Bookshelf: I Am the Messenger (Also published as The Messenger)

Author: Markus Zusak

First line: “The gunman is useless.”

Summary (from book back cover):

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He’s pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.

That’s when the first ace arrives in the mail.

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?

Set in: Modern-day Australia

Sopwith rating: 4.5/5.

Took the 0.5 off for the ending—felt like it could have been resolved in a more satisfactory manner, but maybe that’s just me.

I Am the Messenger
Image links to Amazon

I got this book from the bargain bin of a secondhand bookstore.

I have a feeling that a lot of my book reviews are going to involve the bargain bin of a secondhand bookstore, and for that I apologize in advance.

Anyway, I had read some of the author’s previous work (The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, and Getting the Girl), which I had found interesting and above average, so I thought I’d give I Am the Messenger a try.

Plot-wise, the book moves along at a fairly quick pace. As you can tell from the summary, Ed has been chosen by an unknown person to solve the problems of his suburban hometown. Playing cards with clues show up in the mail telling him where to go, adding intrigue to an already intriguing scenario. The main character, Ed, is harmless, likeable, and a dreamer.

The Book Thief
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It was the mystery element of the book that interested me enough to read the first page, but it was Ed’s personality that made me buy the book. I like the underdogs (who doesn’t?). I was worried that this book would fall into the trap of so many others, where the main character starts out at rock bottom and ends the book like Cinderella transformed overnight, but thankfully that doesn’t happen. Ed’s changes are subtle and believable, and it’s just so easy to empathize with him.

Overall, the book is heart-warming, intense, and uplifting. (A perfect read for Christmas!) Readers of this blog might also be interested in another (award-winning) book by the same author titled The Book Thief, a book set in Nazi Germany.

Like this book? Check out other books on my bookshelf.