I am the Messenger – Markus Zusak

Author: Markus Zusak

Pages: 360

Genre: Young Adult, fiction, mystery, contemporary

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 protect the diamonds
survive the clubs
dig deep through the spades
feel the hearts

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He’s pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.
That’s when the first ace arrives in the mail.
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?

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19057.I_Am_the_Messenger

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Thoughts: I loved this book so much!! The blurb does not do it justice! (also, can I just say that I love the cover!!! It’s awesome and makes so much sense once you read it) I cannot explain how much I love Markus Zusak’s writing, and after reading both The Book Thief and now The Messenger I have fallen in love with both of them. The Messenger or I am the Messenger is a beautiful novel following Ed Kennedy, as he brings messages to people who need them, whether they be positive or negative. He watches people’s lives and basically narrates this book, telling us about their problems, and how he relates to them. He then thinks of creative ways to be able to improve their lives.

“Sometimes people are beautiful.
Not in looks.
Not in what they say.
Just in what they are.”
― Markus Zusak, I Am the Messenger

While doing these things, Ed also has his own problems, and the way he narrates his story, and what happens to him both physically and mentally is amazing. The characters, the way they interact and what Ed sees, is all brought together by his first-person, sometimes-broken script, which makes it even more dramatic and exciting.

“Maybe I truly am shedding the old Ed Kennedy for this new person who’s full of purpose rather than incompetence.

Maybe one morning I’ll wake up and step outside of myself to look back at the old me lying dead among the sheets.”― Markus Zusak, I Am the Messenger

This is a book of riddles for Ed to figure out, and with each instruction, he feels better about himself, as if he is becoming more of a participant in life. And through him, we know what it feels like, because of the brilliant way in which Zusak creates his story. Ed meets a lot of people during his adventures, but somehow they don’t overpower and ruin the touching story. Then to finish it all off, it rounds back to the main four characters, which reinforces their importance.

“We both smack the sudden silence with laughter. When it returns, we hit it again.

The laughter spins in front of us and we keep hitting it.”
― Markus Zusak, I Am the Messenger

I can’t really explain anything else. Mainly, I love it because of how its written, but I also love the characters and the idea of the story and how it connects with me and… I think you get the picture. It’s the sort of book you can enjoy while reading, but also makes you think and can change your life, which is what I also found when I read The Book Thief.

The Messenger made me laugh out loud, but also cry, which I why I believe it is a book with raw emotions coming from it. I don’t know whether I would read it again, but it is still deserving of 5 stars, and is definitely a favourite of mine.

“Why can’t the world hear? I ask myself. Within a few moments I ask it many times. Because it doesn’t care, I finally answer, and I know I’m right. ― Markus Zusak, I Am the Messenger

Why should you read it: First, if you love The Book Thief, then of course I recommend. It’s a very touching book that really got to me, and I hope it does for other people too. Comment your thoughts, and we can see what other people think of what, I believe, is an amazing novel.

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