The Giver

This book for me is highly strange, and not something that I am likely to read just because I feel like it. Books about Utopia's always seem a little strange and far fetched in my mind, and the lack of religious belief really bothers me. The same was true for The Giver, as I could not grasp the notion that there was no color, no memories, no religion, no room to do what you want. I understand that some people really like these kind of books, but I all together find them disturbing. Our world is not a Utopia, and it will never be one. Anyone who thinks they're great is crazy, because you can see how this one crumbles in the end of the book. No one is happy in a world with no freedom, though the people in this "community" don't know what they are missing. They think they are the only people that have ever existed, which just seems highly bizarre. It's just a concept I cannot get my head around. Now maybe I am not being imaginative enough, but I truly think this book is beyond strange. It reminds me a lot of Anthem, a book about a Utopia where everyone has a number instead of a name, and relationships between men and women are strictly forbidden. Written by an atheist writer, there are strong anti-religious notions throughout the book that bothered me from the beginning. I am a very Christian person, so anything that puts religion as unnecessary or wrong is generally something I dislike a lot. Not to bash the authors of either of these books, because they are great works none the less. The descriptions and techniques in The Giver are so complex, they are truly remarkable. It is just the story line that bothers me the most. The plot is not one of my favorites, but the writing is pretty extraordinary.