It’s no secret that I read a lot of books. Amongst them it is only certain ones that stick with me long after I have read them and moved on to others. The Wardstone Chronicles, that I have dedicated a section to on here is one such set of books.
Today, I would like to take you on a journey through one such book that has stuck with me. Well, technically four.
The Giver
The Giver, this is the one that I believe a lot of people are familiar with. It is the first book in the quartet. A film was made based on it in 2014.
The Giver follows Jonas in a dystopian future where all colour and emotion is kept sealed away. This is to protect the occupants of this “city” from the mistakes that caused a wars earlier. The residents have no memory of the past. The only person who does is the Receiver of Memory. Each member is assigned a role when they turn twelve – this is the path they will follow into adulthood. Similarly, partners and children are also assigned.
At the coming of age ceremony, Jonas is assigned as the new Receiver of Memory. As such he would begin to learn the truth. The previous Receiver, now old tells Jonas to call him Giver.
At home, Jonas’ father – A Nurturer – is responsible for the care of the newly born. He has to keep an eye of a baby that is not developing as quickly as it should. It is slated to be “released” if it does not improve. As such, he is allowed to bring the baby – who is to be called Gabriel is he improves – home to closely monitor him.
As the days progress, Jonas learns of all the things that have been hidden away. The beauty, the colour, the smell, the music. He always learns of the horrible things as well – including what “releasing” is – to kill. Baby Gabe is not improving and Jonas is lending a hand in his nurturing. He does so by sharing calming memories with him. This form a bond between himself and the child.
When Jonas learns that Gabriel is to be released he hatches a plan with the Giver to leave the community. This will release all the memories back to the community and the Giver will help them come to terms with all the new emotion.
However, Jonas is forced to leave earlier than planned. He takes Gabe with him, some food and heads out into the unknown but with confidence someone is waiting for him…
Gathering Blue
In a society that looks down on imperfection, we follow Kira. Kira has a disfigured leg but is gifted with weaving. Her mother has just passed, and her father was taken by beasts years ago. Young Matt is her only friend.
With her mother’s passing, the village women want Kira to leave giving up her space. When she refuses, the matter is taken up to the Council. It is decided that Kira’s new role would be to restore the robe the Singer wears at each Gathering. She moves into the Council Edifice where she meets other people who stay there that also work in some part towards the Gathering. In particular Annabella, a dyer who teaches Kira how to make dyes and tells her that she can’t make blue as the plant is found outside the village.
She continues her lessons and slowly repairs her robe. Thomas and her explore their new dwelling. They discover a child – Jo – crying, that Kira had thought she dreamt. Worrisome things about their village surface; the beasts in the forest outside the village. Annabella tells Kira there are no beast, and is found dead later.
The Gathering approaches, Kira is told she must start filling up the blank spots on the robe. Meanwhile, Matt is nowhere is to be found. He has gone to find a special gift for them. The Gathering begins, Matt sneaks in and give Kira a piece of blue cloth. He had gone far into the forest and found another village where people with disabilities live in harmony. The Gathering ends, Kira sees something that troubles her…
Matt give Kira another gift – a sack full of the plant that makes blue dye and an blind man in blue. The man, Christopher, is Kira’s father and he tells her that her guardian Jamison attacked him; not beasts. He urges her to go back with him.
While she wants to go, she recalls what she saw; realises she can’t leave Jo alone. Instead, she will weave a better future into the robe and they will meet again when the villages do…
Messenger
Matty, an newcomer in Village, arrived moons ago. Under guidance from his teacher, Mentor and caretaker a blind man; Seer, he has changed from his old ways. He embraces the ways of Village – openness and kindness – and anticipates to receive his true name; that affirms his mystical gift. He expects it to be Messenger as he has the task of sending messages through Forest to other villages.
Matty believes he has the power to fix things; something he discovers by accident and confirms later. By using the power to help a friend he gets a puppy as a gift.
When his friend returns with a lavish possession from Trade Mart, Matty is curious about the Mart. Seer is skeptical and tells Matty he is too young to attend. He goes regardless and discovers a disturbing thing – no one buys anything, they announce what they want loudly but whisper what they’re trading to Trademaster. What they’re trading away is their deepest selves; changing their inherent nature.
The more they trade, the more they lose the core value of the Village. Under the spurring of Mentor, the residents vote to have the Village closed to outsiders so they don’t show hospitality or share resources. Leader sends Matty to the other villages with word of the looming closing.
Seer is worried when they vote to close the borders permanently. His daughter, Kira, lives in another village; he asks Matty to go and bring her before the closing.
As Matty heads out, Leader has a vision showing that Forest is becoming unwelcoming; even to Matty. Matty gets Kira to return with him, however their journey back is a difficult one. Leader sends a telepathic message to Kira, telling Matty it was now time to use his gift.
He reaches his hand and touches the earth. Forest returns to its former self, as well as people in Village…
Son
Claire, at fourteen is chosen to be a Vessel – to be implanted with a child, who will be given to a married couple. The process doesn’t go well for her; after cutting the child out, she is removed as a Birthmother and placed in the Hatcheries. She won’t be able to bear another child without hardship.
She learns her child survived.
Struggling with the new life she tracks down her child; volunteers to help with the babies and. She forms a friendship with the Nurturer that has been taking care of her child. Through him she learns that her boy hasn’t been assigned a family and will be spending more time in the Nurturing Centre. Claire also learns of the Nurturer’s boy Jonas who has been selected – something to do with a Giver and a Receiver.
Working at the Centre she learns her child’s name will be. On a particular night, sirens sound, her memories are confused but she recalls seeing the Nurturer calling for Jonas who has taken the child and run away…
~~~
Claire finds home in a new village with a woman Alys. The village is unreachable – surrounded by water and a cliff. Attending a birthing, memories of her own labour come back to her and she vows to find her child.
With help, she scales the cliff, reached the top. She encounters a strange man who knows her name. She asks him for help finding her son; in return he demands her youth. As they travel she weakens as the man laughs and tells her he is Trademaster and her son is called Gabe…
~~~
Gabe, now a teenager has lived in a village of survivors. Jonas who was once known as Leader brought him there when they were both young. Gabe wishes to find his mother even with knowledge of the place he came from.
Gabe senses an old woman in the village is watching him, but is too shy to inquire further.
Jonas and Kira, his wife, both have special powers. Jonas can push his thoughts and see things in further reaches; Kira can use sewing to predict the future.
The village prepares for a feast. Gabe recalls the life of his friend Matty. Gabe was 8 when Matty’s body was brought back to the village; he had always been kind to Gabe.
Gabe has powers too that he calls veering. He is able to place his consciousness into others to hear their thoughts.
~~~
Claire watches Gabe; she’s kept her identity secret in fear. With cognisance of her coming death, she recounts her story to Jonas asking him to tell it to Gabe.
Jonas tells Claire’s story to Gabe, as well as who Trademaster is. He empresses upon him that the wicked man must be vanquished. It is Gabe’s power that will be the key to accomplishing this. Although Gabe is initially reluctant, retellings from Mentor convince him of what he must do…
Why Has the Giver Remained Relevant to Me
These four journeys seem unrelated, but the more you read the more connected they prove to be and they culminate in the uniting of all our characters that we’ve been following. The fact that each individual and their respective journeys is a key to the grander tale and the deeper story being told is truly incredible.
They are stories of how leadership methods impact the people and how they act towards each other and strangers.
In their own way they are tales of trusting in one’s own self, carving your own path and defying instructions that make no sense.
I read these books several years ago, but I randomly find myself thinking of events from them. They left that much of a mark on me.
Do you have any books that have stuck with you? I would like to know. My comments are always open
Dante
Dialectics 
2 thoughts on “The Giver Quartet: A Retrospective”