Memories of Pain and Pleasure

By DAPHNE LEE

from Tots to Teens, StarMag

I'D heard about it; read about it; been told about it. But I had not read Lois Lowry's The Giver (Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 208 pages, ISBN: 978-0385732550) before last weekend. Listening to an interview with the author (on a podcast) was what led me to finally read the 1994 Newberry Medal winner. And about time too!

In the interview, Lowry came across as funny, kind, insightful and thoughtful. She told great stories about her interesting life. She discussed her books with humour and irony.

When she first became a writer, she wrote for adults and children, but she said that quite early on she realised that "young readers are profoundly affected by what they read and in some cases even changed permanently". This made her start to focus more and more on writing for children and, eventually, write exclusively for them.

I am impressed by the respect she evidently has for children. How they respond, think and feel obviously means a great deal to her, so much so that she feels a responsibility to provide them with literary nourishment.

Lowry has written over 30 children's books, but I have only two - The Giver and Lowry's other Newberry Medal winner (1990), Number the Stars. As they are award winners and continue to be popular with children, they are bought in abundance by American libraries and schools. Therefore, you can find them easily at secondhand bookstores like Payless Books. That's where I picked up my copies - for RM6 each. Both used to belong to school libraries.

The Giver, which is categorised as science fiction (even though Lowry says she does not even like the genre), is set in the future, in a utopian society. Life in this world is seen through the eyes of Jonas, an 11-year-old boy who is looking forward to his 12th year, when he will be told what his lifetime job or "assignment" will be.

To his shock and confusion, Jonas is assigned the post of Receiver of Memories. In a highly regulated community, where every sensory perception, impulse and emotion is controlled if not entirely suppressed, the Receiver is alone allowed access to sensations and experiences (or rather, memories of sensations and experiences) so that he or she can draw upon them (when and if necessary) to aid in decision making. The child who was last chosen as Receiver was unable to continue with the training, which, Jonas is told, is rigorous and involves great physical pain. Naturally, he is filled with apprehension about his assignment. However, Jonas almost immediately bonds with his teacher, the current Receiver. He does well in his training, which involves receiving memories of things, feelings and concepts that that have been removed in his world. For example, Jonas is introduced to sunshine, colour, war and love. It is when the boy experiences these things that he (and the reader with him) realises just how sheltered and protected his community is. He ponders the possibility of a different way of life, but it is only after the truth about a routine procedure carried out in a home for newborn children is revealed to Jonas that he and his teacher make a definite plan to effect change.

Lowry says that she got the idea for The Giver after she had to tell her aged father some distressing information. Failing memory had caused him to forget that his elder daughter had died as a young girl. When he was told this fact, he reacted as though the event had only just happened. This made Lowry wander what life would be like "if there was a way to manipulate human memory" and eliminate all sad things in life.

The community in The Giver is spared misery and strife, but this means that it is also denied more positive emotions and experiences. It is told exactly what to do, how to behave and even how to feel. Every stage of life is catered for, and so is every need ... or rather, every need that is perceived to be necessary and relevant. Sexual desire, for example, is viewed as inconvenient and disruptive, and suppressed with drugs.

The Giver is simply and clearly written, but although it is technically an easy read, some maturity is needed to understand its subject matter and themes. The fear of the unknown; the avoidance of change; the power, danger and value of choice - these issues, explored in the book, make interesting topics for discussion at home, in the classroom and in reading groups. I feel that this is a book that encourages readers (of all ages) to think and to question, and to examine their own personal values and attitudes towards life and their fellowman.

The Giver is the first in a trilogy that continues with Gathering Blue (Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 240 pages, ISBN: 978-0385732567) and Messenger (Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 192 page, ISBN: 978-0385732536). Lowry's latest book is The Willoughbys (Publisher: Houghton Mifflin/Walter Lorraine Books, 176 pages, ISBN: 978-0618979745).