First sentence: Matty was impatient to have the supper preparations over and done with.
Premise/plot: Matty, a character whom we first met in Lois Lowry’s Gathering Blue, now lives in the Village, a near perfect utopia—it seems. The Village has a long, long history of welcoming all refugees: the abused, the downhearted, the broken, and imperfect. Matty has been living with The Seer (aka Christopher, Kira’s father). But in the past few months, changes have been happening. People are less welcoming, less kind, less helpful, less compassionate, less empathetic and are becoming increasingly ruder and more selfish and self-absorbed. There is even talk of closing Village to outsiders (refugees) and building a wall. Matty has come of age since Gathering Blue and he is definitely the hero of this one.
The Messenger introduces readers to The Leader of Village. Readers will recognize him and the book where we first met him...
Of the three books in the series, this one is the most supernatural. While technically still post-apocalyptic, it is definitely magical in the supernatural sense.
My thoughts: Lest you conclude that this is a politically driven novel in response to a certain president, it was published in 2004. I had forgotten much of the plot, but I couldn’t help but see how relevant it is to the times.
Perhaps I unintentionally block the plot of this one?! It has a very Giving Tree feel to it. It is decidedly sad.
I do wonder if Matty was intended to be a Christ figure?! This story does not end with resurrection just a substitutionary atonement of sorts. I don’t want to read too much into it, but don’t want to ignore the obvious either.
© 2020 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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