I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

I loved this book. Publisher’s Weekly, quoted on the back cover, said, “Don’t start this compulsively readable book without enough time to read it straight through to the final page.” I was so excited to be traveling this weekend; knowing that I could read for at least two hours on a plane in order to finish. It’s the first time I didn’t feel the teensiest bit annoyed when they made us sit on the ground before takeoff.

This book was written in 2005, before his wildly popular novel The Book Thief. Comparing the two, this is like a light-hearted romp. Ed Kennedy is an underage cab driver stuck in an ambitionless existence, when he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. Cast as an uneasy hero, Ed’s life changes when he receives the first ace in the mail, and he becomes the messenger. Ed has been chosen to care.

I really don’t want to say anything more about the plot, because the details truly make the story, and I couldn’t do them justice. While the setting is never spelled out, the action takes place in Australia; which makes for a few differences in expressions, etc. that you get used to as you read.

What I loved about the book was this — it was uplifting, but not at all the sappy book you would expect that sentiment from. Ed’s scruffy band of friends and his outrageously smelly dog offer a new perspective on what we are capable of, given the right circumstances. As the story progresses, the once incompetent Ed displays a level of compassion and understanding that is almost unbelievable. But we suspend our disbelief and read on, because we want to hope that someone would care for us in the same way.

For such a great book, the ending was disappointing. I still loved the book, but I really wanted to ask someone else if they felt the same way. My sister-in-law agreed, and my brother will let me know when he finishes (we were both, unknown to each other, reading the same book when we got together this weekend.) Booklist gave it a starred review, and noted, “As for the ending, however, Zusak is too clever by half. He offers too few nuts-and-bolts details before wrapping things up with an unexpected, somewhat unsatisfying recasting of the narrative. Happily, that doesn't diminish the life-affirming intricacies that come before.” So, I guess I wasn’t the only one. Read it anyway, and pass it on; we could all use a little extra hope.