#the giver

[gen-reads-tournament]

Round 2 Match 1

Pick your favorite gen read:

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Hercule Poirot Series by Agatha Christie

Remaining time: 15 hours 38 minutes

Book summaries below:

The Giver by Lois Lowry

At the age of twelve, Jonas, a young boy from a seemingly utopian, futuristic world, is singled out to receive special training from The Giver, who alone holds the memories of the true joys and pain of life.

childrens, science fiction

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie's debut novel was also the first to feature Hercule Poirot, her famously eccentric Belgian detective. A refugee of the Great War, Poirot has settled in England near Styles Court, the country estate of his wealthy benefactor, the elderly Emily Inglethorp. When Emily is poisoned and the authorities are baffled, Poirot puts his prodigious sleuthing skills to work. Suspects are plentiful, including the victim’s much younger husband, her resentful stepsons, her longtime hired companion, a young family friend working as a nurse, and a London specialist on poisons who just happens to be visiting the nearby village. All of them have secrets they are desperate to keep, but none can outwit Poirot as he navigates the ingenious red herrings and plot twists that contribute to Agatha Christie's well-deserved reputation as the queen of mystery.

mystery

[itsatigersharkidiot]

look what I finally got 🥹

asher my beloved

[onebloodsoakedlion]

Transphobes being mad at people using singular they/them because "it's not proper grammar" or whatever reminds me of the whole "Precision of language" shtick the Community had going on in The Giver.

[2ndhandcrazyy]

I'm trying SO HARD not to get spoiled for Messenger and Son but i NEEEED The Giver content I'm HUNGRY. FEED ME.

[in-every-lifet1me]

me acting like an innocent angel while listening to the giver with my mom, knowing damn well it’s about sesbian lex

[2ndhandcrazyy]

stirrings.

[2ndhandcrazyy]

Some random unorganized thoughts about The Giver and Gathering Blue (and a bit of Messenger too, but I haven't finished it yet) (long post and ofc spoilers below)

I like the subtle political references that squeeze their way into The Giver Quartet. (Kira not being allowed to read and being ostracized for her disability in Gathering Blue, for example.) They're just direct enough that they're undeniably references to the real world, but they don't feel super preachy like some fiction books that reference politics do. The references still fit in with the greater worldbuilding pretty well.

I have to say, though, I still think the messaging in The Giver itself is the best in the quartet so far. That is, of course, why it's the one that everybody recognizes. That's why it's the one that gets read in schools and such. But it is definitely the best one by far.

The Giver's references are far more subtle, and all the more encompassing as a result. Like, when I read Gathering Blue, I was immediately like "Oh yeah, this is referencing historical ableism and misogyny. No doubt." But The Giver can be interpreted to be talking about a lot of things: deliberate ignorance, dehumanization and exploitation, discrimination of several forms... the list goes on. Gathering Blue had broader references, too, but I think the more direct ones kind of distracted my attention from them in a way? Like yes, it had some good messaging about exploitation and the value of art that was broader, but if someone were to ask me what the political connotations of Gathering Blue was, it'd be a lot easier to bring up misogyny and ableism because that was referenced so starkly. For The Giver, it's a lot more subtle all throughout, so the deeper discussion is more likely to come up first (at least IMO).

I haven't finished Messenger or even started Son yet, though, so we'll see what my opinions are after those. But I think The Giver will stay my favorite of the four even once I finish the quartet.