The Giver by Lois Lowry: Audiobook Review
The Giver by Lois Lowry – An Audio Book Review
- The Giver
- Author: Lois Lowry
- Narrated by: Ron Rifkin
- Length: 4 hours and 51 minutes
- Unabridged
- Genre: Young Adult
Audio book Summary:
In a dystopian future where society is held in vise grip by a cabal called The Elders freedom is a luxury that people cannot afford. The setting of the story takes place during the winter season when children that has reached the age of 12 will be given their life assignment that are given to them by The Elders. These assignments will be their responsibility until the day that another successor will be chosen.
The story revolves around a young boy named Jonas as he is chosen for something exceptional. He meets a nameless man known only as The Giver. Slowly, Jonas discovers a dark secret that can very well break the chains that hold the world he has grown into forever.
One reason to listen:
The Giver flaunts a somewhat simplistic story to camouflage the provocative undertones that litter the concept of the world that the characters live in which also reflects our own distrust and anxiety. If you are looking for a Young Adult novel that has an underlying message to tell then The Giver is a good candidate.
Reactions:
“The Giver is a great introduction to utopian novels. It was very interesting listening to the book with my 10 and 11 year olds. Their innocence saw the ending in a completely different way than I did. We had some wonderful family discussions about what a perfect world is or should be. As a family we highly recommend this book for its entertainment value and the discussions it will prompt.” – Andrea
“I felt like the beginning of this book was really good, I liked where it was going, it had an interesting setting…but about 3/4 through it felt like the author gave up and just wanted it to end. It left way too many loose ends, and just sort of ended. I wasn’t a huge fan of the narrator, but he did not bother me.” – Deanna
“This is a great book about going to extremes on many different levels. Like Ender’s game and Snow Crash, the youth of today have much to teach us about how to live. This book is simply written with observations about society and the implications of our choices and desires for a perfection. Any age will love this book. My 5th grade little sister recommended this to me, and I have completed graduate school. I have recommended this book to my friends of all ages.” – Alires
“My fifth grader and I both loved this story. I couldn’t wait until bedtime to listen–we listened in the car on errands, while cooking and folding laundry. Many times we stopped it to talk about what we thought would happen next. There is so much to think about and talk about.” – Stephanie
“The weakness of the plot is carried by every other aspect of this book. Unless you need books with incredibly strong plots, I’d highly recommend this book.” – Scott
“Great story but the music kills me. It randomly comes in for a few minutes then goes away. It’s loud and distracting. It would be 5 out of 5 if it didn’t have the music.” – Ethan
Score on Audible: 4.2 out of 5
Score on Amazon: 4.5 out of 5
