Rating: 
(64 reviews)
Author: Markus Zusak
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Product Description
Meet Ed Kennedy—underage cabdriver, pathetic cardplayer, and useless at romance. He lives in a shack with his coffee-addicted dog, the Doorman, and he’s hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence, until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That’s when the first Ace arrives. That’s when Ed becomes the messenger. . . .
Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary), until only one question remains: Who’s behind Ed’s mission?
Winner of the 2003 Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Award in Australia, I Am the Messenger is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love.
From the Hardcover edition.
5 Comments
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After falling in love with The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, I looked forward to another read by this author –I am sorry I waited so long. The audio version of I Am the Messenger, was fabulous and was narrated with hilarity, sincerity and caring.n
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Ed Kennedy’s life is mediocre, he lives in a shack with his smelly dog named Doorman, and he drives a taxi. Ed’s mother can swear with the best of them, and his father died from alcohol complications. After Ed stops a bank robbery, he begins receiving anonymous messages marked in code on playing cards in the mail, and almost immediately his life begins to swerve off its beaten-down path. Usually the messages instruct him to be at a certain address at a certain time. So with nothing to lose, Ed embarks on a series of random missions.n
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This book tells the story of a young man transcending his belief in himself, who learns to value what he has achieved. It captures the reader from the very start (you’ll want to cheer Ed on all the way), and the ending will amaze you.n
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I liked this book for being different and thought provoking. It’s not the same old tired formula. It hooked me from the start and then had me thinking and sharing ideas with friends.
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Markus is an immensely talented guy - I flipped over every page where he described something with such clever beauty that actually caught my breath while reading it. As result, my copy has so many bent pages it looks like it lost a fight with a rabid cat. This man is a unique author who can capture many fringe emotions (poignancy, heartburn, shame) that most authors ignore because they lack the talent to adequately describe them.n
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Is the story particularly gripping? No. n
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Is the pacing appropriate? No. There are many scenes that seemed irrelevant. In fact I once read that a “tight story” is one where no scene or character could be removed without the whole thing falling apart. This is not a tight story.n
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Is the ending satisfying? Sort of. Yes. No. Although I give him credit for balls. The ending is a ballsy cop out.n
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I also wonder why this is classified as a young adult novel. If “young” means that most of the main characters are “young” and they are struggling to find their way in the world, then yes it is properly classified. However the reality is that this is a fairly adult book and I wonder what criteria the editor ultimately used to put it in the YA category. The heavy emphasis on alcohol and sex (even rape) seems a bit ragged for the generally softer category of YA. Does this book fit in with the Twillight series? I don’t think so….n
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However I don’t want my review to sound as negative as I fear it does. This is a fascinating work by a talented individual. Keep an eye on him, I think he has great work in him.
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Between working as a cabdriver, playing cards with his friends, and taking care of his coffee drinking dog, Ed’s life is anything but stimulating. When Ed foils a bank robbery everything changes and the first mystrious message arrives in the mail. Ed’s adventure begins; delivering messages that he must himself learn, to people he has never met. In doing this, his view of the world changes forever, and he learns more about his friends and family than he could have thought there was to know.n
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Originally I read I am the Messenger because of how much I liked The Book Thief (written by the same author) but the story kept me going all on its own. From the start I was hooked on I am the Messenger. The narration by Ed leaves little room for improvement and the story kept me guessing until the end. The book shows you that even people who think they have very few talents and lead very unexceptional of lives can make a big difference in the lives of others — just by caring enough to do so.n
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Once I started getting into this book, it was definitely one that I could not put down. Each twist and turn in the story line engrossed me even more. I highly recommend this to anyone wanting a good read.
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