Messenger

By: Lois Lowry

Narrated by: David Morse

Length: 3 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Six years earlier, Matty had come to Village as a scrappy and devious little boy. Back then, he liked to call himself "the Fiercest of the Fierce." But since that time, Matty has grown almost into a man under the care of Seer, a blind man whose special sight had earned him the name. Now Matty hopes that he will soon be given his true name, and he hopes it will be Messenger. But strange changes are taking place in Village. Once a utopian community that prided itself on its welcome to newcomers, Village will soon be closed to all outsiders. As one of the only people able to safely travel through the dangerous Forest, Matty must deliver the message of Village's closing and try to convince Seer's daughter, Kira, to return with him before it's too late. But Forest has grown hostile to Matty too, and he must risk everything to fight his way through it, armed only with an emerging power he cannot yet explain or understand.

©2004 Lois Lowry (P)2004 Random House, Inc., Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic reviews

"Builds suspense to the last heart-wrenching page." (Booklist)
"Simply and beautifully written..." (The New York Times Book Review)

Excellent! again Excellent

If you listened or read the first book of "the giver" then you will enjoy this book also. I really hope that a 4th book will be written. All three have left me wanting to read more. I would recommend this to anyone.

I'd listen to David Morse read the phone book!

I think I read this story out of sequence and had problems figuring out what was happening until I re-read the Giver and Gathering Blue. Lowry does write interesting, well-thought-out, characters and environments and this is no exception. My original reason for getting it, and why I wound up with it out of sequence was that I saw it was read by David Morse. I've liked his acting, and especially his voice, since the days of the medical show he was on when he first began TV work. I can't remember the show, but I remember him.

worth it

It is a very good book. The narrator caught me off guard and, at first, I didn't like him. Eventually you get used to it though and his voice is quite fitting to the story.

One of the best discoveries

I read the first book in middle school, the second independently in high school. When I went to go and reflect upon the books again, I found this book. It was short and to the point, though I would have loved to learn more about Matty. He was a character you could fall in love with from the previous book in the series and see how he evolved as a person over this short novel. I felt as though it expanded the world I knew of from the first two books. Absolutely amazing and it brought me to tears at the very end. I don't find it often that books bring me to tears, but because of how well it was written it did.

Third book in series.

I like how the three books are located in different towns but connected. Looking forward to Son.

Great book

I loved it, and am moving on to the 4th book. Narrator was good too.

Curious ending. (No spoiler)

As always the writing style of Lowry is consistently engaging but it seems to me, at first read, the that the ending was plucked from air and not consistent with any foreshadowing or dialogue. Perhaps I need to listen again with the end in mind to see how this type of ending is logically possible within the “Gathering Blue world” that Lowry has created. I enjoyed it all the way up to the seemingly implausible conclusion.

Brings THE GIVER & GATHERING BLUE together nicely

Lowry does it again in the 3rd book of the Giver Series. Another well told, edge of your seat, emotion evoking story about insurmountable odds in a place where the natural order of things is not like (and not totally unlike) our own. Characters from both The Giver and Gathering Blue are present and more details from both earlier books are filled in (a bit, don't expect all the answers).

Another great Lowry book

It kept my interest to the end! I eagerly look forward to listening to Son; the last in this series!

it was okay I guess.

There was an interesting story line at first. kept you hanging on and a little curious as to what will happen next. Some parts, a little confusing, but it all tied back up...until the end.. Was just unexpected but overall a decent book. You really have to pay attention though. If you miss the smallest of detail, you may get lost and not understand any of it. I'm not big on reading usually but wanted to give it a try and this book was actually recommended by my wife who has read it before and loved it. It may just be that I have a hard time staying focused enough to listen to detail, therefore, I may have missed something (or a lot of something's) and that may be why it doesn't quite come together for me. I will end it with, it wasn't a waste of time, just wasn't thrilling or heartfelt or exciting to me. But it could be to you!