The Giver

Lowry, Lois, read by Ron Rifkin. 2001. The Giver. Listening Library. ISBN: 080726203X.

The Giver is not only an excellent story but also an example of what youth fantasy can be at its best: a guide for life that illuminates the way ahead through the power of imagination.

Jonas lives in a well-ordered society in which the elderly are respected, children are cared for, and no one goes hungry. He believes, as everyone seems to, that following the rules of his community is the most reasonable way to live. Then he turns twelve and is given his adult job – to hold all the memories of times past as the Reciever.

He learns from the former Reciever – now called the Giver – both by experiencing memories of the past and by observing what really goes on around him in the community every day. What he discovers changes him to the point that he must choose between what his society has created and what they’ve given up.

I think that part of the reason this book is so powerful and so popular is that even though the story is fantasy, Jonas’ experience is what many sensitive kids go through at about his age. Jonas’ discovery of the dark side of his society is not so different from our kids’ finding out about the dark side of our own. It can seem as crazy to our kids that the adults in their lives don’t do more about our problems - or at least act more outraged about them - as it does to Jonas that his parents accept what he comes to see as unacceptable in his culture. Of course, growing up is about recognizing our limitations as well as about confronting our problems. Part of what’s so wonderful about this book is that kids can see themselves in Jonas’ journey and, through fiction, begin to think about what they can and should do in their own lives.

Ron Rifkin’s narration of this audiobook was only average. He seemed to stumble over his words a few times. And while it’s terrific when a narrator is actually a voice actor talented enough to give each character a different voice (here I’m thinking of Jim Dale’s wonderful narrations of the Harry Potter audiobooks), I don’t think there’s anything wrong with not doing that if you can’t pull it off. Rifkin’s attempts made Jonas sound whiny and the Giver sound like he had a cold.

Although I wasn’t crazy about the audiobook version of this title, I definitely think The Giver should be in every children’s collection. After I found out that Lowry’s sequel Messenger continued the story of Jonas, I checked it out and read it too, and I thought it was excellent. I would display Lowry’s trilogy together - The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger – because I think there are other people besides me who read The Giver when it was first published and don’t realize that it’s part of a trilogy.

AudioFile says, “Winner of the 1994 Newbery Award, Lowry's story sparks emotion and response from adults and children alike. This is a compelling prospect for family listening.”

AudioFile. Qtd. in Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/080726203X/sr=1-1/qid=1177340662/ref=dp_proddesc_0/103-0423122-5982232?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&qid=1177340662&sr=1-1.