Review; I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak

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?

After having read The Book Thief , it's safe to say that Markus Zusak is on my list of awesome writers. That being said I had to check out some of his other works . I Am The Messenger is different from The Book Thief but it's just as brilliant. It's great, it's amusing, it makes you feel . It makes you care.

A lot of bad things happen in the world, your city, your town, your street. What can I possibly do to stop it? change it? It's a hopeless case. I'm too small and insignificant to really do anything. To really change anything? so why care. I've always thought this. I think we've all felt like this, but we still care . We still try. 

"If a guy like you can stand up and do what you did, then maybe everyone can. Maybe everyone can live beyond what they're capable of."

Ace of Diamond

Ed Kennedy is the epitome of ordinary. The story starts with him, a cabdriver, and how he saves the day when he catches a bankrobber. That's where it all begins. After the robbery Ed gets the ace of diamonds in his mail with 3 addresses on it. He goes to these addresses. One belongs to an old woman who's lonely, one to a girl who runs barefoot, and the third belongs to a guy who comes home drunk everyday and rapes his wife. The drunk was the first address Ed went to. He's shocked and scared but what can he possibly do? He's a coward and he knows it. Because he can't save the woman, he can't save the daughter who hears what's happening in the other room. He can't do shit. So he goes to the other addresses. He finds a way to help those people. The people who sent him the card later send him a gun too. Ed uses it on the drunk. He's scared, he doesn't want to hurt anybody, not even the drunk who rapes his wife each night. In the end it all works out. Ed helps these people.

Ace of Cloves

"Say a prayer at the stones of home"

Ed gets another card. Ace of cloves. This time there are no addresses just a sentence"say a prayer at the stones of time". Ed's a cab driver so when a guy tries to run off without paying the fair, he goes after him. He ends up at the river near his home where he and his brother use to fish. He finds a stone with the next 3 people on it. A priest, whose church nobody visits. The rose brothers who always fight. A young mother with 3 kids.  Ed helps these people with free beer, by getting beat up and by simply buying someone an ice cream.

Ace of Spades

I like this part because I recognized one of the names on the card. Graham Greene. This card had 3 names on it of writers. After having a dream Ed figures it out too. This time he has to help a family with lights, a theater owner and his mom. Ed's mom sure is a character. She curses like it's a hobby and treats Ed badly. Ed confronts her. She thinks Ed's just like his father and useless. I felt for Ed."It takes a lot of love to hate you like this" his mom says.

Ace of Hearts

Ed was afraid of the ace of hearts the most. Although it's the last card and means it's almost the end.

"People die of broken hearts .They have heart attacks.And it's the heart that hurts the most when things go wrong and fall apart"

Ed was right to fear the ace of hearts. On this card there are 3 movie titles on it. It turns out to be 3 people who are important to him. His best friends. Ritchie, the laziest, Marv the smart ass and Audrey who doesn't want to love and who Ed's in love with.

I can relate to Ritchie. Ritchie is always the laid back one of the group. At first Ed didn't know or couldn't imagine what problem Ritchie could possibly have. Ritchie wants to want. He doesn't have ambition. He doesn't know what to do with his life. He sits in his kitchen each night listening to the radio. Ed helps him aswell. Simply by telling him what a useless bastard he is.

Then there's Marv. The cheapskate ,smart ass Marv with the crappiest car ever. Marv has been saving up money for years . He has almost 40k in the bank. In the end it turns out Marv loved a girl with all his heart. The girl's family moved when she got pregnant . Marv didn't know his girl was pregnant till it was too late. Everyday he makes it through but in the end he breaks down. and he can hear his heart crying. Hurting. For the little girl/boy out there. 

Then there's Audrey. He just dances with her. So simple? but it was more than that. Ed loves the girl. She loves Ed, but wants somebody else. Why is love so complicated. He just dances with her. 3 minutes . Just for 3 minutes they love each other.

You'd think that was the end but no Ed gets another card . The joker. The address on the card is his. Ed spends weeks worrying  about what's gonna happen. Who's coming. Who sent the cards? It was a shocker. Throughout the book I was wondering the same thing. and I went for the obvious people. Audry, his ma, in the end I even thought it was his dad. The shocking thing is when it turns out to be  the robber.

At the end of a good book when things are clearing up. It's the best and saddest part. Best because now you get to know who's behind everything , sad because the book's ending. The person behind everything. I think is Markus Zusak in the book. I think he wrote himself in. At first I thought it was the big guy. I loved the ending chapters. I'm telling you this is a great book. Ed Kennedy wasn't the messenger. He is the message. We can't just live for the sake of living. We have to live, feel, want. Be alive.

Ed's a very kind and caring guy. He's also a ordinary guy. If he can do what he did then anybody can.

Grade : O