I Am the Messenger: Markus Zusak

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I think I'm procrastinating telling you about the ending because in all honesty, I don't know what to say. Ed exemplifies the agents of change in his creativity and empathy that overcome his self-doubt and fear of risk. He gets help from the network of messengers whom the sender of the aces employs to guide and motivate Ed. Unlike these other messengers, Ed receives no reward or compensation for his interventions. This difference is meant to portray the real-life goodness that ordinary people are capable of in daily life between friends, neighbors, and strangers in their community. Acts of goodness are not just relegated to churches or charities, but rather the novel argues that everyone receives a mandate from their conscience that they must respond to. Like Ed’s initial reaction to getting the ace of diamonds, people can consider ignoring the call or decide if it’s in humanity’s best interests to accept. The Strength in Connection

Ed's voice was honest. You'll read about him feeling bad about himself not being able to do anything right - which I think most of us could relate to. Ed sees a plethora of quandaries and concerns, and along with him we see it with a shattering clarity which I must attribute to his perspicacity. Mental dejection and Physical abuse. Smothering solitude or inundating also-rans. Lost love and lost purposes and scabrous violence.

The question of who knows Ed's past haunts him like a riddle with the power to change his life. Parents, siblings, aunts, or uncles sometimes do the emotional labor of maintaining family bonds. When these kin keepers do not exist, an individual's identity loses resilience in isolation from intergenerational connections. The importance of being loved for oneself is universal. Ed finds himself turning a searchlight onto seemingly random people who are chosen by the sender. He watches, he learns, he intuits, and then he acts on his instincts to make a connection with them. As Ed moves through the aces delivering messages, he gets a new perspective on community and his connections to the people in his life expand and intensify. What is revealed is a network of interrelationships and dependencies. Ed emerges from passivity into a force for good. The Importance of Purpose Me: OUT. OUT. OUT NOW. * grips him by the collar and drags him to the cross at the top of the screen* YOU DONUT I AM SO DONE WITH YOU. I am the Messenger is, in many ways, a beautiful book. The story is moving, the message beautiful and the characters interesting and complex. It is also often very humorous and it ended up making me smile (and even laugh) many times. Do not go into this expecting it to be like The Book Thief, the two books are nothing alike and you will be disappointed. For those with an open mind however, I believe this book has quite a lot to say. First of all, it took me a long time to read this book, but it wasn't the books fault. I had to study for a test to get into college (I got accepted, YAY!), so my reading had to suffer from it. But even that didn't stop me from enjoying this book completely. I think if I had the time I would finish it in one sitting.

I bitch, you bitch, he bitches : Can his friends really called friends? He seems to spend the whole book complaining about them. Well to be fair, he spends a huge amount of time bitching about himself too. The novel starts off with one of the best first chapters I have ever read: the bank robbery. That scene was hilarious, full of intrigue and made me curious as to what the rest of the novel would bring. Unfortunately, the book never again reached that high mark of suspense but it was entertaining nonetheless. An Aesop: "If a guy like you can stand up and do what you did for all those people, well, maybe everyone can. Maybe everyone can live beyond what they're capable of." There are countless saints who have nothing to do with church and almost no knowledge of God. But they say God walks with those people without them ever knowing it." As we follow Ed through his journey from "just another stupid person" to messenger, we see him grow emotionally as the assignments touch him deeper. In touching other people's lives he finds the purpose in his, his way of being great. Her voice is so sweet it’s almost ridiculous. It’s like strawberry-flavored or something, that voice.Ed accepts his role as a messenger as an opportunity to change people’s lives for the better. He practices with Marv for the Sledge Game. Ed knows Marv compulsively saves his income and has thirty thousand in the bank. Marv opens up about an old girlfriend, Suzanne Boyd, who suddenly left without saying goodbye. Ed wants to ask him about her but instead, he changes the subject to his general malaise. Here's the thing : While I cannot deny that some parts were pretty great, especially when it comes to the pacing (rather fast-paced, even though it took me 4 days to read it, which is a lot for me) and that I liked most of the writing - In 2008 the novel was adapted for the stage by Ross Mueller. It was first performed by the Canberra Youth Theatre on 24 November 2008. [2] The beginning- what a hilarious opening. Hopefully I’ll never be caught in the middle of a bank heist, but I just know that if I ever were, that is exactly how I would act. Marv and Richie! The Doorman. Australia! Pa-pa-pa-poker faaaace. Mystery. Intrigue. Clues. (Most of) The messages were beautiful and made my little northern ice-heart melt. For me, it means that in our self centered existence we have forgotten the beauty of the happiness that blossoms when we see the genuine smile we have helped bring forth. And in that process we discover ourselves. Yes we, always do."