Review: The Messenger

The Messenger by Markus Zusak

Pages: 386, paperback

ISBN: 97803304247338

Publisher:Picador

Date Released: February 2009 (first published 2002)

Genre: Literary fiction / Young Adult / mystery

Where I got it from: bought

Premise:

Meet Ed Kennedy—underage cabdriver, pathetic cardplayer, and useless at romance. He lives in a shack with his coffee-addicted dog, the Doorman, and he’s hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence, until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That’s when the first Ace arrives. 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?

Winner of the 2003 Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Award in Australia, I Am the Messenger is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love. (Taken from Goodreads)

This book was quite different from The Book Thief (also by Markus Zusak). The writing style is much the same, fragmented, attempting to be poetic, but incredibly annoying for the tone and the character.
I don't know, maybe it's the fact that I'm Australian and encounter these sort of 'bogan' people on the train everyday to and from uni, but the characters annoyed me. Their voices, though well constructed, were just too annoying for me to handle. Seriously, I hate how Australians talk, and this book encorporates it.

I did, however, enjoy the plot. Zusak has a way with words that allows emotions to come surging through. I admit, I cried at times during this book, and I laughed, and I seethed with raging fury. I was hopeful for the characters, and was constantly kept on the edge of my seat
Admitedly, I was disappointed at the lack of a climatic ending, but since this is Zusak, I'll let it slide for the beautiful prose.

Cover: 3
Plot: 4
Characters: 2
Writing: 5
Level of Interest: 5

Total Rating: 4/5