The Giver - Lois Lowry

[goodreads]

Title: The Giver
Author: Lois Lowry
Genre: Dystopian, YA
Rating: 5/5
# pages: 180
Date read: May 2009, August 2014

Jonas' world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or 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. Now, it's time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

While I've seen this book on many, many, many "Top xx" lists, I'd never heard what it was actually about, and so I had no idea at all what to expect when I picked it up this afternoon.

And that was probably a good thing, because I don't think a description could have done it justice. I was completely blown away. The environment Lois Lowry sets up is so complete and so baffling that trying to explain it would be doing it a disservice.

I was fascinated by the community and the lifestyle described, and am very impressed by how Lois Lowry got so much across in so few pages. It's one of the most simultaneously thrilling and hopeful 'alternative future' novels I've ever read.

Reread in 2014 I've read a lot more dystopian novels now, so it no longer comes across as quite as unique, but I still think it's one of the best, and am impressed by how elaborate a world Lois Lowry manages to create in so few pages.