The Giver

The Giver

Hardcover - USA - 1st edition.

Author Lois Lowry Published 1993-??-?? Type Fiction Genre Drama Themes Dystopia, Family Age Group Teen

The Giver is a young adult novel written by Lois Lowry and published in 1993. It is the first book in what would later become a loosly-related series and, in 2014, was adapted into a movie. The book is quite influential, being required reading in many schools, while being frequently challenged in others.

Personal

Own?	No.
Read?	Audiobook read by [[]].
Finished	2024-04-04.

I remember seeing this book prominently featured in book stores and again later when it was made into a movie, but I didn't have enough interest to read it. After seeing it was one of the more frequently challenged books, and that it was also written by a female author, I became more inclined to read it.

After finishing it, I was once again amazed that so many conservative-minded people want to ban books that depict government overreach as an evil.

Review

Good

• Like with other dystopian novels, Lowry does a good job of showing how taking "safety" and "equality" to extremes can lead to an extremely sterile undesirable world.
• The reveal that the strangeness Jonas was seeing was color was very interesting.
• For as much damage as the new Receiver could do, they don't try very hard to control them.
• I like how the ending is kind of left open. Although, I think it's pretty obvious what happened, a direct interpretation allows for a glimmer of hope.

Bad

• I think a lot of the biological aspects of humans couldn't so easily be overcome. Biology is far more messy than simply taking a pill, and, while it's possible to make drastic changes to a person by altering their DNA, the interconnections of our genome would always cause unwanted side effects. Perfecting this to the point of being able to remove a parent's love for their children, especially to the point of euthanizing them, seems like it would take a lot of work.
• I would have liked some explanation for how the Receiver and Giver are able to transfer memories, or how memories that leave them return to the people in their society. All of that seemed like a magical aspect in an otherwise non-magical world.
• Since the society doesn't have any war or violent crime, and haven't for countless generations, it doesn't make sense for children to play "war." They wouldn't know what a rifle is, let alone that it shoots and kills people, and they certainly wouldn't understand terms like "ambush" or "line of fire." Such a controlling society would certainly be inclined to prohibit pretend violence if children's play. The scenario was necessary to let Jonas reflect on real war, but perhaps a way more consistent could have been thought up. Similarly, since nobody in living memory has ever starved or even become really hungry, Jonas shouldn't know the word "starve."
• I found the escape sequence to be a bit drawn out and dull.

Ugly

• Nothing.

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	There are several women, but none are very important.
Bechdel test?	Pass	Jonas's mother and sister talk to each other multiple times.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	Nobody's race is ever mentioned.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Links