REVIEW #13 - The Giver by Lois Lowry

TITLE: The Giver

AUTHOR: Lois Lowry

GENRE: dystopia

PUBLICATION DATE: Jan 24th 2006 (first published in 1993)

SYNOPSIS:

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

REVIEW:

First thoughts
I borrowed this book from the library - I just knew I wouldn't have read it if I hadn't have it in paperback. As a result I read it in Polish, so I base my review on this version.

Cover

I'm not sure if I like it. It sure tells me it's a "classic" book.

Plot

Like I said, classic. I didn't know much about this book other than it's classical dystopia that influenced all the later dystopias. And I must admit - it's a short book but thanks to that not a word feels redundant, everything has its place.
The story is gripping - I read a lot of dystopias and not half of them made such an impact on me like The Giver did. I saw thing like Jonas did

Characters

More than individual characters, we have this society. It lives in a bliss - it doesn't know pain, love, loss. The only characters who know them are The Giver and Jonas, and they hurt. They hurt so much that sometimes the reader wishes they didn't, wishes it stopped right there.
That's what makes the read turn the pages.
Jonas is a great character and I couldn't help feeling for him as he discovered the truth about the society.

Writing

The writing is simple yet captivating; it even felt raw at times. There were no unnecessary decorations or empty words.

Overall

Every fan of dystopian books should read it to see how A LOT of books is inspired by The Giver. I was particularly surprised to notice that very popular Matched (by Ally Condie) is almost identical with The Giver in a lot of aspects.

Rating

5 stars out of 5.