevens. He is entrusted by Stevens with the job of handing over to each of his relatives their share, as mentioned in his will. Red Stevens was a self made man , who gave his family everything out of obligation but ultimately ruined them in the process . After his death, his possessions are to be divided among his greedy relatives , who seemed least concerned about the loss of a family member. However, one person is excluded from receiving the worldly goods as the old man had something special planned for him . The person is Jason Stevens , Red Stevens' great nephew. 'The Ultimate Gift' is amongst one of those books, which in spite of its short length, teaches a number of principles one needs to follow to lead a happy life. It shows the journey of Jason as his previously empty and meaningless life receives a meaning and purpose in the phase of twelve long months in which he inherits the bequest left by his great uncle for him. The book also presents a strong and beautiful bond of friendship between Hamilton and Red Stevens . The character of Jason seems to have undergone the major changes and growth in the course of a year. I would recommend this book to all age groups. It can be read at a single sitting. The narration is quite colloquial and is suitable even for a beginner . Each chapter begins with an inspirational quote and pretty little illustrations, which set up the tone for the upcoming gift which Jason is to learn about. The simple yet motivational write up allows the readers to ponder on twelve small gifts we all have been provided with by life but somehow have failed to appreciate . Each reader will take the lessons provided by this book differently. Now its totally upto you as to what you lack in your life which can be incorporated from this decently written book. However , a fact which made this book a less memorable read for me is that in order to wrap the book up in a few number of pages, the author has not provided in depth descriptions of the struggles faced by Jason to receive the ultimate gift. This is the major turn off for a detail oriented reader like me as relating to the main character seemed too difficult a task.