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The Giver #1-4
The giver: La saga
This omnibus ebook contains Lois Lowry's Newbery Medal-winning The Giver plus the acclaimed three companion books in the series.
This first-ever Lois Lowry single-volume collection includes unabridged editions of the complete Giver Quartet series: The Giver, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
Enter this dystopian, futuristic world through all four of these books on a page-turning dystopian journey.
The Giver has become one of the most influential novels of our time. Don't miss it or the powerful companion novels in Lois Lowry's Giver Quartet: Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
This first-ever Lois Lowry single-volume collection includes unabridged editions of the complete Giver Quartet series: The Giver, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
Enter this dystopian, futuristic world through all four of these books on a page-turning dystopian journey.
The Giver has become one of the most influential novels of our time. Don't miss it or the powerful companion novels in Lois Lowry's Giver Quartet: Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
928 pages, Hardcover
First published November 5, 2013
1315 people are currently reading
7601 people want to read
About the author
Lois Lowry
143 books22.8k followersTaken from Lowry's website:
"I’ve always felt that I was fortunate to have been born the middle child of three. My older sister, Helen, was very much like our mother: gentle, family-oriented, eager to please. Little brother Jon was the only boy and had interests that he shared with Dad; together they were always working on electric trains and erector sets; and later, when Jon was older, they always seemed to have their heads under the raised hood of a car. That left me in-between, and exactly where I wanted most to be: on my own. I was a solitary child who lived in the world of books and my own vivid imagination.
Because my father was a career military officer - an Army dentist - I lived all over the world. I was born in Hawaii, moved from there to New York, spent the years of World War II in my mother’s hometown: Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and from there went to Tokyo when I was eleven. High school was back in New York City, but by the time I went to college (Brown University in Rhode Island), my family was living in Washington, D.C.
I married young. I had just turned nineteen - just finished my sophomore year in college - when I married a Naval officer and continued the odyssey that military life requires. California. Connecticut (a daughter born there). Florida (a son). South Carolina. Finally Cambridge, Massachusetts, when my husband left the service and entered Harvard Law School (another daughter; another son) and then to Maine - by now with four children under the age of five in tow. My children grew up in Maine. So did I. I returned to college at the University of Southern Maine, got my degree, went to graduate school, and finally began to write professionally, the thing I had dreamed of doing since those childhood years when I had endlessly scribbled stories and poems in notebooks.
After my marriage ended in 1977, when I was forty, I settled into the life I have lived ever since. Today I am back in Cambridge, Massachusetts, living and writing in a house dominated by a very shaggy Tibetan Terrier named Bandit. For a change of scenery Martin and I spend time in Maine, where we have an old (it was built in 1768!) farmhouse on top of a hill. In Maine I garden, feed birds, entertain friends, and read...
My books have varied in content and style. Yet it seems that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general theme: the importance of human connections. A Summer to Die, my first book, was a highly fictionalized retelling of the early death of my sister, and of the effect of such a loss on a family. Number the Stars, set in a different culture and era, tells the same story: that of the role that we humans play in the lives of our fellow beings.
The Giver - and Gathering Blue, and the newest in the trilogy: Messenger - take place against the background of very different cultures and times. Though all three are broader in scope than my earlier books, they nonetheless speak to the same concern: the vital need of people to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the world and its environment.
My older son was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. His death in the cockpit of a warplane tore away a piece of my world. But it left me, too, with a wish to honor him by joining the many others trying to find a way to end conflict on this very fragile earth.
I am a grandmother now. For my own grandchildren - and for all those of their generation - I try, through writing, to convey my passionate awareness that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another."
"I’ve always felt that I was fortunate to have been born the middle child of three. My older sister, Helen, was very much like our mother: gentle, family-oriented, eager to please. Little brother Jon was the only boy and had interests that he shared with Dad; together they were always working on electric trains and erector sets; and later, when Jon was older, they always seemed to have their heads under the raised hood of a car. That left me in-between, and exactly where I wanted most to be: on my own. I was a solitary child who lived in the world of books and my own vivid imagination.
Because my father was a career military officer - an Army dentist - I lived all over the world. I was born in Hawaii, moved from there to New York, spent the years of World War II in my mother’s hometown: Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and from there went to Tokyo when I was eleven. High school was back in New York City, but by the time I went to college (Brown University in Rhode Island), my family was living in Washington, D.C.
I married young. I had just turned nineteen - just finished my sophomore year in college - when I married a Naval officer and continued the odyssey that military life requires. California. Connecticut (a daughter born there). Florida (a son). South Carolina. Finally Cambridge, Massachusetts, when my husband left the service and entered Harvard Law School (another daughter; another son) and then to Maine - by now with four children under the age of five in tow. My children grew up in Maine. So did I. I returned to college at the University of Southern Maine, got my degree, went to graduate school, and finally began to write professionally, the thing I had dreamed of doing since those childhood years when I had endlessly scribbled stories and poems in notebooks.
After my marriage ended in 1977, when I was forty, I settled into the life I have lived ever since. Today I am back in Cambridge, Massachusetts, living and writing in a house dominated by a very shaggy Tibetan Terrier named Bandit. For a change of scenery Martin and I spend time in Maine, where we have an old (it was built in 1768!) farmhouse on top of a hill. In Maine I garden, feed birds, entertain friends, and read...
My books have varied in content and style. Yet it seems that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general theme: the importance of human connections. A Summer to Die, my first book, was a highly fictionalized retelling of the early death of my sister, and of the effect of such a loss on a family. Number the Stars, set in a different culture and era, tells the same story: that of the role that we humans play in the lives of our fellow beings.
The Giver - and Gathering Blue, and the newest in the trilogy: Messenger - take place against the background of very different cultures and times. Though all three are broader in scope than my earlier books, they nonetheless speak to the same concern: the vital need of people to be aware of their interdependence, not only with each other, but with the world and its environment.
My older son was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. His death in the cockpit of a warplane tore away a piece of my world. But it left me, too, with a wish to honor him by joining the many others trying to find a way to end conflict on this very fragile earth.
I am a grandmother now. For my own grandchildren - and for all those of their generation - I try, through writing, to convey my passionate awareness that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 502 reviews
April 27, 2013
While "The Giver" was written years ago, I did not discover it until this year. So lucky me, I got to read all four books in the series quite close together (although not directly back-to-back). Although unlike other series, the four books didn't weren't technically sequels/serials (each book picking up where the last left off) ... in fact, it was a bit of a stretch to tie the books to each other.
Book 1: The Giver: I really liked this story. The reader is introduced to a pretty "perfect" society... a Utopia one would think. Perfect families (one boy one girl in each), perfect professions for all, no sickness, no old age, no turmoil ... no OTHER things too (color, music, mountains). Despite some implausibility, it was an enjoyable and introspective read. I would mention aspects of it to my boys, wondering if it might stir their interest at all. It was pretty easy/short, and had a young boy as the protagonist. It is considered a YA book, yet I think I appreciated it much more as an adult that I would have as a teenager. Content: There is some talk of "stirrings" (sexual thoughts) which are immediately supressed with pills.
Book 2: Gathering Blue: Do NOT consider this a SEQUEL to "The Giver" or you will be disappointed. You could read this on its own, not having heard of "The Giver" at all. It is a completely different story, in a completely different setting, completely different characters. That said, it again was a very interesting story. This time with a female protagonist, and the setting cannot be considered Utopian in any way. I wasn't quite satisfied with the ending (while "The Giver" was completely open ended, this one seemed MORE abrupt, without closure.)
Book 3: The Messenger: What I liked about this book, is that it tied Book1 and Book2 together. It was very satisfiying to have both stories entertwine. But overall ... I can't say that I LIKED this book. It left me sad, disturbed ... it was very thought provoking. I'm not saying it was bad, I'm just saying it wasn't an enjoyable read.
Book 4: Son: This book tied all THREE books together. To start, the reader is BACK in the world of "The Giver" ... at the same time, same characters, just a different point of view. It was really interesting to see some of the same scenes through different eyes. I really liked the first portion of the book. The second section dragged a little, and the third section brought everything from the first three books together. It felt a little too easy at the end, everything coming together, but I left the book (and the series) on a very positive note, happy with how (almost) everything turned out.
Book 1: The Giver: I really liked this story. The reader is introduced to a pretty "perfect" society... a Utopia one would think. Perfect families (one boy one girl in each), perfect professions for all, no sickness, no old age, no turmoil ... no OTHER things too (color, music, mountains). Despite some implausibility, it was an enjoyable and introspective read. I would mention aspects of it to my boys, wondering if it might stir their interest at all. It was pretty easy/short, and had a young boy as the protagonist. It is considered a YA book, yet I think I appreciated it much more as an adult that I would have as a teenager. Content: There is some talk of "stirrings" (sexual thoughts) which are immediately supressed with pills.
Book 2: Gathering Blue: Do NOT consider this a SEQUEL to "The Giver" or you will be disappointed. You could read this on its own, not having heard of "The Giver" at all. It is a completely different story, in a completely different setting, completely different characters. That said, it again was a very interesting story. This time with a female protagonist, and the setting cannot be considered Utopian in any way. I wasn't quite satisfied with the ending (while "The Giver" was completely open ended, this one seemed MORE abrupt, without closure.)
Book 3: The Messenger: What I liked about this book, is that it tied Book1 and Book2 together. It was very satisfiying to have both stories entertwine. But overall ... I can't say that I LIKED this book. It left me sad, disturbed ... it was very thought provoking. I'm not saying it was bad, I'm just saying it wasn't an enjoyable read.
Book 4: Son: This book tied all THREE books together. To start, the reader is BACK in the world of "The Giver" ... at the same time, same characters, just a different point of view. It was really interesting to see some of the same scenes through different eyes. I really liked the first portion of the book. The second section dragged a little, and the third section brought everything from the first three books together. It felt a little too easy at the end, everything coming together, but I left the book (and the series) on a very positive note, happy with how (almost) everything turned out.
August 30, 2014
I saw the movie and I know the book is always better. I enjoyed the movie, but it left me wondering what happened next. I am glad I didn't buy just the book "the Giver" because it is exactly like the movie and it leaves you wondering what happened too. But this book tells 4 different stories and gives you the whole story. I could see similarities in the story to how our lives and the way we live could cause misguided leaders to think all the problems in the world could be solved if only we did "this" or "that" differently. But a perfect world doesn't exist and would not make us happy anyway. Those who legislate and try to control only cause more problems and we need to fight to protect our quality of life. Evil will always exist in some form or another and true happiness is when we help and support each other and use our God given gifts to make the world a better place. I could not put this book down!
September 1, 2018
I was pleasantly surprised how much I loved reading this story & devoured it in about 7 days. The Giver was written in 1993 & the sequels which after reading all gives you a deeper understanding of the author's intent. Gathering Blue written in 2000. Messenger in 2004.Son in 2012. I will write about the Giver & others in general so for those interested are not spoiled in the journey. If you want a detail of all after you read this let me know. The Giver book is a dystopian society where everything is controlled from birth to death. Jonas & his friends will soon find what path in life that is chosen for them. Will they be lawyers, care takers or birth mothers. This society controlled & the people seem happy but do they know what happy is? Can they leave & can they have any failures? These questions & the strange family unit are something that Jonas starts to question. The main point of the first book is freedom important to you or would you rather be safe/without any needing wants. Gathering Blue- Takes you into a totally different society where cruelty & getting your needs met without a care for others. Kira a lame girl has just buried her mom & is fighting for the right to live life. It all depends on the elders & she wants to see where her destiny leads here. One thing she possess might help her survive! Messenger- Yet another society with familiar characters but evil comes here. The trade master has a special power to grant wishes but at what price? The villagers start to change & the leader starts to worry what comes next. Matty starts to see the changes & looks to help his adopted father. Son- The last book tells the story of Claire & her desire to dream & want something that seems impossible. She must make a choice that will effect her life. All these books tell a wonderful story of strength, determination & what to improve there society & community. The Giver- My general feeling when reading this book was interest in the dreary & safe society of these people on the surface seem happy but in reality the emotional feelings are nothing. They discuss dreams & feeling but it is a ritual and true feelings are dulled or not apparent. Later out find they take a pill to dull any urge so that the sameness of everything is the quest for those in charge. You see no apparent torture so you think that this place is not that bad but then you learn about releasing a person after attempts at sameness or following the errors in behavior. Then in horror you see what releasing is by Jonas' father injecting something to kill a twin so not to be identical. The heavier twin lives & the father does all this as procedure & no thought yet he can speak kindly & sing song like. The mother is so tough in manner & the father the opposite yet you see that any emotions are just on the surface. Everything is controlled & destinies too. Jonas & The Giver agree that all the emotions that Jonas receives will be released after his escape. I wonder if the society changed after they left but I have a feeling that if it was change it would be not too significant. How he gets his powers to see beyond & what is the common thread with light color eyes. So much to think about here.Gathering Blue_the burying ground is so sad & Kira having to stay with her died mother until her spirit leaves. This society is cruel & looking out for oneself is priority. There are families who seem more caring than the Giver society. Hunger is the main driving force. Kira's & other powers Her powers are interesting & her decision to stay & how much of a change is there. I loved when her father came back. The Messenger- This ending was so sad. Matty the rascal of a kid & now a teen helped erase evil but paid with his life. This was so sad. Kira mentioned that she saw how special he was in saving Branchie life & the life of the puppies. This village with all the refugees from other places was interesting but the border reference seem to try to make a comparison to present state of affairs. I general I understand her points but in reality much more complex. The town changing to evil & the Mentors wish for the widow & his dealing with the devil.
Son_ I liked Clairie & her strong bond of her to her son. Her not taking the pill is another instance of how it controlled behavior. The village she came to was so different & the people seemed almost perfect but when hearing about her having a child without a father & shunning was quite sad. It shows that prejudices in human nature & need to evaluate life. I was so sad when she left Einer & there love that had grown but her desire to bewitch her on was strong. You wonder about her choice with the trades master was smart & her youth given away but after hearing about Gabe's desire to find his mother was the right one. If she had not traded he might have and his powers would be useless. In fighting the tradesmaster you see the force of good & evil, Gabe chooses the lesson of God & when so he denies all the offered that evil bring. I loved the ending & see Claire & Gabe search for Einer's village so they can be together. Even though this was a kids book it was filled with many human concepts & that made it grand. The powers & many things seem impossible but the points are clear enough.
Son_ I liked Clairie & her strong bond of her to her son. Her not taking the pill is another instance of how it controlled behavior. The village she came to was so different & the people seemed almost perfect but when hearing about her having a child without a father & shunning was quite sad. It shows that prejudices in human nature & need to evaluate life. I was so sad when she left Einer & there love that had grown but her desire to bewitch her on was strong. You wonder about her choice with the trades master was smart & her youth given away but after hearing about Gabe's desire to find his mother was the right one. If she had not traded he might have and his powers would be useless. In fighting the tradesmaster you see the force of good & evil, Gabe chooses the lesson of God & when so he denies all the offered that evil bring. I loved the ending & see Claire & Gabe search for Einer's village so they can be together. Even though this was a kids book it was filled with many human concepts & that made it grand. The powers & many things seem impossible but the points are clear enough.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2016
http://abooktopia.weebly.com
I quite enjoyed the simplicity of this book. Each book told of a different story from someone else's point of view, yet in the end they are all connected together and brought together the story through different perspectives. The main moral of the story explains how our lives and the way we live can sometimes be the outcome of how some misguided leaders think problems in the world should be solved or eliminated, though there is no such thing as a perfect world, and even if there was, it wouldn’t necessarily make us any happier. Those misguided leaders who try to control and change the world mostly end up causing more problems that we need to fight against to protect the meaning of our lives. Evil is always lurking near by and can only be overcome through happiness, which is accomplished when we help and support one another, and use our gifts to make the world a better place.
August 14, 2019
Giving this a 3 Star despite me not very much liking The Giver after what I found out Elsewhere actually was and how they go about Elsewhere. I very much enjoyed the next 3 books and how they all tied together at the end book Son. I would LOVE to read another book on what Claire, Gabe, Jonas, and Kira are living and what the village Claire washed up on is doing. Characters such as Einar and Alysa Bethan ad the other girls how they are after Claire left.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2021
Took a leap of faith. Climbed out from the valley of not-knowing to discover whether The Giver, which was written to stand alone, could be expanded without scarring my eyes or my soul. Lived to tell that despite stabbing sticks and murderous vines, I'm glad I undertook the journey. Gathering Blue is a quality companion for the “only child” I loved so well. It held the same eerie, not-all-is-as-it-seems feel as its older sibling, but in a new community with very different flaws. Lowry skillfully, instantly has me caring for a new main character, tho it's unclear how Kira has anything whatever to do with Jonah and Gabe — fan concern for whom pressured our author into writing this in the first place. But as becomes clear, Lowry has no simple duet in mind. Nor a trio. No, it takes a full quartet to get where we're going, detail-by-detail, step-by-step. As such, part three, Messenger, is enjoyable, tho most of my critiques fall here. And the finale, Son, is quite wonderful, making me care for a new heroine yet again, tying everything together, and putting me into a forgiving mood overall. Thinking back over the whole work leaves a glow of satisfaction, and I'm not a bit sorry I know what I know. The Community of The Giver is quite ordinary on the surface. It’s low-tech, as people ride bikes, but has electricity, technology, and, as it turns out, powerful medications. So it's easy to overlook that it also has a touch of spiritual magic in the titular role. Somehow, one person is made to sacrifice mental-emotional well-being to feel all the feels and remember all the rememberings, like one, single Inside Out for all. Then, Gathering Blue maintains a similar balance. Kira's mean-spirited village is much lower-tech for the common people — tho the upper echelon has running water and a building with windows. But there's something more going on, and that something more has a touch of spiritual magic. Sewing, carving, singing, these skills are valued for their powers of cultural memory, and some few are made to sacrifice their talents to preserve — or steer? — the history of their community. Gathering Blue doesn't say these talents are fully magical, just creative — tho in this world, artistic powers seem to have extra punch. While it may be a tad bit pretentious, this subtlety jives with the style and themes of The Giver. In the Community, emotion is the enemy. In Kira's village, creativity undermines control. So, all good. But Messenger, though entertaining, disappoints, as when the force became genetic. When our characters' differences — the ones that have made them interesting people who somehow resist — become specific “gifts” that may have been handed down through a family line? My eyes roll. In fact, an emphasis on pale blue eyes make my own smart and wince. Sigh. Yes, it all gets a bit magicky, Christ-y, and explainey. And while I can possibly forgive magicky and even Christ-y, not so much explainey. Lowry is better than this. Proving me right, she goes on to be. Son is great. It's unexpected, we're a bit confused, then we get the joy of catching on. Revisiting the Community feels right, and Claire's story is gripping. Of course, it is necessarily built upon magicky concepts established in Messenger. Can't shed them. No, see them through it must, whilst elaborating a Steven King style Trademaster. He develops from a mysterious and chill reminder that capitalism is bad to full-on devilish evil. You see, in Village, greedy selfishness signaled by conspicuous consumption is the bad news. That nasty scarce universe mentality. That sense of entitlement. We get it. Striking how many sci-fi and fantasy stories have warned us explicitly, word-for-word, against the dark side that is the Trump era. Down to the details. Srsly eerie. Village is a community of immigrants. A la Things Fall Apart, it's a grouping of the weird people, the broken, the ones other villages didn't want dragging them down. But the pain and assumed weaknesses actually made these people strong, made them survivors. And Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity-style, their differences have made them empathetic, and ready to help others so all can reach their full potential. As time passes, the broken ones find mates, and soon, whole, strong sons and daughters are born right in Village — and subsequently feel they have a blood-born right to all Village has to offer. Unlike newcomers. When reminded that beloved community member, Matty, was a newcomer once, we get the chillingly heated reply, “I remember what he was like! If we close the border, we won’t have to do that anymore! We won’t have to deal with thieves and braggarts and people who have lice in their hair, the way Matty did then, when he came!” Yes. Why deal with unclean bodies and sad histories and odd accents any longer? Strangers are dangers. Village is for villagers. "And suddenly Matty could see, too, crowds of people at the edge of Village. They were dragging huge logs. Someone — it looked like Mentor — was giving directions. They were preparing to build a wall."
January 13, 2018
The Giver Quartet is an absolute must read. Each of the four novels is beautifully written, but when read consecutively in this omnibus format, it becomes clear how brilliantly Lois Lowry tied them together. There is something to learn in each story, and I think Messenger is especially meaningful given our current political climate in America. Please give this series a read if you haven't yet.
November 5, 2017
#
The Giver
- 4.5*
#
Gathering Blue
- 3*
#
Messenger
- 3.5*
#
Son
- 3.5*
#
#
#
October 9, 2017
The stories were so thought through and unique. At first I was confused because they were all so different, but in the end it all tied together and made sense. I would definitely recommend this series.
April 12, 2019
O.W.L.S MAGICAL READATHON 2019 | BOOK #8| TRANSFIGURATIONS (read a book with a red cover or sprayed edges)
Meh 😐. I don't really know how I feel about these books. This series was OK, nothing really special or interesting. I don't have much to say about this other than meh.
Meh 😐. I don't really know how I feel about these books. This series was OK, nothing really special or interesting. I don't have much to say about this other than meh.
August 13, 2014
The Giver is premiering this Friday August 15th. To the younger generation of moviegoers, those in their teens most likely, this is another blockbuster in the same vein as Hunger Games. It's got some big names like Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Alexander Skarsgård, Katie Holmes, and even Taylor Swift. To an older audience, those in their 20s to 30s, they know that this was actually a book released in 1993 by Lois Lowry. Some from this generation, like my wife, actually had this assigned as summer reading, which was pretty remarkable and groundbreaking for the time given the content of this book.
The Giver is a book that takes place in the future, a dystopian future. However, the book is initially painted in a utopian light that becomes more dystopic the more you read. The society has eliminated pain and other negative emotions from their society, called "Sameness." There is no privacy, and no one seems to really mind. There is one man, however, the Receiver of Memory who stores all past memores before the "Sameness." The main character is a young boy named Jonas who has the same pale eyes as the current Receiver of Memories. Jonas has been chosen to be the new Receiver of Memories. By taking on this role, he experiences a lot of pain, but he also experiences genuine happy emotions for the first time as well. By receiving this influx of emotions, he learns one of the gruesome prices his community pays for peace. He also longs for a time and place different than his current one. I won't continue to give plot away, but just know that the end of the book leaves you at a sort of cliffhanger, wishing for more answers.
Books with unsatisfying endings always leave readers wanting closure. They also cause dedicated fans to write to authors and implore them to write more of the story. Some choose to, like L. Frank Baum who kept writing because children kept asking him to do so. Others choose not to, like J.K. Rowling. She is happy with how Harry Potter ended and has no plans to write more books in that world. It took seven years by Lowry wrote a somewhat sequel called "Gathering Blue." However, it didn't pick up where "The Giver" left off and introduced us to a new character named Kira. In 2004, Lowry released "Messenger" which helped tie together "The Giver" and "Gathering Blue." "Son" was released in 2012 and also has strong connections to the first book.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt did fans of this series a HUGE service by combing all the books in a beautifully bound hardcover omnibus. It's just under 800 pages long, has a ribbon place-marker, and is a super reasonable price. I also really appreciate the fact that even though they turned The Giver into a movie that at least with this omnibus didn't make a new cover with the main actors and actresses. So if you have seen the movie already or are going to see the movie, I definitely recommend taking some time to read the book. It will be a bit different than the movie but in a good way.
The Giver is a book that takes place in the future, a dystopian future. However, the book is initially painted in a utopian light that becomes more dystopic the more you read. The society has eliminated pain and other negative emotions from their society, called "Sameness." There is no privacy, and no one seems to really mind. There is one man, however, the Receiver of Memory who stores all past memores before the "Sameness." The main character is a young boy named Jonas who has the same pale eyes as the current Receiver of Memories. Jonas has been chosen to be the new Receiver of Memories. By taking on this role, he experiences a lot of pain, but he also experiences genuine happy emotions for the first time as well. By receiving this influx of emotions, he learns one of the gruesome prices his community pays for peace. He also longs for a time and place different than his current one. I won't continue to give plot away, but just know that the end of the book leaves you at a sort of cliffhanger, wishing for more answers.
Books with unsatisfying endings always leave readers wanting closure. They also cause dedicated fans to write to authors and implore them to write more of the story. Some choose to, like L. Frank Baum who kept writing because children kept asking him to do so. Others choose not to, like J.K. Rowling. She is happy with how Harry Potter ended and has no plans to write more books in that world. It took seven years by Lowry wrote a somewhat sequel called "Gathering Blue." However, it didn't pick up where "The Giver" left off and introduced us to a new character named Kira. In 2004, Lowry released "Messenger" which helped tie together "The Giver" and "Gathering Blue." "Son" was released in 2012 and also has strong connections to the first book.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt did fans of this series a HUGE service by combing all the books in a beautifully bound hardcover omnibus. It's just under 800 pages long, has a ribbon place-marker, and is a super reasonable price. I also really appreciate the fact that even though they turned The Giver into a movie that at least with this omnibus didn't make a new cover with the main actors and actresses. So if you have seen the movie already or are going to see the movie, I definitely recommend taking some time to read the book. It will be a bit different than the movie but in a good way.
September 14, 2022
مجموعه چهار جلدی که با عناوین بخشنده، در جست وجوی ابی ها، پیام رسان و پسر توسط نشر چشمه چاپ شده و من فقط یک جلد با طرح جلدی که الان در ایران چاپ شده(چیزی که در نگاه اول من رو به کتاب جذب کرد) رو تونستم در گودریدز پیدا کنم.(پس به ناچار مرورم رو روی این مجموعه نوشتم و نه تک تک جلدها)
دو جلد اول دو داستان کاملا متفاوت دارن، طوری که من فکر کردم در جلدهای بعدی هم همین منوال خواهد بود و کتاب ها کاملا از هم متفاوت هستند. اما جلد سوم به نوعی شخصیت ها و دنیای جلد اول رو با خودش داشت و جلد چهارم جایی بود که شخصیت هاو دنیاهای سه جلد قبلی به هم می رسید و داستان اوج می گرفت.
دشمن جلد اخر و به نوعی دشمن اصلی همه جلدها، ارباب معامله معرفی شد، دشمنی که هیچ اثری ازش در جلد اول و دوم نبود و اگر بود جذابیت داستان ها بیشتر می شد.
دنیاهایی هم که درکتاب ها ترسیم شده، هرکدام از مجموعهای از ادم ها تشکیل شده که قوانین، سبک زندگی، جامعه و ... خودشون رو دارند و در عین حال ارتباط و تاثیر بسیار بسیار اندکی بر یکدیگر دارند.
ویژگی مثبت جلدها و در کل مجموعه سخت کوشی و ناامید نشدن شخصیت های اصلی حتی در سخت ترین شرایط بود.
در جلد اول گریزی به موضوع بلوغ داشت و درجلد چهارم به موضوع تولید نسل پرداخته شده بود.
من داستان جلد دوم رو از باقی جلدها بیشتر دوست داشتم.
https://taaghche.com/book/62803/%D8%A...
دو جلد اول دو داستان کاملا متفاوت دارن، طوری که من فکر کردم در جلدهای بعدی هم همین منوال خواهد بود و کتاب ها کاملا از هم متفاوت هستند. اما جلد سوم به نوعی شخصیت ها و دنیای جلد اول رو با خودش داشت و جلد چهارم جایی بود که شخصیت هاو دنیاهای سه جلد قبلی به هم می رسید و داستان اوج می گرفت.
دشمن جلد اخر و به نوعی دشمن اصلی همه جلدها، ارباب معامله معرفی شد، دشمنی که هیچ اثری ازش در جلد اول و دوم نبود و اگر بود جذابیت داستان ها بیشتر می شد.
دنیاهایی هم که درکتاب ها ترسیم شده، هرکدام از مجموعهای از ادم ها تشکیل شده که قوانین، سبک زندگی، جامعه و ... خودشون رو دارند و در عین حال ارتباط و تاثیر بسیار بسیار اندکی بر یکدیگر دارند.
ویژگی مثبت جلدها و در کل مجموعه سخت کوشی و ناامید نشدن شخصیت های اصلی حتی در سخت ترین شرایط بود.
در جلد اول گریزی به موضوع بلوغ داشت و درجلد چهارم به موضوع تولید نسل پرداخته شده بود.
من داستان جلد دوم رو از باقی جلدها بیشتر دوست داشتم.
https://taaghche.com/book/62803/%D8%A...
January 12, 2022
When I think of the Giver Quartet, the first thing that comes to mind is worldbuilding. Worldbuilding is the strength of the series. With a surprisingly spartan amount of words, Lowry introduces us to four different worlds, detailing their culture, society, climate, economy and values. She populates these worlds with interesting characters that the reader wants to walk with to discover their perspective. This exercise simulates reflection on our own world and our own developing character. I found this process most poignant in the first book, The Giver.
The Giver (Giver Quartet #1)
Lois Lowry, 1993
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
But I didn’t find this process as effective in stirring up perspective in later books. I think it is because, even in the first book, there were problems that became increasingly glaring as the series goes on. After the world is built and the characters established, Lowry runs into problems. It is not until Messenger, Book 3, that we even find out all these villages (#1-3) are different societies *in the same world.* I found that experience frustrating and negligent. Maybe the author/ editors simply could not conceive that these might be different worlds or get into the head of a reader having a first experience with the material?
Something that intrigued me (which I did not recognize as a red flag in the first book) was the book’s lack of defined genre. I thought it was mysterious and discoverable throughout the later books. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Likewise the conflict of each world/ character/ book was not clearly articulated either. The vivid worldbuilding seems to magnify environment as determinant, but then our protagonist character response is to leave their village showing an internal conviction that belies the emphasis on cultural environment. Is the story driven by internal or external conflicts? While we see great wickedness in each village – with the possible exception of the village by the sea from section 2 of Son – the darkness of both Jonas’ and Kira’s original village is never addressed, nor are we told what happens to our main characters when the plot is not centered on them. It seems they are merely waiting for others to be ready for the plot to carry forward, which makes everyone seem a cut out facing the action without real depth of character.
I think the lack of genre or conflict definition is due to sloppiness and poor writing, as opposed to brilliance that breaks the rules in a fascinating way. The biggest indication of this sloppiness is the frustrating abandonment of worlds and characters throughout he series. In fact, this may be the biggest problem, undermining the reader experience throughout. It begins with the abandonment of the world and all the characters from The Giver in Searching for Blue (Book #2). Not only did this reduce the emotional impact of the work, but it also substituted a disappointment that continued through the series. In Book 3, Kira’s world is abandoned. Then, in Book 4, Jonas’ village is abandoned a second time and Claire’s in between world is also discarded. All these different cultures, all these interesting characters, all these real concerns, cast aside in a meaningless nihilism. Perhaps the most glaring example of this is The Giver himself, after whom the entire series is named. We never find out what happened to him. Though he is alluded to, he is never named after Book 1, nor does Jonas assume his name. In addition, the entire conflict of a society supernaturally investing memories into a single human being is never explained as necessary, censored as wrong, or even examined in Jonas’ later life. The entire storyline of the Giver himself is treated by the author as a mere fragment, not worthy of interest or value in tying into further books.
Finally, the philosophy/ worldview presented is wildly debased. I do not agree with what Lowry says about evil, which comes to the fore in the final section of Son. In our real world, evil is not merely boogieman characters or cultural/ societal practices. Evil is not something that happens to us. Evil is something that each human being wrestles with, starting with the evil in oneself. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn famously said, ���The battleline between good and evil runs through the heart of every man.”
The strength of this series is worldbuilding. If you are reader that thrives on that kind of thing, you might enjoy them. Or, being highly acquainted with the art form, you might find them puerile. I found myself wishing I hadn’t wasted the time to read the entire series, but for the young person that asked me for honest reviews, which made me glad I completed it. In the end, while the worlds and characters are interesting, the resolution is platitudinously juvenile. I do not recommend this series. There are so many other truly outstanding books with whom we can walk. Here are three recommendations.
If worldbuilding is your thing, the master of genre in the twentieth century was surely J.R.R. Tolkien. The start of his series is The Hobbit, with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy following…
The Hobbit, Tolkien, 1937
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In the young adult market, the best I’ve read in years is The Hunger Games Trilogy…
The Hunger Games Trilogy, Collins, 2008
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
If political dystopia is your thing, three classics stand out: Brave New World by Huxley, and Animal Farm and 1984 by George Orwell. My review of 1984 discusses/ links to all three….
1984, George Orwell, 1946
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Giver (Giver Quartet #1)
Lois Lowry, 1993
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
But I didn’t find this process as effective in stirring up perspective in later books. I think it is because, even in the first book, there were problems that became increasingly glaring as the series goes on. After the world is built and the characters established, Lowry runs into problems. It is not until Messenger, Book 3, that we even find out all these villages (#1-3) are different societies *in the same world.* I found that experience frustrating and negligent. Maybe the author/ editors simply could not conceive that these might be different worlds or get into the head of a reader having a first experience with the material?
Something that intrigued me (which I did not recognize as a red flag in the first book) was the book’s lack of defined genre. I thought it was mysterious and discoverable throughout the later books. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Likewise the conflict of each world/ character/ book was not clearly articulated either. The vivid worldbuilding seems to magnify environment as determinant, but then our protagonist character response is to leave their village showing an internal conviction that belies the emphasis on cultural environment. Is the story driven by internal or external conflicts? While we see great wickedness in each village – with the possible exception of the village by the sea from section 2 of Son – the darkness of both Jonas’ and Kira’s original village is never addressed, nor are we told what happens to our main characters when the plot is not centered on them. It seems they are merely waiting for others to be ready for the plot to carry forward, which makes everyone seem a cut out facing the action without real depth of character.
I think the lack of genre or conflict definition is due to sloppiness and poor writing, as opposed to brilliance that breaks the rules in a fascinating way. The biggest indication of this sloppiness is the frustrating abandonment of worlds and characters throughout he series. In fact, this may be the biggest problem, undermining the reader experience throughout. It begins with the abandonment of the world and all the characters from The Giver in Searching for Blue (Book #2). Not only did this reduce the emotional impact of the work, but it also substituted a disappointment that continued through the series. In Book 3, Kira’s world is abandoned. Then, in Book 4, Jonas’ village is abandoned a second time and Claire’s in between world is also discarded. All these different cultures, all these interesting characters, all these real concerns, cast aside in a meaningless nihilism. Perhaps the most glaring example of this is The Giver himself, after whom the entire series is named. We never find out what happened to him. Though he is alluded to, he is never named after Book 1, nor does Jonas assume his name. In addition, the entire conflict of a society supernaturally investing memories into a single human being is never explained as necessary, censored as wrong, or even examined in Jonas’ later life. The entire storyline of the Giver himself is treated by the author as a mere fragment, not worthy of interest or value in tying into further books.
Finally, the philosophy/ worldview presented is wildly debased. I do not agree with what Lowry says about evil, which comes to the fore in the final section of Son. In our real world, evil is not merely boogieman characters or cultural/ societal practices. Evil is not something that happens to us. Evil is something that each human being wrestles with, starting with the evil in oneself. As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn famously said, ���The battleline between good and evil runs through the heart of every man.”
The strength of this series is worldbuilding. If you are reader that thrives on that kind of thing, you might enjoy them. Or, being highly acquainted with the art form, you might find them puerile. I found myself wishing I hadn’t wasted the time to read the entire series, but for the young person that asked me for honest reviews, which made me glad I completed it. In the end, while the worlds and characters are interesting, the resolution is platitudinously juvenile. I do not recommend this series. There are so many other truly outstanding books with whom we can walk. Here are three recommendations.
If worldbuilding is your thing, the master of genre in the twentieth century was surely J.R.R. Tolkien. The start of his series is The Hobbit, with the Lord of the Rings Trilogy following…
The Hobbit, Tolkien, 1937
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
In the young adult market, the best I’ve read in years is The Hunger Games Trilogy…
The Hunger Games Trilogy, Collins, 2008
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
If political dystopia is your thing, three classics stand out: Brave New World by Huxley, and Animal Farm and 1984 by George Orwell. My review of 1984 discusses/ links to all three….
1984, George Orwell, 1946
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
December 31, 2017
*4.25*
The Giver : *5*
Gathering Blue : *4*
Messenger : *4*
Son : *4*
The Giver : *5*
Gathering Blue : *4*
Messenger : *4*
Son : *4*
January 1, 2022
This review is split up by rating each individual book.
The Giver - 3.5⭐️ The plot wasn’t as interesting as it could have been, but the underlying ideas/themes made this entertaining.
Gathering Blue - 2.0⭐️ The plot was stagnant, just going through the motions of daily life. Likable characters
Messenger - 4.5⭐️ This is when things changed for me. I love when stories detail different characters crossing paths with one another. I also enjoyed the sinister/ominous writing of the Forest.
Son - 4.0⭐️ This book also had crossovers with different generations of characters and/or characters from other stories, so I enjoyed this one. I didn’t particularly enjoy the setting of this one as much as Messenger. Overall, a happy ending.
The Giver - 3.5⭐️ The plot wasn’t as interesting as it could have been, but the underlying ideas/themes made this entertaining.
Gathering Blue - 2.0⭐️ The plot was stagnant, just going through the motions of daily life. Likable characters
Messenger - 4.5⭐️ This is when things changed for me. I love when stories detail different characters crossing paths with one another. I also enjoyed the sinister/ominous writing of the Forest.
Son - 4.0⭐️ This book also had crossovers with different generations of characters and/or characters from other stories, so I enjoyed this one. I didn’t particularly enjoy the setting of this one as much as Messenger. Overall, a happy ending.
August 31, 2025
TLDR; read the giver and if you want more read son. Gathering blue and messenger are side quest books giving backstory to side characters in Son
The Giver: good book. good story, good message, good ending
Gathering blue: not a sequal to the giver, but a parallel book. new story about a new, also dystopian society thats more blatant with its dystopia. Ended with me thinking it shouldn't have been over. Things were discovered but nothing was done with the discovery
Messager: sequel (kinda) to gathering blue. following a side character from gathering blue and has a really interesting story but ends abruptly with arguably a bad Message.
Son: More of a sequel to the giver than the other two, with some really interesting parts. weird ending but im satisfied.
The Giver: good book. good story, good message, good ending
Gathering blue: not a sequal to the giver, but a parallel book. new story about a new, also dystopian society thats more blatant with its dystopia. Ended with me thinking it shouldn't have been over. Things were discovered but nothing was done with the discovery
Messager: sequel (kinda) to gathering blue. following a side character from gathering blue and has a really interesting story but ends abruptly with arguably a bad Message.
Son: More of a sequel to the giver than the other two, with some really interesting parts. weird ending but im satisfied.
January 15, 2023
Very well written!
I think that it was nice how Lowry ties all the stories from The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger in Son. I enjoyed reading the books. My favourite of them all would be Son, book 4, because I like how the story ends with Gabe defeating Trademaster. I also liked how the story is set in the future!
In The Giver, I was excited when I first read about Jonas (BTW anyone else first thought was 'War' after reading the first page?) It was very interesting and very nice. An amazingly well written story about a perfect world in Jonas' POV without colour, love, emotion, music, books, war, hunger, and pain. The story (and actually every chapter) ended with a cliffhanger, which I loved and it made me very eager to read Gathering Blue.
Gathering Blue was interesting, and I liked reading about Kira and HER community. I would have prefered if Lowry gave us a hint about Jonas and Gabe, but I also think that keeping the suspense was a very good choice. At the end of Gathering Blue, Matt talks about a two-syllable boy, about the same age as Kira, with eyes that are an amazing blue. It made me smile as I instantly knew he was talking about Jonas and that was one of the reasons why I bought Messenger the next day.
I think that Messenger was nice as well. Reading about how the first two books are tied together was really great. We read about Seer aka Christopher, Kira, Matty, Jonas, and a little about Gabe as well. Very nice. I admit I was saddened when Matty died as he was one of my favourite characters. It was interesting to read about how Kira uses her 'Gift' as well! However, it would have been better if we got a little bit about Jo and Thomas and maybe even Jamison from Gathering Blue.
In Son, I enjoyed reading how things turned out in the end, and I like how Jonas marries Kira, Gabe grows up happily, and Claire finally reunites with Gabe. I was surprised and excited when I read that Jonas and Kira had named their kids Matthew and Annabelle, since Matty and Annabella were two of Kira's closest companions. Before, the first part of the book, gave me another POV of Jonas' original community which I really enjoyed. Between, the second part, was mainly about the 'wind-swept home' which Claire lived in for quite some time. Beyond, the final part, was my favourite part of the story, which was exceptionally touching and it made me feel so sad that it would be the last book of the Quartet 😭.
Highly recommended (⋈◍＞◡＜◍)。✧
I think that it was nice how Lowry ties all the stories from The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger in Son. I enjoyed reading the books. My favourite of them all would be Son, book 4, because I like how the story ends with Gabe defeating Trademaster. I also liked how the story is set in the future!
In The Giver, I was excited when I first read about Jonas (BTW anyone else first thought was 'War' after reading the first page?) It was very interesting and very nice. An amazingly well written story about a perfect world in Jonas' POV without colour, love, emotion, music, books, war, hunger, and pain. The story (and actually every chapter) ended with a cliffhanger, which I loved and it made me very eager to read Gathering Blue.
Gathering Blue was interesting, and I liked reading about Kira and HER community. I would have prefered if Lowry gave us a hint about Jonas and Gabe, but I also think that keeping the suspense was a very good choice. At the end of Gathering Blue, Matt talks about a two-syllable boy, about the same age as Kira, with eyes that are an amazing blue. It made me smile as I instantly knew he was talking about Jonas and that was one of the reasons why I bought Messenger the next day.
I think that Messenger was nice as well. Reading about how the first two books are tied together was really great. We read about Seer aka Christopher, Kira, Matty, Jonas, and a little about Gabe as well. Very nice. I admit I was saddened when Matty died as he was one of my favourite characters. It was interesting to read about how Kira uses her 'Gift' as well! However, it would have been better if we got a little bit about Jo and Thomas and maybe even Jamison from Gathering Blue.
In Son, I enjoyed reading how things turned out in the end, and I like how Jonas marries Kira, Gabe grows up happily, and Claire finally reunites with Gabe. I was surprised and excited when I read that Jonas and Kira had named their kids Matthew and Annabelle, since Matty and Annabella were two of Kira's closest companions. Before, the first part of the book, gave me another POV of Jonas' original community which I really enjoyed. Between, the second part, was mainly about the 'wind-swept home' which Claire lived in for quite some time. Beyond, the final part, was my favourite part of the story, which was exceptionally touching and it made me feel so sad that it would be the last book of the Quartet 😭.
Highly recommended (⋈◍＞◡＜◍)。✧
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2023
What a marvelous series! The first book is a stand-alone and is a well-deserved Newberry Award-winning story. I read that before realizing there were three more following the first and immediately got the omnibus/quartet collection.
Reading this entire group of books together is the way they should be reviewed, not as a title by title except for the first. They clearly go together as pieces of the whole. I have read reviews dinging individual stories and of course, read alone, the book may not be cohesive and will leave reader's wanting. But read one by one, understanding that we are given the chance to visit this world from different perspectives, makes this a marvelous ride, beautifully written. Thought-provoking and fascinating, I relished the opportunity to think about things from another angle. Masterful. When I got to the end of the series, I felt so rewarded. An outstanding series and thoroughly enjoyable. Also, as a 58-year old, I was completely happy with the writing--a very satisfying series for any age. If you're interested in an excellent dystopian story, give this quartet a spin!
Reading this entire group of books together is the way they should be reviewed, not as a title by title except for the first. They clearly go together as pieces of the whole. I have read reviews dinging individual stories and of course, read alone, the book may not be cohesive and will leave reader's wanting. But read one by one, understanding that we are given the chance to visit this world from different perspectives, makes this a marvelous ride, beautifully written. Thought-provoking and fascinating, I relished the opportunity to think about things from another angle. Masterful. When I got to the end of the series, I felt so rewarded. An outstanding series and thoroughly enjoyable. Also, as a 58-year old, I was completely happy with the writing--a very satisfying series for any age. If you're interested in an excellent dystopian story, give this quartet a spin!
September 15, 2023
I'm mostly OK with the ending in Son, but I was definitely more into the first half of the quartet than the last half. That being said, it's still worth it to finish the collection.
February 25, 2021
I just can't figure out exactly how I feel about this series. I truly enjoyed The Giver and Gathering Blue, but by time Messenger and Son came around, I was worn out. They each were great stand-alone books. However, as a series, I'm not so sure. Due to Lowry focusing on different characters for each book, I felt that I only got a superficial understanding of each. I found the characters so endearing, but I felt that they weren't allowed to reach their full potential.
I loved Claire's story, but she wasn't thrown into the ring until the very end and then was only really involved with half of the last book. Additionally, while we saw her recover her memories, we never learn how she lost them in the first place. I do think Lowry values her readers' imaginations and I enjoy that I am given the opportunity to come up with my own conclusions on so many of her developments, but this one just felt like she almost forgot to write it.
Jonas had a great arc, but I hardly was able to see it. I absolutely adored Kira, but at the conclusion of the quartet, her story felt like it hardly mattered with the rest aside from being carelessly mentioned in Son as a wife and kind mother. And Matty? My sweet Matty? Sure, he became a hero, but again, I hardly got to know him.
Ultimately, I did enjoy the series and think it is a great introduction for young readers into more mature conversations. I loved the idea of each book offering a different perspective from a character. Son was a good ending, but the last fifty pages really felt rushed and not at the same level as the beginning of the story. The details of Claire's climb kept me on the edge of my seat and literally biting my fingernails as I read. However, this attention was not given to Gabe's journey. At the end, I found myself just saying, "Oh, okay, I guess that works." While I do enjoy sudden finality in some regards (i.e. Voldemort's quick, unclimactic death), this felt like it was attempting the same feat, but it just fell short (and really did not even make sense).
This series is an enjoyable, quick read that I would definitely recommend to families. While I do find a lot of the plot developments written as though Lowry had an ending in mind and wasn't sure how exactly to get there (Matty's story, Son's ending, etc.), I think it as an extremely creative story and I thoroughly enjoyed my journey with these wonderful characters.
September 3, 2016
The Giver Quartet is a series of short stories about different dystopian societies. It begins with Jonas who lives in a society where pain and suffering is no longer known. But the price paid for a life without pain is a life without love, a life without happiness. Everyone in the community is a follower of Sameness; and they live by many strict rules. Precision of language is important. It doesn't do to use words with abstract definitions; if the definition is too broad, how will you ever understand the meaning behind the spoken word?
In December, Jonas becomes a Twelve. It's the start of their last days as a child; it'll be the start of the rest of his life. At the ceremony, Twelves are assigned a job to keep for the rest of their lives. There's caretakers, and teachers and any title that helps keep the community going like it always has. But Jonas isn't assigned anything like that. No, Jonas is to be the new Receiver of Memory.
His job is to carry all the memories from the past. To keep the community without pain; it's his job to carry the bad memories of pain and hurt. But he soon realises there's so much more to it. There's good memories too. Memories of what a snowflake feels on your nose, or what it is like to love. It's a feeling hard to forget – and he has a hard time letting go of the thought that there must be more to life than Sameness.
Oh, wow. The first short story, The Giver, completely blew me away. It hit me quite hard on a personal level. It was just as beautiful and empowering as it was sad. I don't necessarily agree with the whole ”if you don't know sadness, you can't know happiness” point of view but the story definitely made me think my own experiences over; both good and bad. I feel like the point is that all the memories and experiences make us who we are.
I didn't like the second story as much. I feel like I would've liked it if it hadn't dragged out the beginning so much – I would've loved it not to end as soon as it did but rather that the first half became more like the first half of the first half. It was slow and ended just as it got interesting. The same more or less goes for the third one; it feels forced and unnecessary. Like it was mostly done to link The Giver and Gathering Blue together.
But the fourth one? I do have some issues with what parts the author decided to give more pages but over all, the plot is just as beautiful and painful as The Giver. I'm sad it's last in the series because I have a feeling the quality of Gathering Blue and The Messenger will cause a lot of people to give up reading; which means they are missing out big time. It was definitely worth to get through those stories to get to this one. It's going to be hard to ever forget it.
In December, Jonas becomes a Twelve. It's the start of their last days as a child; it'll be the start of the rest of his life. At the ceremony, Twelves are assigned a job to keep for the rest of their lives. There's caretakers, and teachers and any title that helps keep the community going like it always has. But Jonas isn't assigned anything like that. No, Jonas is to be the new Receiver of Memory.
His job is to carry all the memories from the past. To keep the community without pain; it's his job to carry the bad memories of pain and hurt. But he soon realises there's so much more to it. There's good memories too. Memories of what a snowflake feels on your nose, or what it is like to love. It's a feeling hard to forget – and he has a hard time letting go of the thought that there must be more to life than Sameness.
Oh, wow. The first short story, The Giver, completely blew me away. It hit me quite hard on a personal level. It was just as beautiful and empowering as it was sad. I don't necessarily agree with the whole ”if you don't know sadness, you can't know happiness” point of view but the story definitely made me think my own experiences over; both good and bad. I feel like the point is that all the memories and experiences make us who we are.
I didn't like the second story as much. I feel like I would've liked it if it hadn't dragged out the beginning so much – I would've loved it not to end as soon as it did but rather that the first half became more like the first half of the first half. It was slow and ended just as it got interesting. The same more or less goes for the third one; it feels forced and unnecessary. Like it was mostly done to link The Giver and Gathering Blue together.
But the fourth one? I do have some issues with what parts the author decided to give more pages but over all, the plot is just as beautiful and painful as The Giver. I'm sad it's last in the series because I have a feeling the quality of Gathering Blue and The Messenger will cause a lot of people to give up reading; which means they are missing out big time. It was definitely worth to get through those stories to get to this one. It's going to be hard to ever forget it.
October 15, 2019
Lois Lowry asks us to work very hard at suspending our disbelief. Part of the difficulty in doing that is that she provides a dearth of actual details on what happened because of the actions of the protagonists. Let us begin with The Giver:
1. We are expected to accept that Jonas, an innocuous, bland, and boring boy, is suddenly elevated to the exalted position of "Receiver." We are told this happened because he has a fantastical talent for "seeing beyond." He "accepts" memories from the "Giver" for slightly under a year. He is supposed to have absorbed all the memories of the human race from "back and back and back" in less than a year. He does this by having the Giver lay hands on his back. This is sort of shocking because in the society depicted by Lowry, touching is not really acceptable.
2. The previously nominated "receiver" committed suicide (after absorbing next to nothing) because she could not deal with the "pain." Her suicide causes everyone in the community to suddenly have all the memories that she absorbed. Huh???
3. The Giver and Lucas decide that Lucas will run away from the community, forcing the community to have all the memories that he absorbed, but somehow, THIS TIME, the Giver will help them adjust, and they will all live happily every after. Unfortunately, when Lucas DOES leave with Gabe, we are never told exactly how that worked out long term for the community and for the Giver.
4. After a long and nearly fatal voyage, Lucas makes it to another community by finding a mysterious sled and sledding down a mountain with Gabe which ties in with a vision he had of doing so during one of his sessions with the Giver.
ALRIGHTLY THEN!!!
Now we move on to Gathering Blue:
1. We meet Kira, a girl with a crooked leg and a brilliant and a fantastical talent for embroidery. She is taken in to the protection of a Guardian named Jamison and tasked with repairing and improving a ceremonial robe.
2. The other residents of the Edifice collected by Jamison also have fantastical talents - one for carving and one for singing. All three lost their parents under mysterious circumstances. Kira's father, for instance was "attacked by beasts" yet according to her mentor, Annabella, there are no beasts.
3. Lo and Behold, Kira's father Christopher shows up at the Edifice! He was not attacked by beasts, but by Jamison. He was blinded and left to die. Yet somehow, some people were wandering by, 2 days walk away from their village, looking for people like Christoper. They picked him up and took him back to their village of outsiders nursing him the whole way.
4. Kira decides that she is going to use her fantastical talent to embroider changes into the future of her village - to change the way her own villagers interact with each other so that they are less ignorant, quarrelsome, poor, dirty, and grasping. Except - YET AGAIN we are given no details on how she is going to accomplish that.
And on to the next one: Messenger
1. Here we follow the story of Matty, Kira's erstwhile friend from Gathering Blue. His fantastical talent is healing. He is living with Christopher in a village that is tolerant and accepting of all outsiders, except that now that is changing. People are attending the Trade Mart, run by a shady Trademaster. The villagers are trading away their most good and essential characteristics for stupid crap that they THINK they want. As a result, they are becoming less tolerant of outsiders.
2. It also turns out that the Leader of this village is none other than Lucas! He uses his "seeing beyond" talent to reach through the Forest to Kira, Christopher's daughter, because Matty wants to travel back to her village and bring her to her father's village before it closes to newcomers. The Forest is threatening and dangerous, but Matty travels through it anyway.
3. In Kira's village, things have improved (but we are not told how or why or when). She agrees to leave with Matty. They get trapped in the Forest and are close to death. Of course, Matty uses his talent to HEAL THE FOREST and then dies.
4. We are not told why the Forest was diseased in the first place, or learn about any relationship between the Forest and the Trade Mart/Trademaster. We are expected to believe that once Matty healed the Forest, the villagers immediately regained their essential selves and lived happily ever after.
Hmmmmm. And finally, Son.
1. We are reintroduced to Gabe. We meet his Birthmother Claire, and follow her as she has a cesarean, gets kicked out of the Birthing Unit, and schemes to meet her son in the Nurturing Center. She is having these "unnatural" feelings of attachment because she was never issued the pills that prevent all feeling that everyone in the community takes.
2. Jonas takes Gabe away, and Claire somehow ends up in a seaside community where the only way out is up over a perilous cliff. She meets the only person who ever tried to climb out and returned alive who trains her in preparation for her own attempt to climb out so she can go find Gabe. Why she can't just get in a boat and sail around to somewhere more accessible is never explained.
3. Claire successfully climbs out and meets the dreaded man in a black cloak who will take her to Gabe. It's the Trademaster! She trades away her youth and gets to the village where Gabe is, but she is so old that she does not introduce herself to him for fear of scaring him.
4. It turns out Gabe ALSO has a fantastical power - he can veer into the minds of others. Claire is dying and she needs Gabe to destroy the Trademaster to reverse her trade. So off he goes. He veers into the Trademaster and discovers that the Tradmaster is nourished by knowing how his tragedies play out. Gabe tells the Trademaster that some of his victims were recovered and happy and the Trademaster croaks. REALLY????????
I was going to finish with the long list of discontinuities between the books including the fact that in the last book, she says that Jonas rode in on a BIKE when in Book 1 he clearly rode in on a SLED, and that in Book 2, Christopher was brought to the village, but in book 4, he apparently stumbled upon the village, but this is getting too long.
1. We are expected to accept that Jonas, an innocuous, bland, and boring boy, is suddenly elevated to the exalted position of "Receiver." We are told this happened because he has a fantastical talent for "seeing beyond." He "accepts" memories from the "Giver" for slightly under a year. He is supposed to have absorbed all the memories of the human race from "back and back and back" in less than a year. He does this by having the Giver lay hands on his back. This is sort of shocking because in the society depicted by Lowry, touching is not really acceptable.
2. The previously nominated "receiver" committed suicide (after absorbing next to nothing) because she could not deal with the "pain." Her suicide causes everyone in the community to suddenly have all the memories that she absorbed. Huh???
3. The Giver and Lucas decide that Lucas will run away from the community, forcing the community to have all the memories that he absorbed, but somehow, THIS TIME, the Giver will help them adjust, and they will all live happily every after. Unfortunately, when Lucas DOES leave with Gabe, we are never told exactly how that worked out long term for the community and for the Giver.
4. After a long and nearly fatal voyage, Lucas makes it to another community by finding a mysterious sled and sledding down a mountain with Gabe which ties in with a vision he had of doing so during one of his sessions with the Giver.
ALRIGHTLY THEN!!!
Now we move on to Gathering Blue:
1. We meet Kira, a girl with a crooked leg and a brilliant and a fantastical talent for embroidery. She is taken in to the protection of a Guardian named Jamison and tasked with repairing and improving a ceremonial robe.
2. The other residents of the Edifice collected by Jamison also have fantastical talents - one for carving and one for singing. All three lost their parents under mysterious circumstances. Kira's father, for instance was "attacked by beasts" yet according to her mentor, Annabella, there are no beasts.
3. Lo and Behold, Kira's father Christopher shows up at the Edifice! He was not attacked by beasts, but by Jamison. He was blinded and left to die. Yet somehow, some people were wandering by, 2 days walk away from their village, looking for people like Christoper. They picked him up and took him back to their village of outsiders nursing him the whole way.
4. Kira decides that she is going to use her fantastical talent to embroider changes into the future of her village - to change the way her own villagers interact with each other so that they are less ignorant, quarrelsome, poor, dirty, and grasping. Except - YET AGAIN we are given no details on how she is going to accomplish that.
And on to the next one: Messenger
1. Here we follow the story of Matty, Kira's erstwhile friend from Gathering Blue. His fantastical talent is healing. He is living with Christopher in a village that is tolerant and accepting of all outsiders, except that now that is changing. People are attending the Trade Mart, run by a shady Trademaster. The villagers are trading away their most good and essential characteristics for stupid crap that they THINK they want. As a result, they are becoming less tolerant of outsiders.
2. It also turns out that the Leader of this village is none other than Lucas! He uses his "seeing beyond" talent to reach through the Forest to Kira, Christopher's daughter, because Matty wants to travel back to her village and bring her to her father's village before it closes to newcomers. The Forest is threatening and dangerous, but Matty travels through it anyway.
3. In Kira's village, things have improved (but we are not told how or why or when). She agrees to leave with Matty. They get trapped in the Forest and are close to death. Of course, Matty uses his talent to HEAL THE FOREST and then dies.
4. We are not told why the Forest was diseased in the first place, or learn about any relationship between the Forest and the Trade Mart/Trademaster. We are expected to believe that once Matty healed the Forest, the villagers immediately regained their essential selves and lived happily ever after.
Hmmmmm. And finally, Son.
1. We are reintroduced to Gabe. We meet his Birthmother Claire, and follow her as she has a cesarean, gets kicked out of the Birthing Unit, and schemes to meet her son in the Nurturing Center. She is having these "unnatural" feelings of attachment because she was never issued the pills that prevent all feeling that everyone in the community takes.
2. Jonas takes Gabe away, and Claire somehow ends up in a seaside community where the only way out is up over a perilous cliff. She meets the only person who ever tried to climb out and returned alive who trains her in preparation for her own attempt to climb out so she can go find Gabe. Why she can't just get in a boat and sail around to somewhere more accessible is never explained.
3. Claire successfully climbs out and meets the dreaded man in a black cloak who will take her to Gabe. It's the Trademaster! She trades away her youth and gets to the village where Gabe is, but she is so old that she does not introduce herself to him for fear of scaring him.
4. It turns out Gabe ALSO has a fantastical power - he can veer into the minds of others. Claire is dying and she needs Gabe to destroy the Trademaster to reverse her trade. So off he goes. He veers into the Trademaster and discovers that the Tradmaster is nourished by knowing how his tragedies play out. Gabe tells the Trademaster that some of his victims were recovered and happy and the Trademaster croaks. REALLY????????
I was going to finish with the long list of discontinuities between the books including the fact that in the last book, she says that Jonas rode in on a BIKE when in Book 1 he clearly rode in on a SLED, and that in Book 2, Christopher was brought to the village, but in book 4, he apparently stumbled upon the village, but this is getting too long.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 21, 2014
I read this series after seeing the 1st (I hope) movie with Brenton Thwaites as Jonas. I'd not heard of the series. I was a bit skeptical as Amazon's age range is 12 and up, vis à vis YA. I like reading good YA as they usually have elements that take maturity and experience to fully realize and they make me feel young again, a rational pursuit. These are not children's books.
The Giver Quartet does this well. The books are easy 1 nite reads (I always read from 10 pm till I start nodding). The prose is simple while being eloquent and easy to speed read, if you like. I didn't as there is much to savor in her prose. The main characters are compelling. I liked those emphasized in each of the novels. Of course I identified with Jonas who I'd call The Protagonist of the entire series, though that's arguable. He certainly pulls them all together.
Each of the novels concentrates on a young individual coming to terms with a special power. It explores love, honor, duty, social responsibility, cultures... for each of them and for the reader.
I am giving my copy to my 12 y/o granddaughter, Ria
8 of 10 stars.
The Giver Quartet does this well. The books are easy 1 nite reads (I always read from 10 pm till I start nodding). The prose is simple while being eloquent and easy to speed read, if you like. I didn't as there is much to savor in her prose. The main characters are compelling. I liked those emphasized in each of the novels. Of course I identified with Jonas who I'd call The Protagonist of the entire series, though that's arguable. He certainly pulls them all together.
Each of the novels concentrates on a young individual coming to terms with a special power. It explores love, honor, duty, social responsibility, cultures... for each of them and for the reader.
I am giving my copy to my 12 y/o granddaughter, Ria
8 of 10 stars.
March 26, 2017
I think the concept was good. Four simple connected stories told by four different characters. The first book was the best for me.
But, even if these books are targeted at children, I still feel that the stories are not developed enough and it left you with so many questions unanswered.
But, even if these books are targeted at children, I still feel that the stories are not developed enough and it left you with so many questions unanswered.
March 21, 2018
The Giver is excellent. The other three books are good but not quit up to the same level. It has elements of the classic hero tales. Good stories for children to read.
March 25, 2022
The Giver, 1993
Saya agak kesulitan memulai baca novel ini. Mungkin karena ternyata ini cerita fantasi; dunianya enggak familiar sehingga saya tidak langsung menangkapnya. Baru setelah membaca cukup jauh lalu kembali ke bab awal, saya dapat mengerti maksudnya.
Meskipun novel ini bercerita mengenai seorang anak berusia 12 tahun dan ditujukan kepada pembaca muda, isinya cukup berat karena mengajak berpikir bahkan sangat relatable bagi saya yang menurut usia tergolong pembaca dewasa.
Terus terang, saya mengidealkan dunia tempat tinggal Jonas yang demikian efisien. Betapa enaknya sejak awal sudah dipilihkan jalur karier yang tepat. Kalau ada "problem", tinggal mati dan tidak mesti dilakukan sendiri pula. Biar saja tidak ada "cinta" dan emosi-emosi lainnya.Toh di dunia ini juga saya tidak dapat memahaminya. Biar saja kehidupan tidak memiliki warna. Toh di dunia ini juga kehidupan bisa jadi amat menjemukan.
Cuma, seandainya saya yang terpilih sebagai The Receiver, memang bisa dipahami sih betapa beratnya menanggung beban memori kolektif sendirian. Menanggung beban memori pribadi saja sudah bikin saya merasa tak berdaya. Bisa dipahami sebabnya Rosemary memilih untuk di-"release" saja, sedang The Giver dan Jonas mendambakan kebebasan, perubahan, pilihan ....
Premis cerita ini mengingatkan saya pada cerpen "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" karangan Ursula K. Le Guin, tentang bagaimana beban penderitaan suatu masyarakat ditimpakan kepada satu anak saja sedang yang tidak setuju dengan sistem ini mesti pergi.
Iseng-iseng saya googling dengan kata kunci 'scapegoat of society' dan menemukan sebuah artikel yang menyatakan bahwa masyarakat memang membutuhkan scapegoat.
Maka amanat-amanat yang saya peroleh dari cerita ini:
1. Bagaimanapun dunia ideal ciptaan manusiahanya bisa diwujudkan melalui fiksi spekulatif belaka, mesti ada sisi gelapnya. Dunia Jonas pun tak terhindar dari sifat-sifat manusiawi yang suka merendahkan (contohnya pandangan mengenai Birthmother), menghindari masalah dengan membuat masalah (dengan menimpakan beban memori kepada satu orang saja), dan sebagainya. Begitulah hukumnya hidup di alam ini. Ujungnya terima saja kenyataan yang merupakan perwujudan Kemaha-"bijaksana"-an Sang Pencipta.
2. Memori mesti dibagi, beban jangan ditanggung sendirian. Jadi rajin-rajinlah berkeluh kesah kepada orang lain? Dengan rajin membaca atau mendengarkan orang lain pun, dapat bertambah beban pikiran kita hahaha. Intinya sih, keburukan-keburukan itu bukan untuk dihindari atau ditimpakan kepada pihak tertentu saja melainkan untuk ditanggung dan dikelola bersama-sama.
Novel ini telah difilmkan pada 2014 dengan sederet bintang kenamaan. Saya baru menonton recap-nya di YouTube: tampak lebih seru, jelas, dan efisien dibandingkan dengan novelnya kecuali untuk porsi romance yang sudah niscaya dalam film begini.
Novel ini berakhir menggantung, membikin penasaran akan nasib Jonas dan Gabriel selanjutnya. Sayangnya, ketika saya mulai baca buku kedua, Gathering Blue, ceritanya ternyata tidak langsung bersambung tapi malah memperkenalkan dunia baru. Setelah membaca beberapa review di sini mengenai edisi omnibus ini, tampaknya saya akan dibiarkan tidak puas. Sebal deh kalau begini. Sudah dibikin baper, malah digantung. Geregetan, jadinya geregetan.
Gathering Blue, 2000
Novel lanjutan The Giver ini rada-rada mirip dengan prekuelnya.
Baik Kira maupun Jonas tinggal dalam suatu masyarakat dengan aturan tertentu.
Dunia Jonas sepintas tampak sempurna, sedang dunia Kira semacam kehidupan masyarakat primitif yang serbakeras. Namun kedua dunia tersebut sama-sama tidak memberikan tempat kepada yang cacat atau berpotensi menghambat kepentingan umum. Bedanya, dunia Jonas menyingkirkan kaum tersebut dengan cara yang halus.
Soal ini masih relevan bagi saya, bagaimana yang dianggap tidak berguna sebenarnya berguna jika dilihat dari sudut pandang tertentu. Buku yang mengangkat soal ini di antaranya The Courage to be Disliked.
Desa para orang cacat pun tampak ideal, tapi jangan-jangan ada minusnya juga .... Meski begitu, gagasan di Gathering Blue mengenai desa para orang cacat dalam berbagai arti itu lebih berterima bagi saya, daripada orientasi kepada kebebasan dan pilihan di The Giver.
Selain itu, dalam novel ini saya menyoroti bagaimana anak-anak diperlakukan dengan kasar oleh orang tua mereka. Saya menduga itu sebagai kenyataan mengenai pola asuh pada umumnya sampai ilmu kejiwaan dan media sosial berkembang(?), sehingga teori parenting yang baik dan benar tersebarluaskan dan masyarakat--khususnya anak-anak muda--menjadi peka akan tumbuh-kembang mental mereka, yang sebagian orang mungkin mendapatinya sudah telanjur rusak.
Why I Hate You and You Hate Me serta buku lain tentang emotionally immature parents merujuk kepada berbagai cerita rakyat/dongeng anak yang menunjukkan bahwa sejak dahulu kala terdapat figur orang tua yang menurut standar sekarang dianggap toxic. Bukan hanya melalui perlakuan kasar, melainkan juga pengabaian. Maka orang tua yang cerdas secara emosional dst dsb--pokoknya ideal menurut standar parenting jaman now--bagai suatu privilege yang hanya 1% populasi memilikinya.
Baik Kira maupun Jonas memiliki bakat istimewa yang ada hubungannya dengan mengumpulkan informasi kolektif mengenai masa yang telah lampau, sehingga dari situ dapat diperoleh kebijaksanaan serta menentukan arah masa depan.
Akhir cerita sama-sama mengungkapkan bahwa ada kemungkinan akan kehidupan yang berbeda di luar masyarakat mereka.
Jonas memutuskan untuk pergi, sedang Kira justru memilih untuk tinggal. Saya takjub akan kepercayaan diri mereka untuk dapat membuat perubahan pada masa yang akan datang, yang kiranya keharusan jika ingin cerita disukai pembaca yang umumnya mengharapkan perkembangan situasi atau pertumbuhan karakter. Lagi pula, jika diingat-ingat, ketika seumuran mereka pun ada saja hasrat saya untuk dapat melakukan suatu hal yang hebat--cita-cita yang ketinggian.
Saya pribadi sekarang ini cenderung berpikir sebaliknya. Mungkin saya kurang dapat menghayati Jonas yang terbebani oleh memori kolektif masyarakatnya. Saya cuma tahu rasanya terbebani oleh memori pribadi ditambah berbagai pengalaman buruk orang lain dan semacamnya, sehingga lebih suka "tinggal" daripada mencari ketidakpastian di luar sana. Namun jika saya Kira, saya merasa lebih baik pergi apalagi jika mengetahui bahwa mentor saya ternyata orang jahat yang tidak segan-segan membunuh anggota keluarga saya sendiri
Selain itu, kedua cerita ini sama-sama berkenaan dengan warna. Dunia Jonas tanpa warna, sedang dunia Kira memiliki warna-warni kecuali biru. Saya menduga warna biru itu perlambang melankolia? Dunia Kira yang super keras tak memberikan ruang kepada melankolia.
Satu lagi, keduanya melibatkan tokoh anak kecil. Jadi tokoh utama semacam di-sandwich. Ia tak hanya kelimpahan amanat dari yang lebih tua, tapi juga merasa bertanggung jawab akan nasib yang lebih muda. Kenyataan hidup sih, "tugas" setiap orang.
Messenger, 2004
Buku ini merupakan kelanjutan dari buku-buku sebelumnya yaitu Gathering Blue dan The Giver. Maksudnya, kita tidak hanya dapat mengetahui kelanjutan nasib Kira (tokoh utama di Gathering Blue), tetapi juga Jonas (tokoh utama di The Giver). Walaupun dalam buku ini Jonas tidak disebut dengan namanya, tetapi dengan perannya dalam komunitas baru yang dia tinggali, yaitu Leader. Jadi rasa penasaran yang menggantung setelah menamatkan The Giver pun terjawab di buku ini, digantikan oleh rasa penasaran baru
Tokoh utama dalam buku ini adalah Matty, yang adalah Matt di Gathering Blue. Di Gathering Blue dia masih anak-anak, sedang di buku ini dia sudah remaja. Dia tinggal bersama the blind man aka Seer .
Sebagai bacaan ringan, ceritanya tetap menarik untuk diikuti. Adegan di hutan berhasil menimbulkan sensasi ngeri.
Meski begitu, saya menyadari adanya beberapa bagian yang kabur--alias tidak diuraikan secara terperinci--dalam keseluruhan seri ini.
Pertama, bagaimanakah Matt daapat menemukan si pria buta? Apakah dia tanya-tanya penduduk desa? Apakah mereka bertemu secara kebetulan atau karena entah bagaimana Matt punya bakat istimewa demi melancarkan cerita?
Kedua, bagaimanakah Kira "mengubah" desanya hanya dengan kemampuannya menyulam masa depan (atau semacam itulah)? Ataukah perubahan itu terjadi dengan sendirinya? Apa pemicunya?
Ketiga, tidak ada penjelasan lebih lanjut mengenai tren tukar-menukar yang berhubungan dengan munculnya keegoisan warga berikut menebalnya hutan. (Walaupun saya bisa menduga-duga kaitannya dengan fenomena di dunia nyata.) Semuanya terselesaikan begitu saja dengan bakat istimewa Matty.
Keempat, ada referensi ke Moby Dick dan Shakespeare yang menimbulkan tanya: Jadi dunia apakah ini karena rupanya masih bersambungan dengan dunia nyata? Apakah ini spekulasi mengenai yang mungkin terjadi jauh, jauh di depan sana?
Apakah mungkin karena buku ini menyasar pembaca muda yang daya kritisnya belum berkembang sehingga ceritanya boleh disederhanakan begitu saja, asal seru saja?
Son, 2012
Buku terakhir ini lebih tebal daripada buku-buku sebelumnya, malah terdiri dari tiga buku lagi: Before, Between, dan Beyond.
Alur waktu buku pertama paralel dengan The Giver, hanya saja diceritakan melalui perspektif tokoh baru, yaitu Claire, yang ternyata ibu Gabriel/Gabe. Buku ini dimulai dengan karier singkat Claire sebagai Birthmother. Ia mengalami masalah saat melahirkan anak pertama--yang sekaligus menjadi satu-satunya--sehingga dipindahkan ke bagian Fish Hatchery. Namun ia penasaran dengan keberadaan anaknya sehingga mencari cara untuk bertemu. Demikian ia tidak hanya bertemu dengan Gabe, tapi juga The Nurturer alias ayah Jonas serta Jonas sendiri. Buku ini diakhiri dengan kaburnya Jonas yang membawa Gabe. Claire pun ikut kabur dengan menumpang kapal, atau semacam itu, pokoknya lewat sungai/laut. (Saya kurang konsentrasi saat membaca bagian ini :P)
Di buku kedua, Claire terdampar atau diselamatkan oleh penduduk suatu desa. Di sini cerita terasa membosankan, atau cheesy, ala telenovela + feminisme Hollywood. Claire tidak saja hilang ingatan, tapi juga bertranformasi melalui proses panjang lagi menyakitkan agar dapat mendaki gunung untuk keluar dari desa tersebut demi mencari anaknya. Mungkin saja ia lewat jalur laut, tapi sepertinya ia trauma.
Di buku kedua ini ada lingkungan baru, suatu desa tradisional tetapi tidak sebarbar desa di Gathering Blue. Kemunculan lingkungan yang baru lagi ini membuat saya mempertanyakan lagi dunia apa sesungguhnya yang ditinggali para tokoh ini. Messenger kayak memberikan hint bahwa dunia ini masih berhubungan dengan dunia nyata (: dunia kontemporer yang ditinggali pembaca) dengan menyebut-nyebut Moby Dick dan Shakespeare. Dunia di The Giver tampak futuristik seakan-akan sekelompok orang telah belajar banyak untuk menanggulangi problem-problem kemanusiaan secara seefisien mungkin. Namun dunia-dunia selainnya dalam keseluruhan seri ini justru tampak terbelakang. Apakah selain dunia di The Giver, peradaban manusia mengalami kemunduran?
Hal lain dari buku kedua yang mengingatkan pada Gathering Blue, di sini ada juga wanita tua ahli tanaman (tapi bukan untuk warna pakaian, melainkan obat-obatan) serta tokoh yang kakinya cacat sehingga harus menggunakan alat bantu berjalan.
Di buku ketiga, Claire berhasil memanjat gunung/keluar desa. Namun demi mendapat bantuan untuk menemukan anaknya, ia mau tak mau membuat pertukaran dengan "setan" atau The Trademaster. Tokoh yang belakangan ini mengingatkan saya kepada The Laughing Salesman (anime berseri lawas yang bisa dicari di YouTube), karena sama-sama dapat mengabulkan segala permintaan dengan konsekuensi buruk.
Memang setelah menuntaskan Messenger, timbul pertanyaan-pertanyaan baru seperti: Siapakah Trademaster sebetulnya? Bagaimanakah nasib Jonas dan Kira selanjutnya? Di buku ini, hal-hal itu terjawab. Bahkan kali ini Gabe mendapat porsi besar dengan menjadi tokoh utama (sedang di Messenger ia cuma menumpang lewat).
Sebagaimana di buku-buku sebelumnya, tokoh utama mesti memiliki kemampuan istimewa dan misi untuk dijalankan. Namun di buku ini saya mendapat kesan "asal jadi" dan terburu-buru. Bagaimanapun juga, cerita diakhiri secara melegakan dan menjanjikan(?) dengan tetap dapat menimbulkan pertanyaan-pertanyaan baru, semisal: Apakah kaki Einar juga dapat kembali seperti sedia kala? Mungkinkah suatu saat Claire dan Gabe mengadakan perjalanan untuk keluar dari desa tersebut demi menemui Einar?
Saya agak kesulitan memulai baca novel ini. Mungkin karena ternyata ini cerita fantasi; dunianya enggak familiar sehingga saya tidak langsung menangkapnya. Baru setelah membaca cukup jauh lalu kembali ke bab awal, saya dapat mengerti maksudnya.
Meskipun novel ini bercerita mengenai seorang anak berusia 12 tahun dan ditujukan kepada pembaca muda, isinya cukup berat karena mengajak berpikir bahkan sangat relatable bagi saya yang menurut usia tergolong pembaca dewasa.
Terus terang, saya mengidealkan dunia tempat tinggal Jonas yang demikian efisien. Betapa enaknya sejak awal sudah dipilihkan jalur karier yang tepat. Kalau ada "problem", tinggal mati dan tidak mesti dilakukan sendiri pula. Biar saja tidak ada "cinta" dan emosi-emosi lainnya.
Cuma, seandainya saya yang terpilih sebagai The Receiver, memang bisa dipahami sih betapa beratnya menanggung beban memori kolektif sendirian. Menanggung beban memori pribadi saja sudah bikin saya merasa tak berdaya. Bisa dipahami sebabnya Rosemary memilih untuk di-"release" saja, sedang The Giver dan Jonas mendambakan kebebasan, perubahan, pilihan ....
Premis cerita ini mengingatkan saya pada cerpen "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" karangan Ursula K. Le Guin, tentang bagaimana beban penderitaan suatu masyarakat ditimpakan kepada satu anak saja sedang yang tidak setuju dengan sistem ini mesti pergi.
Iseng-iseng saya googling dengan kata kunci 'scapegoat of society' dan menemukan sebuah artikel yang menyatakan bahwa masyarakat memang membutuhkan scapegoat.
Maka amanat-amanat yang saya peroleh dari cerita ini:
1. Bagaimanapun dunia ideal ciptaan manusia
2. Memori mesti dibagi, beban jangan ditanggung sendirian. Jadi rajin-rajinlah berkeluh kesah kepada orang lain? Dengan rajin membaca atau mendengarkan orang lain pun, dapat bertambah beban pikiran kita hahaha. Intinya sih, keburukan-keburukan itu bukan untuk dihindari atau ditimpakan kepada pihak tertentu saja melainkan untuk ditanggung dan dikelola bersama-sama.
Novel ini telah difilmkan pada 2014 dengan sederet bintang kenamaan. Saya baru menonton recap-nya di YouTube: tampak lebih seru, jelas, dan efisien dibandingkan dengan novelnya kecuali untuk porsi romance yang sudah niscaya dalam film begini.
Novel ini berakhir menggantung, membikin penasaran akan nasib Jonas dan Gabriel selanjutnya. Sayangnya, ketika saya mulai baca buku kedua, Gathering Blue, ceritanya ternyata tidak langsung bersambung tapi malah memperkenalkan dunia baru. Setelah membaca beberapa review di sini mengenai edisi omnibus ini, tampaknya saya akan dibiarkan tidak puas. Sebal deh kalau begini. Sudah dibikin baper, malah digantung. Geregetan, jadinya geregetan.
Gathering Blue, 2000
Novel lanjutan The Giver ini rada-rada mirip dengan prekuelnya.
Baik Kira maupun Jonas tinggal dalam suatu masyarakat dengan aturan tertentu.
Dunia Jonas sepintas tampak sempurna, sedang dunia Kira semacam kehidupan masyarakat primitif yang serbakeras. Namun kedua dunia tersebut sama-sama tidak memberikan tempat kepada yang cacat atau berpotensi menghambat kepentingan umum. Bedanya, dunia Jonas menyingkirkan kaum tersebut dengan cara yang halus.
Soal ini masih relevan bagi saya, bagaimana yang dianggap tidak berguna sebenarnya berguna jika dilihat dari sudut pandang tertentu. Buku yang mengangkat soal ini di antaranya The Courage to be Disliked.
Desa para orang cacat pun tampak ideal, tapi jangan-jangan ada minusnya juga .... Meski begitu, gagasan di Gathering Blue mengenai desa para orang cacat dalam berbagai arti itu lebih berterima bagi saya, daripada orientasi kepada kebebasan dan pilihan di The Giver.
Selain itu, dalam novel ini saya menyoroti bagaimana anak-anak diperlakukan dengan kasar oleh orang tua mereka. Saya menduga itu sebagai kenyataan mengenai pola asuh pada umumnya sampai ilmu kejiwaan dan media sosial berkembang(?), sehingga teori parenting yang baik dan benar tersebarluaskan dan masyarakat--khususnya anak-anak muda--menjadi peka akan tumbuh-kembang mental mereka, yang sebagian orang mungkin mendapatinya sudah telanjur rusak.
Why I Hate You and You Hate Me serta buku lain tentang emotionally immature parents merujuk kepada berbagai cerita rakyat/dongeng anak yang menunjukkan bahwa sejak dahulu kala terdapat figur orang tua yang menurut standar sekarang dianggap toxic. Bukan hanya melalui perlakuan kasar, melainkan juga pengabaian. Maka orang tua yang cerdas secara emosional dst dsb--pokoknya ideal menurut standar parenting jaman now--bagai suatu privilege yang hanya 1% populasi memilikinya.
Baik Kira maupun Jonas memiliki bakat istimewa yang ada hubungannya dengan mengumpulkan informasi kolektif mengenai masa yang telah lampau, sehingga dari situ dapat diperoleh kebijaksanaan serta menentukan arah masa depan.
Akhir cerita sama-sama mengungkapkan bahwa ada kemungkinan akan kehidupan yang berbeda di luar masyarakat mereka.
Jonas memutuskan untuk pergi, sedang Kira justru memilih untuk tinggal. Saya takjub akan kepercayaan diri mereka untuk dapat membuat perubahan pada masa yang akan datang, yang kiranya keharusan jika ingin cerita disukai pembaca yang umumnya mengharapkan perkembangan situasi atau pertumbuhan karakter. Lagi pula, jika diingat-ingat, ketika seumuran mereka pun ada saja hasrat saya untuk dapat melakukan suatu hal yang hebat--cita-cita yang ketinggian.
Saya pribadi sekarang ini cenderung berpikir sebaliknya. Mungkin saya kurang dapat menghayati Jonas yang terbebani oleh memori kolektif masyarakatnya. Saya cuma tahu rasanya terbebani oleh memori pribadi ditambah berbagai pengalaman buruk orang lain dan semacamnya, sehingga lebih suka "tinggal" daripada mencari ketidakpastian di luar sana. Namun jika saya Kira, saya merasa lebih baik pergi apalagi jika mengetahui bahwa mentor saya ternyata orang jahat yang tidak segan-segan membunuh anggota keluarga saya sendiri
Selain itu, kedua cerita ini sama-sama berkenaan dengan warna. Dunia Jonas tanpa warna, sedang dunia Kira memiliki warna-warni kecuali biru. Saya menduga warna biru itu perlambang melankolia? Dunia Kira yang super keras tak memberikan ruang kepada melankolia.
Satu lagi, keduanya melibatkan tokoh anak kecil. Jadi tokoh utama semacam di-sandwich. Ia tak hanya kelimpahan amanat dari yang lebih tua, tapi juga merasa bertanggung jawab akan nasib yang lebih muda. Kenyataan hidup sih, "tugas" setiap orang.
Messenger, 2004
Buku ini merupakan kelanjutan dari buku-buku sebelumnya yaitu Gathering Blue dan The Giver. Maksudnya, kita tidak hanya dapat mengetahui kelanjutan nasib Kira (tokoh utama di Gathering Blue), tetapi juga Jonas (tokoh utama di The Giver). Walaupun dalam buku ini Jonas tidak disebut dengan namanya, tetapi dengan perannya dalam komunitas baru yang dia tinggali, yaitu Leader. Jadi rasa penasaran yang menggantung setelah menamatkan The Giver pun terjawab di buku ini, digantikan oleh rasa penasaran baru
Tokoh utama dalam buku ini adalah Matty, yang adalah Matt di Gathering Blue. Di Gathering Blue dia masih anak-anak, sedang di buku ini dia sudah remaja. Dia tinggal bersama the blind man aka Seer .
Sebagai bacaan ringan, ceritanya tetap menarik untuk diikuti. Adegan di hutan berhasil menimbulkan sensasi ngeri.
Meski begitu, saya menyadari adanya beberapa bagian yang kabur--alias tidak diuraikan secara terperinci--dalam keseluruhan seri ini.
Pertama, bagaimanakah Matt daapat menemukan si pria buta? Apakah dia tanya-tanya penduduk desa? Apakah mereka bertemu secara kebetulan atau karena entah bagaimana Matt punya bakat istimewa demi melancarkan cerita?
Kedua, bagaimanakah Kira "mengubah" desanya hanya dengan kemampuannya menyulam masa depan (atau semacam itulah)? Ataukah perubahan itu terjadi dengan sendirinya? Apa pemicunya?
Ketiga, tidak ada penjelasan lebih lanjut mengenai tren tukar-menukar yang berhubungan dengan munculnya keegoisan warga berikut menebalnya hutan. (Walaupun saya bisa menduga-duga kaitannya dengan fenomena di dunia nyata.) Semuanya terselesaikan begitu saja dengan bakat istimewa Matty.
Keempat, ada referensi ke Moby Dick dan Shakespeare yang menimbulkan tanya: Jadi dunia apakah ini karena rupanya masih bersambungan dengan dunia nyata? Apakah ini spekulasi mengenai yang mungkin terjadi jauh, jauh di depan sana?
Apakah mungkin karena buku ini menyasar pembaca muda yang daya kritisnya belum berkembang sehingga ceritanya boleh disederhanakan begitu saja, asal seru saja?
Son, 2012
Buku terakhir ini lebih tebal daripada buku-buku sebelumnya, malah terdiri dari tiga buku lagi: Before, Between, dan Beyond.
Alur waktu buku pertama paralel dengan The Giver, hanya saja diceritakan melalui perspektif tokoh baru, yaitu Claire, yang ternyata ibu Gabriel/Gabe. Buku ini dimulai dengan karier singkat Claire sebagai Birthmother. Ia mengalami masalah saat melahirkan anak pertama--yang sekaligus menjadi satu-satunya--sehingga dipindahkan ke bagian Fish Hatchery. Namun ia penasaran dengan keberadaan anaknya sehingga mencari cara untuk bertemu. Demikian ia tidak hanya bertemu dengan Gabe, tapi juga The Nurturer alias ayah Jonas serta Jonas sendiri. Buku ini diakhiri dengan kaburnya Jonas yang membawa Gabe. Claire pun ikut kabur dengan menumpang kapal, atau semacam itu, pokoknya lewat sungai/laut. (Saya kurang konsentrasi saat membaca bagian ini :P)
Di buku kedua, Claire terdampar atau diselamatkan oleh penduduk suatu desa. Di sini cerita terasa membosankan, atau cheesy, ala telenovela + feminisme Hollywood. Claire tidak saja hilang ingatan, tapi juga bertranformasi melalui proses panjang lagi menyakitkan agar dapat mendaki gunung untuk keluar dari desa tersebut demi mencari anaknya. Mungkin saja ia lewat jalur laut, tapi sepertinya ia trauma.
Di buku kedua ini ada lingkungan baru, suatu desa tradisional tetapi tidak sebarbar desa di Gathering Blue. Kemunculan lingkungan yang baru lagi ini membuat saya mempertanyakan lagi dunia apa sesungguhnya yang ditinggali para tokoh ini. Messenger kayak memberikan hint bahwa dunia ini masih berhubungan dengan dunia nyata (: dunia kontemporer yang ditinggali pembaca) dengan menyebut-nyebut Moby Dick dan Shakespeare. Dunia di The Giver tampak futuristik seakan-akan sekelompok orang telah belajar banyak untuk menanggulangi problem-problem kemanusiaan secara seefisien mungkin. Namun dunia-dunia selainnya dalam keseluruhan seri ini justru tampak terbelakang. Apakah selain dunia di The Giver, peradaban manusia mengalami kemunduran?
Hal lain dari buku kedua yang mengingatkan pada Gathering Blue, di sini ada juga wanita tua ahli tanaman (tapi bukan untuk warna pakaian, melainkan obat-obatan) serta tokoh yang kakinya cacat sehingga harus menggunakan alat bantu berjalan.
Di buku ketiga, Claire berhasil memanjat gunung/keluar desa. Namun demi mendapat bantuan untuk menemukan anaknya, ia mau tak mau membuat pertukaran dengan "setan" atau The Trademaster. Tokoh yang belakangan ini mengingatkan saya kepada The Laughing Salesman (anime berseri lawas yang bisa dicari di YouTube), karena sama-sama dapat mengabulkan segala permintaan dengan konsekuensi buruk.
Memang setelah menuntaskan Messenger, timbul pertanyaan-pertanyaan baru seperti: Siapakah Trademaster sebetulnya? Bagaimanakah nasib Jonas dan Kira selanjutnya? Di buku ini, hal-hal itu terjawab. Bahkan kali ini Gabe mendapat porsi besar dengan menjadi tokoh utama (sedang di Messenger ia cuma menumpang lewat).
Sebagaimana di buku-buku sebelumnya, tokoh utama mesti memiliki kemampuan istimewa dan misi untuk dijalankan. Namun di buku ini saya mendapat kesan "asal jadi" dan terburu-buru. Bagaimanapun juga, cerita diakhiri secara melegakan dan menjanjikan(?) dengan tetap dapat menimbulkan pertanyaan-pertanyaan baru, semisal: Apakah kaki Einar juga dapat kembali seperti sedia kala? Mungkinkah suatu saat Claire dan Gabe mengadakan perjalanan untuk keluar dari desa tersebut demi menemui Einar?
July 21, 2024
I loved the first book but the rest a bit... meh.
This series reminded me of Le Guin's Hainish series where different stories take place in one universe. However the characters reveal their interconnectedness by the end, which was its strength and weakness to me.
I wish the series expanded on the dystopian communities and how they got there. Instead we get more of the fantastical with special abilities and magical evil. There is potential of connecting the trademaster to Jonas' original community but it was not explored. Maybe they suppress people's emotions so they won't have any wants, thus taking away potential victims for the trademaster. Maybe the communities will unite and become a utopia or at least more normal. But we get the typical singular adventures and learn about mountain climbing and boat building.
So yeah... that's my personal thoughts. A lot of potential but didn't deliver. In conclusion, The Hunger Games is still my favourite YA dystopian series.
This series reminded me of Le Guin's Hainish series where different stories take place in one universe. However the characters reveal their interconnectedness by the end, which was its strength and weakness to me.
I wish the series expanded on the dystopian communities and how they got there. Instead we get more of the fantastical with special abilities and magical evil. There is potential of connecting the trademaster to Jonas' original community but it was not explored. Maybe they suppress people's emotions so they won't have any wants, thus taking away potential victims for the trademaster. Maybe the communities will unite and become a utopia or at least more normal. But we get the typical singular adventures and learn about mountain climbing and boat building.
So yeah... that's my personal thoughts. A lot of potential but didn't deliver. In conclusion, The Hunger Games is still my favourite YA dystopian series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2017
The Giver Quartet has been on my To Be Read list for quite some time now. I finally finished it while waiting for another book to come in and maybe my impatience colored my opinion of this one a bit. Frankly, and I'll keep this short, this series by Lois Lowry was very well written. I enjoyed the reading, though I feel like I rushed through it. It wasn't earth-shattering or life-changing for me but it did keep me entertained for the few days it took to read.
The characters are very crafted but the world-building was vague for much of the book. Whether that was done purposefully or not, I don't know. Needless to say, it made understanding certain aspects confusing much of the time. I do recommend the book however, it may be one that should be savored slowly rather than used as filler.
☆☆☆☆ out of 5 stars
The characters are very crafted but the world-building was vague for much of the book. Whether that was done purposefully or not, I don't know. Needless to say, it made understanding certain aspects confusing much of the time. I do recommend the book however, it may be one that should be savored slowly rather than used as filler.
☆☆☆☆ out of 5 stars
May 31, 2021
an excellent quartet of books from one of the earliest examples of dystopian YA fiction.
however, i had the advantage of having never read any before, and got to read the whole thing in succession.
i'd likely have a much different opinion trying to remember/tie-back the stories that intertwine had I read them all when they came out (4 books spaced over nearly 20 years).
as it was, i caught all the references and sometimes subtle nuances since each story was fresh in my mind.
a great summer read, good to great at times, but not quite as spectacular as i was led to believe, especially for the original The Giver. one of the main skills in that story was never mentioned again in any future book, which was disappointing and felt forgotten or made to seem pointless in hindsight.
however, i had the advantage of having never read any before, and got to read the whole thing in succession.
i'd likely have a much different opinion trying to remember/tie-back the stories that intertwine had I read them all when they came out (4 books spaced over nearly 20 years).
as it was, i caught all the references and sometimes subtle nuances since each story was fresh in my mind.
a great summer read, good to great at times, but not quite as spectacular as i was led to believe, especially for the original The Giver. one of the main skills in that story was never mentioned again in any future book, which was disappointing and felt forgotten or made to seem pointless in hindsight.
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