Scan barcode
A review by eesh25
The Giver by Lois Lowry
4.0
I want to start by saying that no part of me expected to enjoy this book as much as I did. With most classics, there's usually an appreciation for the books, but not always much interest or engagement. There are, of course, exceptions, but I didn't expect this book to be one.
For those who don't know—like me, since I knew nothing about this book—this is a story about an almost-twelve-year-old Jonas who lives in a utopian society. And that's pretty much all you need to know.
The author does a great job of introducing you to this world. And what I loved the most was how she went about said introduction. It would have been so easy to tell us about a seemingly perfect world... that was secretly evil. But she just let the reader be in the world, let them learn about how it worked, and all that was good about it. We got to be in the shoes of the people in this small community, and others like it, and see for ourselves why they thought of their world as perfect.
But we know, of course, that utopias don't last, and they have consequences. The author let her readers slowly see those consequences and basically allowed us to think about what did and didn't work, and for what reason. It's something I really appreciated.
This is a short book. And I found most of it to be very well-paced with a simple writing style that worked perfectly for the world it's set in. I also liked both the main characters and found their experiences fascinating to read about. But most of all, I loved how thought-provoking the book was and that there were so many good things in this world, things that I kinda wished could've been a part of our world. And that's what made it so believable that people would continue to live in it.
Unfortunately, about two-thirds of the way through, things started to derail for me. There were certain decisions that the characters thought were good, but I didn't understand. Because we weren't given any reason as to why those decisions were made.
But mostly, the pace became so rushed. Imagine starting a writing assignment only to realize that you're gonna go way past the word limit, so you scramble to get everything wrapped up. That's what the final third felt like to me. The conclusion felt incomplete. And, from what I've heard of the series as a whole, that feeling of incompletion doesn't go away.
But other than the "final act," I loved this book, and I highly recommend giving it a read. You might not like it, but I think it's worth checking out.
For those who don't know—like me, since I knew nothing about this book—this is a story about an almost-twelve-year-old Jonas who lives in a utopian society. And that's pretty much all you need to know.
The author does a great job of introducing you to this world. And what I loved the most was how she went about said introduction. It would have been so easy to tell us about a seemingly perfect world... that was secretly evil. But she just let the reader be in the world, let them learn about how it worked, and all that was good about it. We got to be in the shoes of the people in this small community, and others like it, and see for ourselves why they thought of their world as perfect.
But we know, of course, that utopias don't last, and they have consequences. The author let her readers slowly see those consequences and basically allowed us to think about what did and didn't work, and for what reason. It's something I really appreciated.
This is a short book. And I found most of it to be very well-paced with a simple writing style that worked perfectly for the world it's set in. I also liked both the main characters and found their experiences fascinating to read about. But most of all, I loved how thought-provoking the book was and that there were so many good things in this world, things that I kinda wished could've been a part of our world. And that's what made it so believable that people would continue to live in it.
Unfortunately, about two-thirds of the way through, things started to derail for me. There were certain decisions that the characters thought were good, but I didn't understand. Because we weren't given any reason as to why those decisions were made.
But mostly, the pace became so rushed. Imagine starting a writing assignment only to realize that you're gonna go way past the word limit, so you scramble to get everything wrapped up. That's what the final third felt like to me. The conclusion felt incomplete. And, from what I've heard of the series as a whole, that feeling of incompletion doesn't go away.
But other than the "final act," I loved this book, and I highly recommend giving it a read. You might not like it, but I think it's worth checking out.