Breakaway Books

Authored by Markus Zusak; Published 2002; Mystery (kind of?)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️

I Am the Messenger has quirky vibes, but at its heart is a sweet and loving core. It’s an ode to the beauty of community—and how easy it can be to create if we get out of our own way. 

In I Am the Messenger, Ed Kennedy is relatively content with his decidedly mediocre life driving a cab, playing cards with his friends, and mooning over his would-be lover Audrey. After a robbery that Ed somehow stumbles into stopping, he begins receiving playing cards in the mail, with clues for him to follow. Each one leads him to a person whom Ed helps, by accomplishing tasks as simple as reading to a lonely elderly lady to feats as dangerous as threatening a rapist. Ed’s up for the challenge, but he has to wonder: Who is sending him these cards?

To me, this novel has distinctive Groundhog Day vibes. Like Bill Murray, Ed Kennedy learns to see and love the people around him with small but tangible acts of kindness, and in the process, he is transformed himself. Of course, Ed is very Australian and very middle class, but otherwise, it’s a dead ringer. It’s hard not to feel my heart fill with warmth at the generosity that prompts Ed to help strangers, who accept Ed’s offerings with wonder. Almost every character in the novel is struggling to get by, which only increases their gratitude at being given even the smallest gift. It’s enough to inspire me to take a look around and find an opportunity to give back. 

Most of the book dances around that central theme with gritty humor, and I enjoyed it, even if I wasn’t terribly invested in discovering in the “mystery” of who had inserted themselves into Ed’s life through these playing cards. I loved the tone of Ed’s narration, especially his humility and generous view of the people around him. What I definitely did not enjoy was the ending and the way in which the author inserts himself—frankly, it felt like he had just run out of ideas and needed a way to conclude the book. This ending is the definition of failing to stick the landing. While it didn’t totally ruin my enjoyment of the novel, it certainly left an odd taste in my mouth. 

I Am the Messenger may inspire you to build up the community around you, and it’ll certainly keep a smile on your face.