The line between Message and Messenger

It's hard for me to speak ill of any book my favorite author has written. Fortunately for me, I genuinely have only good things to say about this lesser-known Zusak novel. At least, I had never heard of it before. Perhaps it has been overlooked sitting in the shadows behind The Book Thief. One of my fellow reader friends gifted I Am the Messenger to me for my birthday and, while that was back in October, I finally found myself in the perfect mood to pick up and finish this novel during the long, hot, and quiet days of this summer. I will always be inspired by and admire Zusak's writing style, which is difficult to put exactly into words, but consists of incredibly accurate figurative language and Hemingway-esque dialogue that never fails to move me as a reader and challenge me as a writer. This story follows a pretty ordinary guy, Ed Kennedy, who finds himself in the throes of a pretty extraordinary situation. After intercepting a bank robbery and being claimed a local hero, this common taxi driver begins to find Aces from a playing card deck left at his house with addresses and other illusive riddles written on them. From these strange deliveries follow messages Ed successfully delivers despite continually believing himself inadequate to do the jobs set before him. I think this story holds several messages (oh the irony) within its main plot which preaches the idea that anyone can become anyone they want to be and make the kind of change they want to see in themselves by first stepping out of their comfort zones and showing up in the lives of the people around them. I never knew what to expect as the addresses and riddles continued to be sent and Ed continued to deliver, seeing slow but mighty change within how he viewed himself and his place in the world. It made for a very intriguing and fulfilling novel with an even more shocking and surreal ending. There is also a bittersweet romance that runs throughout the entire landscape of this story, becoming more and more prevalent to Ed's life as he reaches the end of his messenger duties. I will remind you once again that I'm endowed to enjoy all of my favorite author's novels, but I really do recommend this one very highly. :)



Some of my favorite quotes from I Am the Messenger:

"... my voice is like a rumor. I'm not quite sure if it came out or not or if it's true."

"She soon says, 'You're my best friend, Ed.'
'I know.'
You can kill a man with those words.
No gun. 
No bullets.
Just words and a girl."

"I've been called a lot of things many times--but nobody has ever told me it's an honor to know me."

"Sometimes people are beautiful.
Not in looks.
Not in what they say.
Just in what they are."

"I take a photo of her in my mind."

---