Kira's village is so cruel and horrible and they don't even realize it. The casual cruelty that they employ to dispose of the sick and the weak as well as the way they treat each other is sickening. I will say that this was a very good book, just not as good as The Giver. The Giver has a quiet creepiness about it so when the twist came, it was truly shocking. The callousness of the village does not lend itself to any surprise. I almost expected it when the shocker was revealed so it was less than astonishing. Other than that, Gathering Blue is an excellent book, very well written with beautiful imagery. I hoping The Messenger will clear up some of the questions and give me more on Jonas.
The Messenger does clear up a lot of questions.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like this book as much as The Giver, but I had an interesting experience with it recently. I read it about a year ago, and a few weeks ago, I was struggling to remember which literature-society built their naming system by syllables according to age. I was asking Jason about it because I could have sworn it was an old classic - it had that feel to it in my mind. So even if i didn't necessarily love the book to start with, it made a seriously permanant impression on me.
I"m not familiar with this series or where this village is but it sounds a bit intriguing -- although kind of disturbing too.
ReplyDeleteAmanda - well, then it is good it made an impression
ReplyDeleteJenners - It is disturbing in many ways. The village is a future society.
I loved The Giver, but I don't think I've ever read anything else by Lois Lowry. Would this be an okay place to start?
ReplyDeleteCelica - Yeah, this is the companion/follow-up to the The Giver and then The Messenger is the next that ties the two together. You should definitely try it.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to read Gathering Blue and The Messenger. I know I should, but I've heard they aren't as easy of a read as The Giver. They are both on my list tho!
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