Reviews with content warning for Violence - Le passeur

The Giver is about a society that has strict rules and prefers 'sameness' over 'difference' and 'change'. Everything needs to be the same and everything gets assigned to you. Your professon, love interested even your children gets assigned to you. There is no freedom of choice as there is also no freedom of expression. Jonas receives memories from the Giver that no one else's holds.

At first I was excited to read this book, the premise sounded interesting and I saw that quite a lot have read this book. I liked many things, for instance how The Giver and Jonas formed a relationship that was characterised by kidness and understanding. They bonded through these memories they shared. Another thing that was interesting to see was how Jonas reacted to the memories he received. The way his mind and behaviour changed.
I also liked how the new things (like seeing beyond) was described to us readers, giving the feeling like we experienced it for the first time as well. While I read about the things that Jonas and also the rest of the people didn't know of as they didn't have this memory and therefore knowledge I was shocked. I couldn't imagine how one could lose that much. While reading I learnt how selfish the society was to burden the Giver with all memories and not wanting to have these memories as well. That made the Giver feel very lonely, as he had no one to share his feelings about. I felt sad for him, especially as to how his behaviour when he was sad was described.

Some afternoons The Giver sent him away without training. Jonas knew, on days when he arrived to find The Giver hunched over, rocking his body slightly back and forth, his face pale, that he would be sent away.
“Go,” The Giver would tell him tensely. “I’m in pain today. Come back tomorrow.”

At some moments the writing style delivered the feeling one should feel while reading it good enough, but I was bothered how the book lacked any depth. The premise of this book made me think that there will be a lot of feelings, especially for the reader while reading. This didn't happen and in general I felt after I finished now this book, as if something was missing. I wished there would have been more to it, especially as the ending felt rushed too. The ending left me dissatisfied, I expected something else and I think that it was the wrong choice to end this book like this.
+ the plot twists weren't shocking to me, as they were hinted on multiple times before they were revealed.

Even though the concept/idea behind this book had so much potential it wasn't executed. The writing style was beautiful and in some moments I did feel sad (mainly for the Giver), but I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped for.

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bgirl1214's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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a_novi's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A classic book, and a great lesson in a healthy distrust in government. Just because “it’s the way we do things” doesn’t mean it’s the way we SHOULD do things. There’s three more books in this series that are often forgotten and I can’t wait to read the rest.

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lima_bean_ninja's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

a book about love and grief and the hope that things can change

i can see how at first glance people interpret it as a communism critique, but if you think about it more closely,

the equal allotment of capital (aka the communism) is portrayed as one of the major positive aspects of their society. the big question the book asks you to consider is to what extent is sacrifice for the “greater good” worth it? logically, their way of living may be the most efficient or rational, but emotionally we feel strongly that it isn’t right. our feelings tell us that it’s cruel to kill a baby, even if in general this system allows the majority of people to enjoy a safe life. it’s our feelings—our love, our morals, our grief—that make us complete, and by ignoring them we risk losing our humanity.

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mandareads222's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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