Zusak

I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak

I’ve had The Book Thief on my shelf forever but wasn’t in the mood to read it the two times I tried, and I was worried this book would be just as dark. I listened to this as an audiobook and absolutely loved it! Marc Aden Gray, with his Australian accent, was the perfect narrator since the characters are Australian. He seemed to have fun with the narration, changing his tone according to the story, and even changing his voice for different characters. This really helped pull me into the story. Most audiobooks I’d tried to listen to previously were read more straight-forward, so my mind wandered instead of paying attention to the story. I Am the Messenger made me think of radio shows from the time before TV, when families would gather ‘round to listen to a story, instead of turn on the TV and expect to be entertained. The audiobook was well-done, but I would have loved this story regardless of how I read it. There was a bit of suspense and mystery throughout the whole story, and I really identified with Ed. His story of accidentally foiling a bank robbery and then becoming an unwilling messenger of goodwill was intriguing. The ending, however, has to be one of my favorite book endings ever. I kept thinking about it - and that’s all I’ll say! Read it for yourself and you’ll understand why it might have ruined me for all other books! See my detailed review here.