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  • I Am the Messenger

  • By: Markus Zusak
  • Narrated by: Marc Aden Gray
  • Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,523 ratings)

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

10/10

This has been my favorite book ever since reading it in high school nearly 11 years ago. The story is one that is beautiful and immensely captivating. Thank you Mr. Zusak.

D Barkley.

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

A Sweet Story

I enjoyed the characters and especially the droll "commentary" by the Doorman... The story meanders for a while as you get to better understand the purity of Ed Kennedy, our main character. A nice read with a sweet message.

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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

One of my favorite books

People are beautiful, as Ed Kennedy says in the book. I have listened to this book 5 times and each time I get something out of it.

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

A classic everyone should have in their collection

A story a man forced to live outside his means. He finds that what he is capable of is so much more than he or anyone that's ever known him thought.

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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

A book well worth reviewing.

Most books fill up time and are variations on themes. Some a little
Bit better than others.

This is a original and it's aithor

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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

Great story

Captivating characters. You care about all of them. The mystery is enveloping. The ending, as Ed would say, is Brilliant

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

A little mushy

This was a good story and I loved the reader. It was a bit predictable and kind of mushy. Hallmark story type

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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

The unusual premise is fun to follow in this Growing Up story.

A young man going nowhere somehow receives tasks to decipher and complete which gradually cause him to grow in all kinds of ways. It is fun to see how it works !

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