The Messenger

Ed Kennedy is nineteen and currently earning a living driving a taxi. His father is dead and his mother usually ignores him. Ed lives alone with his extremely smelly dog, The Doorman. Several times a week he plays cards with three friends, Ritchie, Marv and Audrey. One day the four friends are visiting the bank when it is being robbed by a nervous bank-robber. It is Ed who has the courage or foolhardiness to try and apprehend the thief. His name and photo appear in the paper. This under achiever is famous for a short time.

Then Ed's life changes. Over the next six months Ed receives four playing cards, each containing three words or phrases - cryptic clues to be solved. This leads Ed to meeting and helping a range of people facing challenges of various descriptions. As the quest continues, Ed begins to discover that as well as helping others he is learning more about himself.

The Messenger (or in the USA I am the Messenger) is written Australian author, Marcus Zusak. It has recently been made into a television series for the ABC with the eight  episodes to be screened on Sunday nights. The book, written for older teenagers and adults, encourages readers to examine their own lives and consider what might be achieved. There is much humour throughout the book, some violence and some introspection as we learn more about the four friends and their neighbourhood.