Scan barcode
A review by erenrinren
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I am the Messenger is about a young man who works as a cab driver, though he’s underage. At the beginning of the book, he stops a bank robbery in a creative way, and afterwards he is sent an ace playing card with addresses on them, presumably to find the truth behind the events that occur there and put his own spin on them.
The plot kind of hinges on the mystery, while the other events supplement ithim being in love with his friend, Audrey, his relationship with his friends, his mother and his grief about his father, & his job . He has a wonderful bond with his dog, Doorman. I was so scared that something would happen to him, but I am glad to say nothing ill happened to him.
Our main character, Ed, shows tremendous growth throughout the novel. He becomes obsessive with the mystery, to the point of harming himselfand others . I found his voice to be not the most likeable, but he was thrust into this mystery that changes his view and outlook on life so that changes quite a bit.
There was so much intensity at certain points within the novel that after reading a significant chunk of the book, I had to put it down to process everything that had happened. This wasn’t to the novel’s detriment, however.
In terms of details on content warnings, I will post them below in the drop down.
Near the end, when we find out the mystery, it seemed very unsatisfactory to me. Maybe if I ruminate on it for a while, I will think differently but for now it seemed very convenient. I also found some of the “messages” Ed had to perform were lacklustre compared to others. Maybe that was the point, but it seemed very off kilter.
This is why I docked down the percentage rating.
All in all, I am the Messenger was not as good as The Book Thief, but it shares the same intensity and character growth. I really do recommend it, if you can handle some of the content.
The plot kind of hinges on the mystery, while the other events supplement it
Our main character, Ed, shows tremendous growth throughout the novel. He becomes obsessive with the mystery, to the point of harming himself
There was so much intensity at certain points within the novel that after reading a significant chunk of the book, I had to put it down to process everything that had happened. This wasn’t to the novel’s detriment, however.
In terms of details on content warnings, I will post them below in the drop down.
Near the end, when we find out the mystery, it seemed very unsatisfactory to me. Maybe if I ruminate on it for a while, I will think differently but for now it seemed very convenient. I also found some of the “messages” Ed had to perform were lacklustre compared to others. Maybe that was the point, but it seemed very off kilter.
This is why I docked down the percentage rating.
All in all, I am the Messenger was not as good as The Book Thief, but it shares the same intensity and character growth. I really do recommend it, if you can handle some of the content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Grief
Minor: Grief, Vomit, and Sexual content
-Fat-Shaming/Fatphobia, there is one scene that appears in the novel that constantly refers to a minor character’s weight and is not addressed, but it doesn’t happen anywhere else in the novel.
-There is a mention of a sex worker who takes Ed’s cab one night, but is never mentioned again
-Rape/Sexual Assault, within the first 50 pages it appears (Ed witnesses it)
-Violence/Blood/Gun Violence, both happening to the main character and not.