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bookishwins 's review for:
I Am the Messenger
by Markus Zusak
I'm going to start by saying that this book has to be one of my favorite underrated all time books ever, for the sole reason that it presented this crazy, profound idea I spent weeks after trying to get my head wrapped around. It gave me chills.
This book is YA done right. It is that simple.
Everybody has heard of [b:The Book Thief|19063|The Book Thief|Markus Zusak|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390053681s/19063.jpg|878368] and, please don't misunderstand, I absolutely loved it. But whenever I ask someone if they've read I Am the Messenger by the same author, more than likely, the answer is no.
I am going to use this intro from Schmoop, because 1) I'm not very good at summaries and 2) it covers everything I wish I could cover myself. But I'm also going to add to it, just to tie it all together.
"Imagine if today you got a card in the mail with three addresses and times on it. No explanation, no return address… just the places and times. What would you do? Would you go to the addresses and hope there's something cool going down, or would you be too freaked out that something terrible might await you?
This is the exact scenario that Ed Kennedy, a lazy cab driver with no real future, finds himself in in I Am the Messenger. Eventually Ed works up the nerve to visit the addresses, and he's shocked by what he he finds: a woman being raped by her husband, an old lady in need of a friend, and an insecure fifteen-year-old girl. Yikes for everyone involved.
Ed decides to start helping these people, but the real question is: Who is sending the cards? What do they want from him? And, most importantly, why Ed? He's a nobody—and even his own mom thinks he's a downer. Ouch." In the end, Ed realizes that he's been asking all the wrong questions and looking for all the wrong answers. He's just a message, a simple statement of fact.
Maybe we can all live life beyond what we are capable of.
So why does this matter?
In a lot of books, we are brought to dark places, dark worlds but we don't necessarily encounter dark realities. And that's the truth of it. (Now we see more contemporary books covering these topics but keep in mind, this book was first published in 2002.) Anyway, the thing I loved about this book was that while it forced us to face these realities, we didn't have to accept them. It practically shouted, "HERE YOU HAVE A PROBLEM. SEE? GOOD. NOW GO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
It basically held you accountable for being a bystander. Because if some nineteen year old nobody can change the lives of strangers, so can you.
And while I loved the story, and the characters, to me, it is the message that makes this book an absolute gem. Because one day, I'll forget the story. I'll forget the names of the characters and what they did but I will never forget the lesson this book taught me.
So by all means, go and read.
This book is YA done right. It is that simple.
Everybody has heard of [b:The Book Thief|19063|The Book Thief|Markus Zusak|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1390053681s/19063.jpg|878368] and, please don't misunderstand, I absolutely loved it. But whenever I ask someone if they've read I Am the Messenger by the same author, more than likely, the answer is no.
I am going to use this intro from Schmoop, because 1) I'm not very good at summaries and 2) it covers everything I wish I could cover myself. But I'm also going to add to it, just to tie it all together.
"Imagine if today you got a card in the mail with three addresses and times on it. No explanation, no return address… just the places and times. What would you do? Would you go to the addresses and hope there's something cool going down, or would you be too freaked out that something terrible might await you?
This is the exact scenario that Ed Kennedy, a lazy cab driver with no real future, finds himself in in I Am the Messenger. Eventually Ed works up the nerve to visit the addresses, and he's shocked by what he he finds: a woman being raped by her husband, an old lady in need of a friend, and an insecure fifteen-year-old girl. Yikes for everyone involved.
Ed decides to start helping these people, but the real question is: Who is sending the cards? What do they want from him? And, most importantly, why Ed? He's a nobody—and even his own mom thinks he's a downer. Ouch." In the end, Ed realizes that he's been asking all the wrong questions and looking for all the wrong answers. He's just a message, a simple statement of fact.
Maybe we can all live life beyond what we are capable of.
So why does this matter?
In a lot of books, we are brought to dark places, dark worlds but we don't necessarily encounter dark realities. And that's the truth of it. (Now we see more contemporary books covering these topics but keep in mind, this book was first published in 2002.) Anyway, the thing I loved about this book was that while it forced us to face these realities, we didn't have to accept them. It practically shouted, "HERE YOU HAVE A PROBLEM. SEE? GOOD. NOW GO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
It basically held you accountable for being a bystander. Because if some nineteen year old nobody can change the lives of strangers, so can you.
And while I loved the story, and the characters, to me, it is the message that makes this book an absolute gem. Because one day, I'll forget the story. I'll forget the names of the characters and what they did but I will never forget the lesson this book taught me.
So by all means, go and read.