Title: I am the Messenger
Author: Markus Zusak
Genre: Mystery
Format: Paperback
Length: 357 pages
Publisher: Alfred A Knopf Borzoi Books
Publication Date: 10th January 2002
My Rating: ★★★★ (4 stars)
Goodreads | Storygraph
Synopsis:
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?
My Review:
This is my second Zusak book that I’ve read and once again I thoroughly enjoyed it.
In I Am The Messenger, we have Ed, a taxi driver with no end goal. One ordinary day, he foils a bank robbery and is hailed the local hero. Following this eventful day, he begins to receive assignments; to find people and help them. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed following Ed, as he did these assignments and became a part of these strangers’ lives.
Ed isn’t the only character in this novel, we also have The Doorman, who is described in such a way it took me a minute to realise he was the dog. Ritchie is laid-back to a point where at times I didn’t really get his character. Marv was very funny and when we get to see the reason for his tight hold on his wallet, it just highlights that you can be friends with someone but not know all their secrets. Finally, we have Audrey, the girl with who Ed is in love and who treats him as a friend, I didn’t really connect with her character and felt that Ed could do better. The good thing about all the characters in this book is that Zusak doesn’t make them perfect, they are flawed and that makes them relatable.
Zusak has a way with words, that sweeps you up and takes you on a journey. The story was quick to read and engaging, I didn’t want to put it down, I needed to know where the story was going.
I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, but this is a brilliant novel that teaches a lesson about life and living. Zusak’s powerful atmospheric language makes it one that is definitely worth picking up.
