I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak Buy This Book Now

Suzanne
Rating:


Review
This is an odd, interesting, and slightly disturbing book.  Ed Kennedy, the young slacker antihero, does little with his life beyond driving a cab and playing cards with his similarly uninspired friends.  Then one day a playing card arrives in the mail with three addresses written on it, and everything changes.  Ed rises to the challenge of the addresses, and soon his life seems to be directed by some unknown and rather ominous person as more playing cards arrive.  The messages he is led to deliver change his life profoundly, and the mystery of who’s sending him on these missions has a tinge of Big Brother or the mafia to it all that creeped me out.  Nevertheless, I was compelled to keep reading.   The voice and tone in this story are quite different from those in Zusak’s celebrated The Book Thief, and I’m not sure I understand why this was shelved under Young Adults, but I thought it was quite good.  My favorite part of the story is The Doorman, Ed’s old, lovable, coffee-drinking dog.

Best Line:
It really helps to have immature friends at a time like this. (pg. 153)

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Kim
Rating:


Review
Ed Kennedy is an ordinary, if not a bit aimless kind of guy.  Lives in Australia. Lied about his age to get his taxi-driving job. Has three seemingly aimless friends in Marv, Richie and Audrey. And in the first few pages of this story, Ed thwarts a bank robber’s escape.  Thus begins Ed’s journey from merely waiting around for life to happen to him, to creating a life worth living.  Ed receives a playing card from an anonymous sender with three local addresses on it, and when he goes to check out the places, he soon realizes that he is supposed to deliver some kind of message to the person or people at each address. The cards keep coming too, and I was so pleased that Ed stepped up to the plate each time, even when some of the messages were difficult to mete out, and on occasion, receive back. Fans of Mr. Zusak’s other works, most notably The Book Thief, will enjoy the author’s writing style and quick wit. I devoured this book in a couple of sittings, as the story is compelling and tender at all the right times, and the moral is actually achievable, not only for Ed, but maybe even for the rest of us ordinary people.

Best Line:
“Maybe she’s afraid that if I can’t have her, I won’t want her.”