“The Giver” by Lois Lowry

Important Memories

The novel “The Giver” written by Lois Lowry and published in the US in 1993 centers around a boy called Jonas. Jonas is a top student, he has integrity and courage and he lives with his parents, his sister Lily and his friends Asher and Fiona in a community with many rules and a system of punishment. In the community the children are classified by generation-groups from one to twelve. In the so-called ceremony of the Twelves they get their jobs. As the story opens Jonas is just before his last ceremony in which he is given his job. His job is to be the Receiver of Memories. Jonas is trained by the Giver who was up to this point the Receiver of Memories. During his training he learns about colours, pain and love and he realizes that up to this point his life in the community has been lonely, colourless and emotionless. After a while Jonas discovers a dark secret and he has to decide what to do next…

Lois Lowry wants to show us the importance of memory in our lives.

I think “The Giver” is an exciting novel which is easy to understand. The topic of the story is interesting and the writing style is vivid. However, I think the introduction is too long and the story has an abrupt end which is a pity.

All in all, I can recommend the book to students at my age and to fans of science fiction novels/ stories.

Norman (14)