Review: The Giver

 The Giver by Lois Lowry Published 1993

“There's a time that I remember, when I did not know no pain

When I believed in forever, and everything would stay the same”

Memories by Maroon 5

 

As a kid, I missed out on reading The Giver by Lois Lowry. I think my friends were probably reading it in middle school when I was reading the Fear Street series by R.L. Stine and graduating on to things like Carrie by Stephen King.  Not the point though…


I missed out on reading The Giver as a child, so as a 35 year old mother of two, I thought now would be a good time to read this book. What was I possibly thinking?


The society as a whole is deeply flawed. They are striving for sameness or some sense of equality, but ultimately end up stripping away all real identity from the people within the community. And Jonas, dear sweet Jonas, figured this out. He questions his place within the community and in doing so we realize he understands that people cannot thrive in a society where there is no individuality.


Jonas has reached his year 12 ceremony when he finds out what his role in life is to be. Everything seems to be going smoothly, as expected, except Jonas is passed over. Come to find out, Jonas is not assigned a job, but rather selected to be some thing called The Receiver. His job, as it turns out, is to be the person who holds all of the memories for the community in which he lives. All of the memories. Of history. Talk about having a weight on your shoulders.


And the society knows this. Their was once another Receiver selected 10 years prior, and things…did not work out. In the time spent with The Giver, whom will be transferring all his memories to Jonas, Jonas realizes how terrible of a life this will ultimately result in. You are tasked with holding the memories for everyone, instead of allowing the people within the society to learn and grow from the experiences held within the memories.


Jonas’s realization after becoming The Receiver that his life and community is so flawed leads him to make decisions that he can never come back from. We are talking about learning everything in your life has been a lie and you decide to take matters into your own hands. Life and death matters. And I agree with him whole-heartedly. The end left me with so many questions. I plan on reading the rest of the series soon so I can report back on what happens next in the fake utopia that is really a dystopian wasteland.


All in all, Lowry did a great job in writing The Giver because I have bought in and I cannot wait to find out what will happen next with Jonas.

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