The Giver

By: Lois Lowry

Narrated by: Ron Rifkin

Lois Lowry’s The Giver is the quintessential dystopian novel, followed by its remarkable companions, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear of pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the community. When Jonas turns 12 he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.©1993 Lois Lowry; (P)1993 Random House, Inc., Listening Library, An Imprint Of Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic reviews

"A powerful and provacative novel.”
-- The New York Times

Excellent story that unfolds before your eyes

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I liked Ron Rifkin as The Giver but not as Jonas, a little too whiny at times with his voice.

Any additional comments?

The book was amazing at bringing you along for the ride, the most sad part was Jonas seeing what the 'release' was. Really good character development and would recommend to anyone. As with others, the cheesy music was really bad and sometimes made it tough to hear the story.

Absolutely Fabulous

I found this book in the library one day, and couldn't put it down. The Giver is a fascinating story, and Lowry draws you in. Even though the wold is completely foriegn, you understand it completely, and it doesn't confuse you. Soon after finishing it, I devoured the two sequels. Lowry is a wonderful author, and I completely recomend all of her books, especially this one.

Made it much easier to get into the book

I loved the performance because when I started reading the book for school I couldn’t get into it and had trouble actually reading it and than I came on here and listened to it and I actually liked it a lot. Didn’t love the music was distracting and didn’t under stand the end.

Good story and plot

Good book and plot
Scary at times but good over all
I need 4 more words and done

Loved the Book

I absolutely loved the novel itself. The recording was a little dull, but the voices and music helped greatly. Emphasized key moments well.