The Giver ~ Lois Lowry

The Giver has been one of those books that has appeared on so many different ‘read before you die’ lists. I never really paid too much attention to it but watched the movie at some point a couple of years ago. I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, even though it was a bit cliche dystopian, and put the book on a will read someday list. I shied away from it a bit because I thought that it would be long and heavy on descriptive language. When I found The Giver on the shelf at the library, I was genuinely surprised by how thin it was. 

With so few pages, Lois Lowry works miracles. She manages to cram so much character development and backstory and descriptive language into just over two hundred pages. There is something so special about how she makes the dystopian society feel so alien and wrong and yet so understandable and ideal. It is slightly unnerving. 

The book follows Jonas, who is just about to reach the point in his life where he receives his role in the community. Joas gets chosen to be the new Receiver of Memory. The Reciever of Memory holds the memories of the past, war, hunger and pain, but also love, colour and music. With these memories, Jonas begins to understand the dark secrets that are the foundations of the community. 

Many times, I’ve thought about how you would describe colour and feelings to people who have never seen or experienced them and have always ended up using too many cliches before giving up. Lowry manages to achieve this without going overboard and without using cliches. It is a masterclass in writing. 

Jonas’ character development is also excellently written. He goes from a child who doesn’t ask questions to reluctantly questioning everything when he meets the Giver to starting a revolution. It is a seamless transition and somehow doesn’t seem rushed even though it takes place in so few pages. 

I absolutely loved this book and its imagery. I can see why it’s on so many ‘must read before you die’ lists. I give it five stars.

C🌙