Our book club in Tulsa argued for two hours about whether the ending of 'The Giver' was hopeful or tragic.

Half of us, including me, saw Jonas reaching the sled and hearing music as a clear, happy ending. The other half said the book literally says he's hallucinating from starvation and hypothermia, so it's a downer. We got so loud the cafe manager asked us to keep it down. Which side are you on, and what's a book ending your group totally split over?

3 comments

3 Comments

karenw233mo ago

Did the cafe manager offer a tie breaker vote? I'm firmly on the hopeful side with you. Jonas finally feels real things, even if his body is failing. My book club nearly came to blows over "The Road." Is the boy being found by the good guys a miracle, or just setting him up for more horror?

reese_perry627d ago

Oh man, your book club sounds way more intense than mine and I'm honestly jealous. I can barely get my group to agree on where to get snacks, let alone fight about the meaning of an ending. But yep, the cafe manager didn't even get a say, she was too busy refilling my cup because I was pacing around the shop like a crazy person. I'm on the hopeful side too, even though I know I'm probably naive about it. The whole thing with Jonas finally feeling something real hit me hard, I mean the guy literally can't control his own body and still finds meaning, that's gotta count for something. I guess I'm just too much of a softie to believe the universe only sets us up for more horror, even if the book itself keeps proving me wrong.

coleman.karen3mo ago

Our book club read that last year and honestly, I found the whole debate kind of exhausting. It's a bleak story about a made up world. People get way too deep about fiction sometimes. The boy finding the family is just an ending, not some big life lesson.