Book Review: The Giver

 

“The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It’s the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.” 

I recently read a book titled The Giver, by Lois Lowry. This book was a very fast pace book about a boy in the transitional stage between boyhood and adulthood which is twelve in this world. He lives in a society, possibly some time in the future, where everything is controlled and monitored. No important choices are made by the individual, but rather by a group of people who were picked for said task by another group. Jonas, the main character, is selected to be the society’s next Receiver of Memory. As the Receiver of Memory he has to hold all the memories, good and bad, of past societies. Throughout the book, Jonas struggles with the idea of conforming to his perfect society. He begins to believe his society has given up too many good things (i.e. sun, color, love) for stability and peace.

The book has a surprising amount of depth despite the fact it is a kid’s novel. There is an underlying sense that people should not blindly follow in the tradition of their leaders and ancestors. There is a message saying that people should to break free and think for themselves rather than continue in tradition for tradition’s sake. The book is easy to read, the characters are endearing, and the plot progresses quickly. One downside, however, is the plot’s lack of length. The book i  rather short and ends rather abruptly. In the end, the reader is left unsure of what happens to the character. The reader has to determine for himself what happens in the story after the pages end.

Overall, I would not read this book dozens of times, but it was a good one time read. The book is an entertaining story that encourages readers to think and to challenge the way they believe.