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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Wow, amazing, moving, thought provoking, interesting, disturbing, and a book that will be with you long after you have finished reading it. It gives you the information that anyone and everyone, no matter where they are in life can make a huge difference in someone elses. Being there, asking questions and interacting with others giving them hope in a way they can understand and keep alive. A wonderful read, not like the style of The Book Thief so if you are thinking of comparing them, you really shouldn't. Different style, story and place in time. Enjoy this book. Let it give you something to think about and take away when you are done.
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The logic of the plot was ill-reasoned - it felt way to convenient that Ed just happened to know the correct thing to do in every situation and his choices, so confident as they were, made little sense to me as a reader. This made the writing feel very lazy. The way Ed talks about the female characters is also gross and made me feel uncomfortable, but I suppose this is typical for a young straight while male, especially in the early 2000s. And who am I to judge someone for being horny?
I did however, absolutely love the ending. It was a beautifully creative moment of meta-fiction that tied the story together wonderfully.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
Tengo mucho que decir de este libro...
Para empezar, era una novela que no estaba dentro de mis pendientes próximos, no sabía mucho de qué iba pero lo ví en mis estanterías y dije "si no me atrapa en el primer párrafo, lo dejo". Me leí el primer capítulo sin despegar ojo.
Los personajes me encantan, la historia me encanta, la forma en la que está escrito me encanta, el mensaje del libro me encanta.
Me pude identificar muchísimo con Ed Kennedy, nuestro protagonista, y ese siempre es un plus. Hace muuucho que no reía, que no me enojaba, que no sentía tanto con un libro. En ningún momento quise dejar de leer salvo para al final, porque no quería que terminara.
Y el final, dios mío.
No me esperaba para nada tal final y la verdad es que no estoy muy satisfecha con eso, pero me pareció muy original, he de reconocer. Agridulce, supongo.
Sin embargo, lo que más me gustó del libro fue el mensaje que te deja. No puedes cambiar el mundo pero puedes cambiar el mundo de las personas, seas quien seas.
Para empezar, era una novela que no estaba dentro de mis pendientes próximos, no sabía mucho de qué iba pero lo ví en mis estanterías y dije "si no me atrapa en el primer párrafo, lo dejo". Me leí el primer capítulo sin despegar ojo.
Los personajes me encantan, la historia me encanta, la forma en la que está escrito me encanta, el mensaje del libro me encanta.
Me pude identificar muchísimo con Ed Kennedy, nuestro protagonista, y ese siempre es un plus. Hace muuucho que no reía, que no me enojaba, que no sentía tanto con un libro. En ningún momento quise dejar de leer salvo para al final, porque no quería que terminara.
Y el final, dios mío.
No me esperaba para nada tal final y la verdad es que no estoy muy satisfecha con eso, pero me pareció muy original, he de reconocer. Agridulce, supongo.
Sin embargo, lo que más me gustó del libro fue el mensaje que te deja. No puedes cambiar el mundo pero puedes cambiar el mundo de las personas, seas quien seas.
What an interesting concept! I enjoyed this book and I thought it was very well written. I loved how Ed was just completely ordinary. There really wasn't anything special about him. But when given a task like helping make lives better he excelled. The ending was a bit confusing but it was happy. I think the main message of the book was that no matter who you are, you are capable of doing extraordinary things. He was brave and did what he had to. I loved his friends and I loved how they were all similar, but had different personalities and traits.
Language: 3- There is quite a bit of swearing. Some of the swear words are altered because it takes place in Australia and they have some weird swear words. No F bombs, just a lot of the s word mostly.
Sex: 3- This guy thinks about sex A LOT. Which I actually really liked because it was realistic. He is a single 19 year old boy, of course he is going to think of sex.
Drugs/Alcohol: 2- They do drink a lot and he does get drunk with his friends quite a bit. But its more causal than party drinking.
Violence: 3- He does have to beat a few people up and he does get beat up in return. Also he stops a guy from violently beating and raping his wife every night. Its not that bad but it's there.
Language: 3- There is quite a bit of swearing. Some of the swear words are altered because it takes place in Australia and they have some weird swear words. No F bombs, just a lot of the s word mostly.
Sex: 3- This guy thinks about sex A LOT. Which I actually really liked because it was realistic. He is a single 19 year old boy, of course he is going to think of sex.
Drugs/Alcohol: 2- They do drink a lot and he does get drunk with his friends quite a bit. But its more causal than party drinking.
Violence: 3- He does have to beat a few people up and he does get beat up in return. Also he stops a guy from violently beating and raping his wife every night. Its not that bad but it's there.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a great feel good story. I loved the little mystery, and all the good deeds he did really made me smile and eventually cry a little.
It took me a long time to read this book. I say this because generally I am a pretty quick reader. I had to read a lot of things for school in-between this book so it took up some of my time. Now though, I'm glad. This is a book that I am glad I spent almost a month with.
The books starts off with a 19 year old guy named Ed (just Ed, not short for anything) and his friends, Marv, Ritchie, and Audrey, on the floor in the middle of a bank robbery. Marv is quite pissed that the failed robber is trying to run off with his pile of shit car. Since his car is in fact a pile of shit he can't get away fast enough. Ed runs out and hits him and thus becomes the hero.
Ed, is not a hero type. He is an illegal (underage technically) cab driver. He is single (but in love with Audrey), his mother hates him and tells him frequently, his father died, he has a smelly dog named the Doorman.
But........
At the trial for the failure that was the robbery the robber tells Ed that every time he looks into the mirror, he will be looking at a dead man.
Then.....
A playing card, (the ace of diamonds) arrives with 3 addresses listed on it and his life is about to change.
Ed has to deliver messages, he will figure out what the message is when the time is right. He has no choice, two men named Daryl and Keith will beat him up if he doesn't. That and he feels like he has nothing else to do and is driven to finnish this task. Ed gets 3 addresses on the ace of diamonds, then he receives the ace of clubs, the ace of spades and the the ace of hearts. Each with 3 messages he must deliver.
I don't want to give away too much more, but this is one of the best books I have ever read. The way it is written is interesting, clever and it draws you in. Ed, while a bit of an ordinary schmuck is very likable and a good person. The overall message and how everything plays out in the end just blew me away. This is a book that will stick with me for a long time to come.
The books starts off with a 19 year old guy named Ed (just Ed, not short for anything) and his friends, Marv, Ritchie, and Audrey, on the floor in the middle of a bank robbery. Marv is quite pissed that the failed robber is trying to run off with his pile of shit car. Since his car is in fact a pile of shit he can't get away fast enough. Ed runs out and hits him and thus becomes the hero.
Ed, is not a hero type. He is an illegal (underage technically) cab driver. He is single (but in love with Audrey), his mother hates him and tells him frequently, his father died, he has a smelly dog named the Doorman.
But........
At the trial for the failure that was the robbery the robber tells Ed that every time he looks into the mirror, he will be looking at a dead man.
Then.....
A playing card, (the ace of diamonds) arrives with 3 addresses listed on it and his life is about to change.
Ed has to deliver messages, he will figure out what the message is when the time is right. He has no choice, two men named Daryl and Keith will beat him up if he doesn't. That and he feels like he has nothing else to do and is driven to finnish this task. Ed gets 3 addresses on the ace of diamonds, then he receives the ace of clubs, the ace of spades and the the ace of hearts. Each with 3 messages he must deliver.
I don't want to give away too much more, but this is one of the best books I have ever read. The way it is written is interesting, clever and it draws you in. Ed, while a bit of an ordinary schmuck is very likable and a good person. The overall message and how everything plays out in the end just blew me away. This is a book that will stick with me for a long time to come.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
With work being slow lately, I decided to start bringing books into work to help pass the time, and to get myself back into reading–something I’ve wanted to do for a while now. This week I started and finished reading the first novel I’ve read in many, many years. I wanted to ease myself back into novels, so I started with something comfortable and familiar: I Am the Messenger (or The Messenger) by Markus Zusak, one of my favorite books from my teenage years.
I originally got The Messenger from one of my parents’ acquaintances; I don’t even remember who they were or why they gave it to me. And wow, what an interesting choice of book to give to a kid that you don’t know, because The Messenger is not a gentle book. It’s got some real mature shit in there (like, content warning stuff)--shit that I certainly didn’t fully understand the first few times I read it over 15 (?) years ago. It’s interesting, too, how my reading of The Messenger has changed since I last read it over a decade ago. For instance, there are several scenes and word-choices that really make it painfully obvious that this book was written in 2002 (like fat-phobic language and the notion of “boys will be boys”). Some of the female characters are treated in a very male-gazey fashion at times, and there are some pretty weird choices made towards them by Zusak. All this is shit I didn’t even think about when I was younger.
Taking my critique into account, this book, in my opinion, still hits, and it hits me differently now–deeper, in some ways. I definitely teared up this time when I never did before. And I still love Zusak’s writing style (if not always his writing choices) in this book. The Messenger’s writing is ambitious and evocative while feeling grounded at the same time. Zusak’s style, specifically from this book (because I read it long before The Book Thief), was definitely a big influence on my own style; I’ve always liked how he uses page formatting to emphasize the words and the moments without going overboard. I also like the structure of this book’s narrative, which strikes me as very video game-like (specifically taking on “quests”). This time around, I think that I enjoyed The Messenger’s “meta-narrative” of sorts. I wouldn’t blame people for thinking it’s a bit ridiculous, but I found it endearing.
I also realize that I got my habit of saying “no worries,” which is an Australian mannerism, from this Australian book. I… may not have realized it was set in Australia when I was younger, despite the extremely Australian way the characters talk, and how it was summer in December… I could be a bit dense at times.
All-in-all, coming back to this book–my original, worn I Am the Messenger copy, no less–was like talking with an old friend after a long absence, and I got sucked into the conversation.
I originally got The Messenger from one of my parents’ acquaintances; I don’t even remember who they were or why they gave it to me. And wow, what an interesting choice of book to give to a kid that you don’t know, because The Messenger is not a gentle book. It’s got some real mature shit in there (like, content warning stuff)--shit that I certainly didn’t fully understand the first few times I read it over 15 (?) years ago. It’s interesting, too, how my reading of The Messenger has changed since I last read it over a decade ago. For instance, there are several scenes and word-choices that really make it painfully obvious that this book was written in 2002 (like fat-phobic language and the notion of “boys will be boys”). Some of the female characters are treated in a very male-gazey fashion at times, and there are some pretty weird choices made towards them by Zusak. All this is shit I didn’t even think about when I was younger.
Taking my critique into account, this book, in my opinion, still hits, and it hits me differently now–deeper, in some ways. I definitely teared up this time when I never did before. And I still love Zusak’s writing style (if not always his writing choices) in this book. The Messenger’s writing is ambitious and evocative while feeling grounded at the same time. Zusak’s style, specifically from this book (because I read it long before The Book Thief), was definitely a big influence on my own style; I’ve always liked how he uses page formatting to emphasize the words and the moments without going overboard. I also like the structure of this book’s narrative, which strikes me as very video game-like (specifically taking on “quests”). This time around, I think that I enjoyed The Messenger’s “meta-narrative” of sorts. I wouldn’t blame people for thinking it’s a bit ridiculous, but I found it endearing.
I also realize that I got my habit of saying “no worries,” which is an Australian mannerism, from this Australian book. I… may not have realized it was set in Australia when I was younger, despite the extremely Australian way the characters talk, and how it was summer in December… I could be a bit dense at times.
All-in-all, coming back to this book–my original, worn I Am the Messenger copy, no less–was like talking with an old friend after a long absence, and I got sucked into the conversation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Pedophilia
This book is brilliant! I’m a little confused as to how it won an award in a children’s book category, because I don’t personally think it’s appropriate for children, but it is a marvelous book.
It’s got just enough “out there” stuff, that you don’t believe it, but enough “in there” stuff for you to say, “You know what? Okay. I can suspend my disbelief for a while”.
It’s tense, sometimes creepy, and downright uplifting. So many of my tears shed were of happiness, and usually when I cry at books it’s sadness.
A BIT of a spoiler alert here!
i love how it doesn’t really feel like it wraps up at the end. Like, they give you the answers (sort of) but you’re like, “No. That’s not sufficient. I’m still very confused. This is a terrible answer to my questions,” but moments later you realize that Zusak could have written any ending and it would have had the same effect, because the end doesn’t matter. The only thing that could have completely ruined the end was if he had made it super elaborate and important. But by not doing so, you realize that it’s not the end that matters, it’s the rest of the book. It’s the journey (to be clichéd).
Overall, this book might be one I read again. It didn’t overpower you with it’s sex scenes (or imagined ones) *cough cough Time Traveler’s Wife!*, it wasn’t long winded or overly descriptive. It has some FANTASTIC quotes. Seriously. This guy knows how to not write ordinary sentences! And it made me smile. And feel good. :)
I can’t wait to read something else by Zusak. I’ll have to give The Book Thief a try!
It’s got just enough “out there” stuff, that you don’t believe it, but enough “in there” stuff for you to say, “You know what? Okay. I can suspend my disbelief for a while”.
It’s tense, sometimes creepy, and downright uplifting. So many of my tears shed were of happiness, and usually when I cry at books it’s sadness.
A BIT of a spoiler alert here!
i love how it doesn’t really feel like it wraps up at the end. Like, they give you the answers (sort of) but you’re like, “No. That’s not sufficient. I’m still very confused. This is a terrible answer to my questions,” but moments later you realize that Zusak could have written any ending and it would have had the same effect, because the end doesn’t matter. The only thing that could have completely ruined the end was if he had made it super elaborate and important. But by not doing so, you realize that it’s not the end that matters, it’s the rest of the book. It’s the journey (to be clichéd).
Overall, this book might be one I read again. It didn’t overpower you with it’s sex scenes (or imagined ones) *cough cough Time Traveler’s Wife!*, it wasn’t long winded or overly descriptive. It has some FANTASTIC quotes. Seriously. This guy knows how to not write ordinary sentences! And it made me smile. And feel good. :)
I can’t wait to read something else by Zusak. I’ll have to give The Book Thief a try!