Thoughts on The Giver + Q&A With Lois Lowry!

“I have great honor,” the Giver said. “So will you. But you will find that it is not the same as power.”

There are books in this world that I believe every bookworm should experience the thrill of reading at some point in their lives. I could go on and on about them, but there is one very specific book that I chose to talk about today. The Giver by Lois Lowry is truly a story that, while it is dystopian, has many valuable lessons for us today.

I am honored and so thankful to be joined by the talented author Lois Lowry on this post! Read on to find my thoughts on the story, and don’t miss the Q&A!

The setting of the story is a very unique one. Young Jonas lives in a society where emotions and feelings are suppressed, and the citizens behave similarly to each other, without much personality.

However, when Jonas is given the opportunity to become a receiver, for the first time in his life he experiences, through memories, pain and feelings of joy, happiness, and hurt, among others.

This book forces you to come to terms with your own past and grapple with emotions in a way that is unique and reflective. Through Jonas’s experiences, we too get to learn the lessons with him.

Yes, it is classified as a children’s book, but it can’t be denied that adults would heavily appreciate and benefit from reading The Giver as well.

Q&A with the author!

Since The Giver series is the only dystopian series you have written, it is unique compared to your other published works. How was it exploring a new genre, and how did it feel different? Were you stepping out of your comfort zone at all?

Lois:

It was fun, actually. For me it would be boring to write the same kind of book again and again. So writing THE GIVER QUARTET, though it was challenging, was also exhilarating. It raised questions to which I didn’t know the answers.

I have a new book, coming out in September, incidentally, which is also set in the future and leaves the reader with a lot of things to wonder about. Here’s what it will look like:

One of the main themes in this book that I picked up on the most is the idea that all memories have a place. Whether they are the most beautiful memory or a traumatic experience, neither should be forgotten. Was this something that was/is important to you in your own life?

Lois:

Oh my, yes. Just last week, for example, was March 3rd…the birth date of one of my four children. But his life was cut short by a terrible accident many years ago and so last week I heard from my other three children….one even sent me flowers…and we reminisced about their brother, as we do each year on his birthday. It’s always a bittersweet time, reliving the sadness, but also rejoicing in the wonderful memories we have. To forget him and the day that he died would mean losing so much else.

The Assignments are a core part of the story and are part of what makes the story so unique. Is it easy or difficult to come up with your story ideas, and what helped you create the idea of the Assignments?

Lois:

I was trying to create and portray a world of order and precision. No messy choices to be made. Like everything else described in the book, I wanted the reader to think YES! THIS IS A COOL WAY TO…. but then to pause, to re-think: AH, WAIT A MINUTE, MAYBE…??

What would you want your readers to take from this story? There are many life lessons and values hidden in this novel and is there anything that you want the world to remember the most about The Giver?

I guess I would hope that readers reflect on the fact that this was a world, a way of life, that they had chosen. We get to choose what our future will be like. We do it, in this country, by voting. It is SO IMPORTANT to educate oneself , to know what our choices are, to participate in the electoral process.

LOIS LOWRY