• I Am the Messenger

  • By: Markus Zusak
  • Narrated by: Marc Aden Gray
  • Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,506 ratings)

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I Am the Messenger  By  cover art

I Am the Messenger

By: Markus Zusak
Narrated by: Marc Aden Gray
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Publisher's summary

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence, until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.

That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.

That's when Ed becomes the messenger.

Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary), until only one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?

©2006 Markus Zusak (P)2006 Random House Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic reviews

"Zusak succeeds brilliantly." (Booklist)
"Zusak's characters, styling, and conversations are believably unpretentious, well conceived, and appropriately raw. Together, these key elements fuse into an enigmatically dark, almost film-noir atmosphere." (School Library Journal)

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What listeners say about I Am the Messenger

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    817
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  • 3 Stars
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    58
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Performance
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
    335
  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
    56
  • 1 Stars
    30

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Accents make every story better

This is a good story. It's not excellent, but it's full of feel good stories and a man that speaks with an excellent Australian accent. I love the authors descriptions of character and scenes and the comedy throughout really helps keep the book alive.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I am the messenger

Loved the book. Excellent story. Kept my interest. Loved the Book Thief and this is another winner.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

very much worth reading!

Very deep and thought provoking. wonderful prose. believable characters and situations. well put together story with great meaning.
I highly recommend this story and this author.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

An easy listen

I enjoyed this book but not as much as The Book Thief by Zusak. The book became very predictable. I would not waste a credit on this one unless you can't find anything else to listen too.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Sweet modern day fable

Lovable characters. Sweet Everyman story. Great feel good story of nobody in particular doing extraordinary things.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

short book, but still, not interested in finishing

What did you like best about I Am the Messenger? What did you like least?

Just lost interest in it... yes, there's some mystery, but there's no pull. It's not at all engaging the way his other book, "The Book Thief" is.

Would you ever listen to anything by Markus Zusak again?

I loved The Book Thief and hoped this would be good. It wasn't. I might read reviews of his other books, to see if anything else was rated as well as The Book Thief.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I don't remember having much of an impression of the narration. I stopped listening to the book about 2 months ago and wanted to write this review to share my opinion with others before they pay for the book. I think the narration was ok.

Was I Am the Messenger worth the listening time?

No. I quit listening to it.

Any additional comments?

Not all books are great. Reading an ok book just helps me realize how special and great the good books are. This is not one of the great books.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

nowhere as good as the book thief.

nowhere as good as the book thief but all right. the tone of the story I. e. the protagonist was slightly dull and we'll not very convincing. it was OK but not great and maybe even hit of a meh too.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Very good

Excellent performance of a good story. Stuggle with somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. 3 doesn't do it justice but a full 4 may be right with the well done narration. Good character development. Good story of a glimpse in another's life and the simple act of kindness.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Read instead of listen

I thought the book was very good, but hard to listen to because of the narrator's accent. I think that this is one book I would have preferred to read and not listen to.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Marvelous

I loved this book from the very beginning when I first read it a few years ago and my sister loved it, too. How can you not? The character development is amazing and writing is fantastic. Now I love the narrative done by Marc Aden Gray. He gives the story new life and you can't help but listen to the very last word.

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