Customer Reviews

I Am the Messenger

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Markus Zusak might be my favorite author now, and I've read a lot of books by a lot of authors. I have not, however, read three books of such magnitude by the same author. Upon completing GETTING THE GIRL, THE BOOK THIEF, and now I AM THE MESSENGER, I sit back in awe at the mastery of the writing, the power of the message, the truth of such stories.

Winner of the 2003 Children's Book Council of Australia's Book of the Year Award and nominated for best young adult book at the 2006 L.A. Times Festival of Books, I AM THE MESSENGER (or THE MESSENGER in Australia) tells the story of Ed Kennedy, nineteen-year-old taxi cab driver and all-around average guy. In fact, he's the epitome of average -- faithful friends, stinky dog, dead-end job, and girl who loves someone else.

That's why it's such a big deal for Ed, Marv, and Ritchie to get trapped in a bank during a stickup. One of the thieves gets spooked, drops his gun, and somehow Ed ends up with the weapon and the town's praise. That might be a winning hand for Ed if he doesn't receive the first mysterious playing card, the Ace of Diamonds in his mailbox. It's a card with a message for him to deliver. Or else.

Messages like Ed's will change a person, if he or she lets them. That's the beauty of Zusak's story. Ed discovers the changing power in simple, personalized messages of love, even if they're ones he's forced to deliver. While I could imagine a cynical reader calling Ed's 12 messages a tad forced, I would differ with them on every case. Ed's stories are simple proof that if a "guy like him can stand up and do what he did, then maybe everyone can. Maybe everyone can live beyond what they're capable of."

-- Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens

Ok, this was a nice book. Interesting (albeit quite unbelievable) premises and a quite readable writing style keep it moving along nicely. I thought about the book every day after I had read parts of it, and looked forward to reading more. BUT then I got to the ending... It's not a BAD ending, just a puzzling and completely improbable ending--one that made me suddenly feel like I had just wasted a bunch of time reading the book. Did the author just get to the end of the book and realize he didn't have an ending, and quickly make something up? Or maybe he actually meant to end it that way. Whatever the case, I don't want to spoil the plot for people, but I'll just say that the identity of someone in question throughout the book turns out to be someone completely out of the blue, and it just doesn't fit the facts and plotline of the book very well.
Oh, well. Obviously many people have enjoyed the book, and I did as well, but the tacked-on ending just left me unsatisfied and disgruntled.

I bought this book recently on a serendipitous bookstore trip during a family reunion in Colorado. It is most definately worthy of the multiple starred reviews it has received. Ed Kennedy, a 19-year-old with no forseeable future, is extremely likeable and readable. His life takes a sharp turn for the positive when he receives the first card in the mail-an ace with three addresses and times. It suddenly becomes clear that these people need his help, whether in large ways or small acts of kindness. Three more aces follow, and thus embarks Ed's adventure to help other people, and naturally in the end help himself. His friends are very realistic and their issues are almost as compelling as Ed's. There is a bit of romance, but it doesn't overpower the rest of the book-it's a very nice balance. Family challenges are a major theme here, as is learning your true potential. I would recommend it to teens over the age of 15 (some swearing and violence), but it is more than adult-friendly, and interesting enough to be a page turner for all ages, and the price is unbeatable as well. All I have to say thank heavens for spontaneous trips and books like this!

Ed Kennedy is a nineteen-year-old cabdriver. He is a self-proclaimed screw-up. He didn't try hard in school, never went to the University, and only took a job cab-driving because it was easy. He spends all the rest of his time with his extremely smelly 17-year-old dog, The Doorman, or playing cards with Richie, Merv and Audrey -- his best friends and comrades in doing just enough to get by. But all of that changes one day.

The four friends had stopped at the bank before going home, and were caught up in the middle of a robbery. After a really inept attempt, the robber tried to flee the scene, and Ed chased after him. He held him until the cops arrived and was thus labeled the local "hero", a title that was rather unusual to Ed. He wasn't used to the attention. And then it happened. He received a card in the mail. Not just any card, but the Ace of Diamonds. There was nothing on the card, but 3 addresses, with a different time next to each. But what did it mean? What was he supposed to do?

Ed didn't have a clue what to do, but Audrey felt that he was chosen for something special because of the robbery. So late one night he arrived at the first address, only to find a very scared wife and daughter that had to endure the torture of a drunken man each night. Ed knew in his heart it was up to him to rescue them, but he wasn't a hero. In fact, he was rather a coward. Would he be able to find the courage to tackle each assignment as it came along? Could he deliver the "messages" that needed to be sent?

To be honest, I knew absolutely nothing about this book when I decided to read it. But I liked The Book Thief, and thought I would give it a try. It turned out to be a very special book....one that touched me very deeply. Have you ever had a book weave it's way into you soul? Deeply, like there was spot there waiting just for that book?? Well, I am the Messenger was the book that did it for me. Ed Kennedy was a wonderfully flawed character. He knew his weaknesses, and was afraid to actually do anything that might disrupt the sameness of his life. Page after page the story builds, and Ed evolves into someone new.

"Usually, we walk around constantly believing ourselves. "I'm okay," we say. "I'm all right." But sometimes the truth arrives on you, and you can't get it off. That's when you realize that sometimes it isn't even an answer -- it's a question. Even now, I wonder how much of my life is convinced."

I can understand this. I can relate to this. I FEEL this sometimes. I really loved this book. The absolutely only thing that took away from the book at all was the ending. I thought it was rather rushed, and tied up a little too neatly. The entire premise of the book is a little unbelievable. Most fiction IS unbelievable. But it made me WANT to believe that one person really can change the world.

Alright, so the book started out good. The whole robbery was very funny and exciteing. Then he gets the first card and you think..well ok thats cool. He goes through the tasks on the first card, the first card tasks were by far my favorite. I mean it had me very interested. Then he gets his second card, and it was really exciting when he got it because two unexpected guest show up at his house and give him the card in a sort of rough way, but yet its a great part to read. Then however, the tasks he is given on the cards dont seem to get any harder, and if you ask me many of them get less and less interesting to read. So i find my self getting more and more bored with the book and ready to just skip to the end. The book had some good laughs and some exciting parts, but i just sort of got sick of it. I thought it was predictable too. It just didnt seem like their was ever a big twist in the book that left you amazed and thrilled to read on. The book wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. It did have, for the most part, very likable charecters. I guess i just was expecting a bit more of a thrill from the book.

I recently read The Book Thief by this same author and was so moved that I HAD to pick up I Am the Messenger. I was hoping to have another amazing read, so perhaps my expectations were too high. While I felt it was still well-written with well-developed characters and an interesting storyline, I was disappointed in the end. My comment when finishing was, "Huh...that was it?" As others have noted, some of Ed's (main character) solutions to his problems were a bit too convenient and simple to be life changing and I was ready for it to be over 3/4 through. This title definitely pales in comparison to The Book Thief (which everyone should read) but I'll still try anything this author dishes out in the future.

This is a book that challenges the reader to think about what s/he can do, not what others might or should do.

Ed and his friends are drifting through life: accepting and existing without questioning. Suddenly a series of events happen which cause Ed to be more actively involved in his own life and, as a consequence of that involvement, to help others.

Okay, elements are contrived, some readers will dislike the graphic language and the ending may jar. But to focus solely on these aspects is to miss the underlying message: the power that we each have to make a difference.

I enjoyed this story. Markus Zusak is an accomplished writer who, in this book, has provided the reader with the means to think beyond 'what is' to 'what might be' If only ..

Recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

When I first picked up this book, I was riveted. I had to know who Ed would be delivering messages to, and how. Then see the effect on him afterward. And when Ed finished hearts, I nearly cried with happiness.

Then I turned the page.

Oh, how I wish I hadn't. I understood who the mystery person was, which is what ruins everything. It takes this beautiful story and turns it into a sermon. He preached about everything that he'd implied when Ed finished hearts. It almost felt like he didn't think his readers would "get it," so he added that last part just to make sure. I find that very disappointing, and a bit insulting. He should have more faith in his readers.

The narrator Ed is a taxicab driver and kind of a loser. When he's not working, he hangs out with his smelly dog and his loser friends to play cards and drink. Then he captures a bank robber and gets messages from a stranger written on playing cards. As he carries out tasks the messages suggest, he helps strangers, his friends, and eventually himself.

The book is funny, and the narrator's voice is sensitive and sweet. His three friends' characters are gradually developed very well. The pacing is great, as the reader, along with Ed, tries to figure out how Ed will carry out the tasks suggested to him and who is behind the messages.

The ending is perhaps unnecessarily didactic, but I admire the author for taking the risk.

All in all, a funny, moving, thought-provoking read.

I just finished the Australian book titled "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak; the first book I've ever read by this author, though one of his other books (The Book Thief) has received wide acclaim. The story is meant for older teens only, I'd say (due to strong language and mature situations) and is a complete departure from the sort of YA books I usually read. It got off to an amusing and very promising start when Ed, a teen drifting through life without any clear direction, foils a bank robbery. Soon after he begins receiving anonymous messages directing him to locations where he has the opportunity to do some good in the world. The book is very well written, and the situations in which the protagonist finds himself are occasionally horrifying, sometimes amusing, and in a few instances very touching. (All the scenes with Milla rather got to me, for instance.)

Even though the character's actions---and the plot in general---continued to become increasingly far-fetched and unbelievable as the book went on, the story still held my attention. Well, right up until the big twist ending and reveal, that is! Literally within the last five pages, the author introduced an incredibly stupid and annoying deux ex machina plot device to solve the mystery of who exactly is sending the notes. This shoddy, lazy finish to the story had me ready to throw the book right across the room. I certainly had a lot of choice words to say about the conclusion (some of which I had learned from this very book!) which I cannot print out in this review. Ha!

So, a mixed-to-negative review on this one from me. The good points of the book, and the writing skill of the author, were overshadowed by an increasingly convoluted and illogical plot progression in the second half of the manuscript, and a crappy, crappy ending. I'm still so ticked off by it, in fact, that I don't know that I'll bother to seek out anything else the author has written...