An unexpected pleasure from a "must read" book

 When you get a book that you must read, you usually aproach it without much enthusiasm, especially if it is an obligatory book for the English Bagrut. Imagine my surprise when few hours after starting it I realized that I have finished it. This was my feeling when I first read the book "The Giver."

 Even though I am no fan of this genre, I fell in love with the story and was drawn to the hero's life. In few words, the story is set in a society which at first appears to be utopian but is revealed to be something totaly different as the story progresses. The novel follows a 12 year old boy named Jonas. The society has eliminated pain and strife by converting to "Sameness", a plan that has also eradicated emotional depth from their lives. Jonas is selected to inherit the position of 'Receiver of Memory', the person who stores all the past memories of the time before "Sameness", to aid the community's decision making as there may be times where one must draw upon the wisdom gained from history. 

 The way the author managed to reflect the way of life of the characters made me connect to them and think to myself 'What will I do in his place? How would I react?' and in my eyes this is one of the most powerful side effects of a good writing. Few years ago came out the movie with a lot of amazing a famous actors, like Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep, and even the singer Taylor Swift acted there a segnificant role. To my greater surprise I fell in love with the movie. It managed to show the world of the book almost the same way that I have imagined it, or even better. No wonder it won People's Choice Award for the favorite dramatic movie in 2015 and Hollywood Music In Media Award for best soundtrack album in 2014. 

Here is the trailer for the movie:

 If you want to dive into a good book and a wonderful and powerful movie, I highly recomend to read AND watch it. The beauty of books like "The Giver" is that doesn't matter when in your life you read it, your point of view and your feelings towards the character change, you unnoticeably take your life experience, thoughts and believes and give in to the beauty and coherence of the hard but wonderful story that lies between the pages of the book. If I wasn't clear before, I highly recomend to read the book and watch the movie, preferably choosing to read the book before the movie to understand better. You won't regret it, guaranteed!