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A review by kulera
The Giver by Lois Lowry
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Super mysterious and well-paced. Jonas is as close to a universally relatable YA character as is possible. The ending was a bit too drawn out to end so abruptly, but otherwise it’s clear why this is a classic.
*edit: about two minutes after I posted the above, I came across another review that said that this was an anti-communist critique — I was pretty floored by that. If it is anti-communist critique it is a severely propagandized view of communist society. When I looked up the author’s political views online nothing really came up to confirm that it was intended as anti-communist critique. But I did see that conservatives love this book, probably because they hyper-fixate on the book’s celebration of individual choice.
The part that the above viewpoint seems to miss is the importance of painful memory, fear, and uncertainty. The society represented in the book is the result of people trying to avoid difficult decisions that might lead to regrets in their lives. They want perfect and predictable outcomes. They eliminate any memory of the past that might be painful. They eliminate sexuality because it has the potential to result in heartbreak. I read this book as less of a structural critique and more of an emotional parable.
*edit: about two minutes after I posted the above, I came across another review that said that this was an anti-communist critique — I was pretty floored by that. If it is anti-communist critique it is a severely propagandized view of communist society. When I looked up the author’s political views online nothing really came up to confirm that it was intended as anti-communist critique. But I did see that conservatives love this book, probably because they hyper-fixate on the book’s celebration of individual choice.
The part that the above viewpoint seems to miss is the importance of painful memory, fear, and uncertainty. The society represented in the book is the result of people trying to avoid difficult decisions that might lead to regrets in their lives. They want perfect and predictable outcomes. They eliminate any memory of the past that might be painful. They eliminate sexuality because it has the potential to result in heartbreak. I read this book as less of a structural critique and more of an emotional parable.