“The Giver” by Lois Lowry.
“The Giver” by Lois Lowry. Utopia.
Notes: I have mixed feelings about this one. First, the experience of listening to it as an audiobook makes me feel a bit uncertain about its contents, although I understood everything I heard. the world insisted in being nosy and making me lose some sentences here and there. So it’s the story of a boy who learns there’s choice after living in a world in which everything it’s predetermined for people and chosen for them, this is shown as painful, not just because some of the memories are of pain, physical and mental, but because the knowledge isolates him inevitably from his family, friends and community and sheds light over the horrible way they live to avoid pain, not only giving up choice but sacrificing anything or anybody that might disturb they perfect ordered society. While Jonas realizes with horror the error of their ways and he and his mentor device a plan to make their people aware, Jonas own journey towards freedom becomes stereotypical and the questions raised in the first part are never fully or satisfyingly answered. In conclusion, The Giver is an interesting novel but it feels like it could have been groundbreaking (which may explain the New Berry Medal)
"The Giver" is the first part of a trilogy, although the other two books have different protagonists, they seem to come to a conjunct conclusion, which might be more satisfying.
First read: 2007.