The Giver

By: Lois Lowry

Narrated by: Ron Rifkin

Length: 4 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

December is the time of the annual Ceremony at which each twelve-year-old receives a life assignment determined by the Elders. Jonas watches his friend Fiona named Caretaker of the Old and his cheerful pal Asher labeled the Assistant Director of Recreation. But Jonas has been chosen for something special. When his selection leads him to an unnamed man, the man called only the Giver, he begins to sense the dark secrets that underlie the fragile perfection of his world.

Told with deceptive simplicity, this is the provocative story of a boy who experiences something incredible and undertakes something impossible. In the telling it questions every value we have taken for granted and reexamines our most deeply held beliefs.

©1993 Lois Lowry (P)1993 Random House, Inc., Listening Library, An Imprint Of Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic reviews

Newbery Medal Winner, 1994

"This is a compelling prospect for family listening. Initially Rifkin's voice seems too regional to portray the characters of this utopian/dystopian world, but he convincingly conveys the anticipation of the coming-of-age ceremony of Jonas and his friends. As the meaning of Jonas’ selection as “Receiver of Memory” unfolds, Rifkin’s characterizations become more powerful. Although the story drives the presentation, Rifkin’s juxtaposition of the young boy and the old Giver has tremendous effect. His voice for the Giver becomes increasingly weary and strained while Jonas' gains strength. Sharing this audiobook in a family or a classroom offers a valuable opportunity to respond to and discuss Lowry’s moving novel." (AudioFile magazine)

"A powerful and provocative novel." (The New York Times)
"Lowry is once again in top form...unwinding a tale fit for the most adventurous readers." (Publishers Weekly)
"The author makes real abstract concepts, such as the meaning of a life in which there are virtually no choices to be made and no experiences with deep feelings. This tightly plotted story and its believable characters will stay with readers for a long time." (School Library Journal)

A family favorite

I love this book as much as my 11 and 13 year old. The story and performance captivated everyone during our long car journey.

Great performance

Great story overall! However it was a little sad😌 but very touching and moving!!!! The ending was cruel!

Performance distracted from decent story

What did you love best about The Giver?

The world is well developed.

Would you be willing to try another one of Ron Rifkin’s performances?

No. Well, maybe, but the sounds of his mouth, kind of like he is having trouble with dry mouth and keeps kind of smacking his saliva around. The awful music and that were distracting. Otherwise, I think he did a good job.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Very touching, makes me think about our future.

Better than Expected

A truly great story. I know high schoolers have been forced to read this book for years but unlike many other book with the same claim to fame this story lives up to its enforced publicity.
The performance does not do it harm either.

Love the story hate narration

I hate the naration
The guy narrating us always swallowing and breathing realky hard
The voice he gives Jonas is as if Jonas was an eight year old.
But the story is so wonderfull,I bought the paperback afterwards.

Excellent

My boyfriend has really bad dyslexia and he hates reading but this made him want to read more books. Thank you so much for this!!!

this book was the best book in the world, so good

it was so good that I could relisten to it 100 times, so really good

Fabulous

Loved it!! ready for the next book in the series! At first I struggled with the music that randomly came on, but later realized it helped me know better what was happening since its so easy to day dream when listening to something. Ron Rifkin was incredible!

niiiiicceee book a little boring at first though

The book was very good but it was a little bit dragging at the beginning. The narrator was very good at narrating and portaying the characters

5/5 easy

I first read this book for class in middle school and it was always one of my favorites. I had my fourth knee surgery and was stuck in bed for months so I reread all the books from middle school and high school classes that I liked. Even as an adult, I still love this book. I think it was one of the first "dystopian" type of book to come out.
There is only one negative of the audiobook that I can think of. There are multiple times in the audiobook where before/during/after Jonas is receiving a memory from the giver, there is very loud and annoying music. It drives me nuts. Besides that I love this book and it will always be a treasured childhood memory.