Review: The Giver by Lois Lowry

Last word first: Powerful and thought provoking. It sounds corny, but I truly feel like a different person for having read this book.

Would Joe like this book? Yes, definitely.

Description: Jonas’s world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no fear or pain. There are no choices. Everyone is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now it’s time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back. (from the book cover)

My thoughts: This is one of those books that I feel completely inadequate to describe. The issues related to this book are so profound that my mind is a little boggled. On the surface, Jonas’s world looks so appealing... no one is suffering, no one is ever confused or doubting- who wouldn’t want that? And yet, so much has been given up to make that existence possible that you wonder if these people are really even human anymore. They have no knowledge beyond their own, extremely limited experience. The man known as the Giver has been entrusted with all the history and cultural memory of the entire community. Without the guidance and common ground provided by these memories, can morality and connection even exist?

The Giver is less a story than it is a lesson. Yet the story alone is worth reading. As Jonas comes to realize that everything he has ever known is questionable, what will he choose to believe? I read this whole book in one sitting, spoon-feeding my daughter with one hand, holding the book in the other. I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I definitely recommend this book!

Looking for more? I didn’t realize this until I was researching the author for this review, but The Giver is the first book of a trilogy. The second and third books are Gathering Blue and Messenger. So for those of you who, like me, wondered what happened to Jonas after this book, satisfaction is within your grasp.

About Lois Lowry: I’ve always felt that I was fortunate to have been born the middle child of three. My older sister, Helen, was very much like our mother: gentle, family-oriented, eager to please. Little brother Jon was the only boy and had interests that he shared with Dad; together they were always working on electric trains and erector sets; and later, when Jon was older, they always seemed to have their heads under the raised hood of a car. That left me in-between, and exactly where I wanted most to be: on my own. I was a solitary child who lived in the world of books and my own vivid imagination.