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.

The book takes place in a future society where everything appears perfect. Everyone has a place, they all take care of each other, and nobody ever starves, becomes sick, or is even that unhappy.

Personal

Own?	No.
Read?	Audiobook read by Ron Rifkin.
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 would want it banned. The overarching theme is, giving the government too much power, even when they have good intentions, is very bad.

Review

Overall:

Good

• Like with other dystopian novels, Lowry does a good job of showing how concepts like "safety" and "equality" can be bastardized into creating an extremely sterile world.
• The reveal of what the strangeness Jonas was seeing was very interesting.
  Learning the elders had the ability to control whether people could see color was quite shocking, and certainly clarified just how much control they really had over people. The later reveal that the Giver began to experience music was another example of their power.
• For as much damage would be caused if a new Receiver died or went rogue, the elders don't try very hard to protect or monitor them.
• The scene where Jonas watches his father "releasing" the twin is, quite chilling.
• I like how the ending is kind of left open. Although, I think it's pretty obvious that Jonas was experiencing a fever dream as he and Gabriel froze to death, a direct interpretation allows for at least a glimmer of hope.
• As Jonas begins starving to death, I like that he questions whether leaving a place where all his needs were met was really the right thing to do, then comes to the conclusion that, while there, he was starving in so many other ways.
• I liked how, when Jonas is told he is allowed to lie, he very quickly realizes that others might be able to lie too, and, if they are, how would he know it?

Bad

• I think a lot of the biological aspects of humans couldn't be overcome so easily as they are in the book. 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 be beyond the skill of geneticists who couldn't even remove color vision 100%.
• I would like it if more about the "stirrings" was discussed.
  I initially assumed it was simply a drug to eliminate sexual urges, as it stops wet dreams, but if that's all it is, why bother including it? Had Lowry mentioned it also curbed aggressive behavior, it would help explain Jonas's desire to leave.
• 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 is used to shoot and kill 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 from children's play. I know the scenario was necessary to let Jonas reflect on real his memories of actual 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."
• Because there aren't even any real close calls in Jonas's escape, the whole sequence ended up being drawn out and dull.

Ugly

• When it's revealed that everyone who "releases" undesirable people are lying about the fact that they've been euthanizing them, I had a hard time squaring this with the culture. All these people are raised in a society where lying is forbidden, and even exaggerating is chastised. So, to assume a bunch of 12-years-olds would, all of the sudden, be capable of out-right lying the moment they started training for their assignments, seemed hard to believe.

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.

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