January 2012 - I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak

We had a good turn out this month, with three new members coming along to say Hi. Unfortunately, even though we had two months over Christmas to read this book, many had trouble finding it as it isn't published in the UK, so for some people they didn't start the book and others didn't finish. Those of us who did manage to get hold of the book, generally quite liked it, finding it a bit bizarre and quirky.

The plot as a whole was not believable but we agreed that it was never really meant to be believed. The individual stories were mostly realistic but the idea of playing cards with a list of missions to complete, turning up in your letterbox, not so much. It was nice that although the plot wasn't believable, the author tied in day to day elements, such as the four friends, very normal young adults, living common scenarios such as not having a job, family issues and loving someone who doesn't love you in return.

There were too many characters in the book, for any of us to empathise with any of them, although most of us wanted to adopt a granny after reading what Ed did for Milla. We all thought Marv was a bit weird and didn't quite get him until his story was revealed near the end.

The recurring message throughout the book, was how doing something really small can make a big difference to someone’s life.  We were touched by the character of Jimmy, the Christmas lights and the empty shoe box. It certainly made us question and think about the little things in life.

The ending of the book was a let down. Some members were annoyed that Ed was aware he was a character in a book, others found Ed finally getting Audrey to be too predictable, a shame as most of us enjoyed the book up until the ending.

The majority of the group really liked Zusak’s writing style and found it to be simple yet quirky. Most of us would go on to read something by him again, and those who wanted to read “The Book Thief” before, would still like to read this. Some of our members have read both books, and preferred “The Book Thief” and highly recommend it, although they did mention it was completely different  to I am the Messenger.

Eight members voted, and our average score was 7/10.

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