《授者》（The Giver） 是一部人文科幻小說。作者洛伊絲·洛利，於1993年4月16日出版。
小說開篇構建了一個類似烏托邦的未來社會。隨著情節鋪展，逐漸幻化成反面烏托邦。小說描述一個名叫喬納斯(Jonas）的男孩在12歲那一年發生的故事。經過刻意同化，喬納斯生活的社區沒有痛苦，也沒有衝突，人們的生活不帶一絲感情。喬納斯被挑選出來接任“記憶接受者”這個職位，接受同化之前人類所有的記憶，以備在需要的時候使用。喬納斯從他的前任——賜予者——那兒獲得了這些記憶，他發現他所生活的社區極為淺薄封閉。獲得了1994年的紐伯瑞兒童文學獎，銷售量過三百五十萬冊。在美國，它位列很多初級中學的必讀書目，但是同時本書也屬被禁之列（“見以下爭議”）。人們慣常把這部小說和《憂鬱聚集》（Gathering Blue）（2000年），以及《報訊者》（Messenger）（2004年）並稱三部曲，但是三本書之間關係並不大，後兩部書也是描述未來的小說。
基本介紹
內容簡介,作品賞析,同名改編電影,
內容簡介
初讀此書，描寫的似乎是一個烏托邦，所有可能消滅痛苦和煩惱的措施樣樣俱全。雙向廣播器時刻監控每一個家庭的違規現象。人們一直都嚴守規矩；家庭成員每天都相互交流他們的夢境和感受，杜絕任何情感糾結。這個社區根據每個人的秉性進行夫妻配對，一直維持著和諧秩序。
在紐伯瑞獲獎演說中，洛利描述她創建的大同世界：我努力讓喬納斯的世界使人感覺熟悉，舒服，而且安全，也在嘗試誘導讀者。我用我的方式來牽引讀者。這確實是一個完美的世界。我把我害怕的和不喜歡的東西全都消滅掉了：暴力，貧窮，歧視和不公，同時讓每個人都彬彬有禮，因為我認為這是一種理想化的生活方式。這樣的社會，已達到人們想像的極限。
然而，隨著故事展開，人們越來越清楚地發現，這種社會並沒有家庭和愛的觀念（至少不是洛利所暗示的“更完整”的觀念）。孩子由指定的“生育媽媽”來孕育，然後分配，每個家庭都是一兒一女，以此來控制人口平衡。當每一個家庭在穩定的環境中，完成了養育孩子的任務，家庭就再也沒有必要存在。父母遷居到專為沒有孩子的成人設立的公共機構，而孩子們，則開始他們的職業生涯，並且組建自己的家庭。為了維持這種制度，社區使用藥物來抑制成員的感情，沒有羅曼蒂克的愛情，更沒有性。
沿著河岸，和這個社區類似的城鎮星羅棋布，周圍廣平的大片土地給他們提供農作物，同時便利交通運輸。他們利用氣候控制使天氣保持恆定。
社區由一個由老年人組成的委員會監管，給每一個年滿12歲的小孩分配工作，職位終身不變。人們受嚴格的規矩束縛，這些規矩涉及很廣，關係到生活的方方面面，如若違反，只需要一個簡單卻是程式化的道歉以示懲戒。有時候，有些規定被違反了也可以忽略的：比如未到規定年齡騎車的小孩由兄姐教他們騎車。如果社區的成員被判決兩次嚴重違反了規定，可能會被“驅逐”，在這個未來世界中，相當於死刑（儘管在被判決受驅逐時並沒有指出，其實是在社區執行死刑）。
“驅逐儀式”貫穿整部小說，隨著謎底逐步揭開，故事基調也變得越來越陰暗。故事剛剛開始的時候，我們知道這個過程被普遍認為是一種羞辱，尤其被驅逐的人是社區裡面的一分子。另一方面，老年人受驅逐是值得慶賀的，而嬰兒受驅逐被認為是維持平衡的必要手段。後來，我們發現只有還在讓保育員照顧，未分配到特定家庭的嬰兒才會被驅逐，而且有一套特別的標準。尤其是，當一個生育媽媽誕下一對長相相似的雙胞胎，保育員就會給他們秤體重，體重輕的那一個會被驅逐。
在喬納斯的社區，人們相信那些被驅逐的人是被送到“另一個地方”，可能是另一個社區。故事到達高潮的時候，喬納斯發現驅逐實際上是安樂死。揭露真相的這一段情節，招致一些成年人批評，他們並不希望孩子們接觸這樣的文字。
小說以第三人稱寫作，追蹤主人公喬納斯的視角，從他等待12歲就業慶典的時候寫起。喬納斯生活在一個很標準的家庭，母親是個法官，父親是“保育員”。他自己被選擇擔任“記憶傳授者”，因為他具有超乎尋常的“天賦”。這是很特殊的能力，例如可以看見顏色和聆聽音樂。他從年老的前任那裡接受訓練，接受記憶，履行“記憶接受者”的職責。這一位老人（對社區來說他也是“接受者”，對喬納斯來說他是“授者”）承受著所有記憶的感情重壓。這些記憶來自大同世界建立之前，“很久很久很久以前”，在喬納斯的世界，再也沒有一個人記得這些事情。
通過授者，喬納斯獲得了在他的世界已經湮滅的記憶：暴力，悲傷和失落，同樣也有愛，美麗，歡樂，冒險和家庭。到最後，洞悉了這些感情的喬納斯決心去改變這個社區，讓情感回歸世界。
故事的結尾很含糊，喬納斯的將來，甚至他是否仍在生，小說都沒有透露。見以下含糊的結尾有更多的討論。
作品賞析
The Giver is a novel written by Lois Lowry and published on April 16, 1993. It is set in a future society which is at first presented as a utopian society and gradually appears more and more dystopian; therefore, it could be considered anti-utopian. The novel follows a boy named Jonas through the twelfth year of his life. The society has eliminated pain and strife by converting to "Sameness", a plan which 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 memories of the time before Sameness, in case they are ever needed to aid in decisions that others lack the experience to make. As Jonas receives the memories from his predecessor－the "Giver"－he discovers how shallow his community's life has become.
Despite controversy and criticism that the book's subject material is inappropriate for young children, The Giver won the 1994 Newbery Medal and has sold more than 5.3 million copies. In Australia, the United States and Canada it is a part of many middle school reading lists, but it is also on many banned book lists. The novel forms a loose trilogy with Gathering Blue (2000) and Messenger (2004), two other books set in the same future era.
Plot Summary
Where Jonas lives, life is safe, orderly, and predictable. Rules are strictly adhered to; every aspect of a person's life is carefully planned. People rarely make choices on their own; everything is decided for them by the community. There is no snow or sunshine, no colors or music, no animals or nature.
People in the community take special care to avoid doing or saying anything different. In the community, one must not say anything that causes discomfort to others, and one must use language precisely. Husbands and wives are matched as couples by a Committee of Elders who reviews each individual to see if a person's characteristics will be compatible with those of his mate. Exactly two children-one male and one female-are assigned to each family unit. The elderly live at the House of the Old. Those whose children have grown to have families of their own live with other Childless Adults. Newborn infats are nurtured at the Nurturing Center until they become Ones and are assigned to family units.
When Jonas and other Elevens become Twelves in December, they receive their Assignments that assign them to their particular fields of profession. As someone with intelligence, integrity, courage, and a certain special capacity, Jonas is selected for the most honored and respected Assignment in the community. He is assigned to become a Receiver of Memories who will succeed the current Receiver. A Receiver of Memories is the one person in the community who has access to all the memories of the past. He must keep these memories within himself until he can train a new Receiver to whom he can pass them. Thus, the Receiver has knowledge of things that no one in the community has access to, but the Receiver also has the responsibility to shoulder the burden of sorrow and pain that the memories bring.
Jonas begins his training with the Receiver whom he calls The Giver. At first, The Giver gives Jonas happy memories of the past-memories of things Jonas has never known. Jonas is eager and excited to be able to experience new things. But The Giver must also give Jonas memories of loneliness, fear, grief, rage, and pain-all of which he has never felt in the community. Gradually, through the memories he receives from The Giver, Jonas comes to realize the various truths about the community. He realizes that it is unfair to deprive people of ever being able to make choices for themselves about their own lives. He understands that the people of the community have no genuine feelings. Feelings have never been a part of their lives. He also learns that there are different ways to live. Through the memories, he sees people in the past living differently, and feels that the community must change.
Together with The Giver, Jonas comes up with a plan to change the entire community. He decides to flee the community for the Elsewhere, a place he has only heard about that lies far beyond. If Jonas leaves, the memories he has received from The Giver will be let loose. They will find their way back to the community and to the people. The people will have ready access to the memories that will, in turn, give them knowledge about things that have been missing in their lives. They will come to the same kind of awakening that Jonas did when he was given memories of the past from The Giver.
Jonas departs for the long and difficult journey during which he faces cold and starvation as well as the danger of being found. Seeing lights in the far distance after having come a long way, Jonas is confident that he has reached his destination.
the giver 譯為賜予者或授者,洛伊絲·洛利的作品.是她最著名的也是最受爭議的作品.《The Giver》描述了一個作者Lois Lowry自己想像出來的理想烏托邦世界。在這個社區里，人們的生活都被安排得好好的，人們不用決定工作，不用決定配偶，這些社區都幫你做好了決定。而這個世界也沒有記憶、感情，顏色，及音樂，他們只擁有最基本的生活需求。但是這個社區裡面，卻有一個人例外，他一個人承擔了整個社區該有的記憶，他必須獨自承受痛苦、恐懼、和孤單，而他也同時知道什麼是溫暖、幸福和愛。他被稱為the receiver of memory(也就是The Giver)。當12歲的男主角Jonas成為這個the receiver of memory的接班人後，他得到了他以前所不曾有過的經驗，而當他知道愈多時，他愈發現這個世界的不合理，於是最後他選擇逃離……
整本小說有個讓我最被震撼甚至於全身起雞皮疙瘩的布局，而作者安排的極為巧妙。書中Jonas擁有一個能力，他可以sees beyond，一開始我們完全不了解sees beyond是什麼，包括Jonas。這能力的第一次出現在蘋果身上，Jonas和他朋友Asher玩丟蘋果時，Jonas隱約發現蘋果出現了變化，而我們不知道那變化是什麼，也無法想像；再來這變化當Jonas站在台上望著底下一大群人時又出現了，但我們仍不知道這變化是什麼，直到Jonas去找The Giver。當The Giver讓Jonas進入了回憶的世界中，Jonas發現他在雪地上踩的雪橇也發生了變化，但這變化卻不是一閃而逝，而是持續存在時，The Giver知道這變化是什麼了。
原來Jonas看到的東西，這一開始總是一閃而逝的變化是“紅色”，原來Jonas生活的世界沒有顏色。我想光是這個安排，就值得看這本小說，也讓我深感佩服Lois Lowry的創意。而另一個更神奇的地方則是，The Giver當年的能力不是看見死後的生活，而是聽見死後的生活，他可以聽得到“音樂”。一個沒有愛沒有恨沒有痛苦沒有快樂沒有顏色沒有音樂的世界，而這全部都要由The Giver承擔時，難怪Jonas會想要逃離了，雖然逃亡的地點未知，是生是死也無法掌握……
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