I Am the Messenger

Having loved The Book Thief, I came to The Messenger with a sense of both anticipation and trepidation -- the latter on the chance that Zusak, as with many writers before him, had only had one decent book in him. Fortunately, anticipation won! While I can't say I loved this quite as much as I did The Book Thief (which I thought was exceptional), it was nonetheless an original, interesting and strangely touching novel, with appeal to young adults and adults alike.

Ed Kennedy is a self-described no-hoper: "Taxi driver. Local loser. Cornerstone of mediocrity. Sexual midget. Pathetic card player." Together with a group of similarly apathetic friends and a smelly, coffee-drinking dog known as the Doorman, he is living an uninspired life in a show more dead end town -- until he foils an attempted bank robbery and is 'chosen' by an unknown power to intervene in the lives of struggling townsfolk. Following ambiguous clues delivered (not always kindly) on playing cards, Ed encounters and assists a range of strangers, helping them find peace, acceptance, security and self esteem. It is through these successes that he discovers the courage to challenge those closest to him, and ultimately finds the self respect necessary to take charge of his own life.

More than anything this is a novel about hope, about choosing to live the best life we can, irrespective of location or circumstances. This is summed up at the end of the book with the words: "If a guy like you can stand up and do what you did, then maybe everyone can. Maybe everyone can live beyond what they're capable of". That this message comes wrapped in beautifully written prose, and is delivered by an unlikely, yet overtly likeable protagonist, only adds to its attraction. I would definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy an entertaining, yet thought provoking, read. show less

You probably don't realize, because I read romance like I would like to eat warm baked chocolate chip cookies (three times daily) but Book Thief is a top 5 for me and this book absolutely reminded me why.

Markus Zusak has a singular ability to give a compassionate and unique narrative to an incredible time in history

And apparently, an incredibly mundane one.

I Am the Messenger reminded me of the stilted wandering of The Stranger going through the motions combined with a incredibly effective Pay It Forward.

I don't know how else to describe it. By the end, particularly in the second part of the hearts section, I was weeping.

The book opens with the words:
the gunman is useless.
I know it.
He knows it.
The whole bank knows it.

and it so absurd show more and hilarious...

And then it gut punches you a solid 400 times. It can be as simple as that, then Ed reuses the term "shirty" which a cop who interviewed his group accused them of being and you're laughing again.

And then Ed will destroy you again when he looks at Audrey and uses some profound, weighty, yet succinct way to convey his unrequited love and endless rejection.

What starts absurd and hilarious progresses into heartfelt consciousness and growth from a narrator who could easily feel done --he's incredibly NORMAL and has done "Jack shit" in his 19 years-- but he's an original voice in a book that is so wacky and brilliant I knew I'd be adding a hard copy to my library within 3 pages. show less

This is the first book I’m giving a 3.75 star rating. A four is too high, a three is far too low, and a 3.5 just doesn’t feel right. So I’m being extra picky and implementing a new rating system for myself!
I am enamored with The Book Thief, in fact it is one of my favorite books of all time. (Ever.) Zusak’s writing style is so succinct and beautiful to me that I had to read this book simply for the sake of the author.
I found myself disappointed that I Am the Messenger was lacking what The Book Thief had—until the end.
The message (no pun intended?) was so powerful, and the reveal that Zusak himself was the orchestrater of everything brought the story together nicely.
The storyline throughout the book may have bored me at show more times, and certain plot lines were questionable, but the emotions I experienced at the end almost certainly contributed the extra 0.75 stars. show less

When I read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak in 2007, I honestly thought he'd peaked. I assumed nothing he'd ever written before Book Thief, (or would ever write afterwards for that matter) could even begin to compete on that level.

That foolish assumption robbed me of the opportunity to fall in love with The Messenger for eight years more than necessary. That's a bookish tragedy if you ask me and I've definitely learned my lesson.

Markus Zusak is an Australian writing wizard and he captured me on the first page of The Messenger with the voice of the main character Ed Kennedy. I was chuckling along with the cadence of his life, his friends and that of his pet dog The Doorman, until something meaningful started to unfold.

If I try to explain show more what happens, I'm afraid it'll sound absurd, and I can't speak highly enough of this book, so I think I'll keep this review simple.

If you're interested in themes of why we're here or how we can make a difference, Ed Kennedy will take you on an unexpected journey that will light up your soul and make you laugh while gently asking you to look at your surroundings - and the people in it - in an entirely new way.

The Messenger is a quick, easy, funny, thoroughly moving and entertaining novel although it carries a powerful message; as the title suggests.

The ending is unique though, and when reading other reviews, it's clear that the readers who 'didn't get' the ending were let down by it, but the readers who did 'get it' are a little in awe; myself included. Whether you enjoy the ending or not is immaterial because Zusak offers an amazingly enjoyable reading experience along the way and it's one of those rare books I'd like to read again in the future. show less

Holy crap, what the hell Zusak! What is his magic that pulls me in from the first sentence? He has a style all his own and it hooks me every time. And the raw emotion, damn! The ending did throw me a bit, but the more I think about it, it doesn’t bother me at all. He is definitely a top 10 favorite author, if not top 5, and the only confusion there is that I’ve never ranked my favorite authors, but I know he belongs.

This is the kind of book you read out loud just to hear the words on your lips.

I went on an earlier tirade about doing lots of probably stupid and sappy and romantic(?) things involving reading this book to a lover and just contemplating the beauty and shit and I also swore a lot because what else do I do when confronted with something so awe inspiring.

This is the kind of book that if I heard anyone say something bad about it, I would go into a furious rage and start spouting all of the reasons why they're wrong and why this is one of the best books to ever grace this planet, and there would be no convincing me otherwise. So I just avoid reading negative reviews and no one ever takes my reading recommendations anyway, so I don't really show more have anything to worry about.

Except, please please read it. show less

I Am the Messenger - Zusak
4 stars

Superficially, this is a young adult, coming of age novel. It’s a first person narrative of a year in the life of Ed Kennedy. Ed is a 19 year old taxi driver, and a self-described loser. He’s having an unusual year. He begins to receive cryptic messages on the backs of playing cards. Each message requires him to do something for another person. This is a knight’s quest story in a low income, urban, Australian setting.

There’s more to the story than the likable Ed, his three best friends, and his smelly dog. (I really loved the dog, Doorman.) Zusak gives Ed a perfectly believable teenaged voice, short sentences, limited vocabulary. But, the book is full of literary subtext. It became a show more reader’s quest to identify all the references. Hint: none of the casually mentioned book titles are accidental. Unreliable narrator, magical realism, metafiction; it’s an ambitious list of literary devices. Sometimes, I felt it was too contrived and a bit over the top. On the other hand, I want to go back and read it again. I still feel like I’m missing some of the messenger’s secrets. show less