Thursday, September 13, 2012

Hunger Games Book Review





I know, its taken me how many years to read The Hunger Games? Generally, I have an aversion to anything that I simply must see or do, and felt no drive to see the Hunger Games at the movies, or to read the trilogy, somehow recently I was persuaded and after watching the movie I simply had to read the books.

I started to live and breath Hunger Games.

The first book (Mocking Jay) was my favourite. I think it was the woods and nature that drew me into the story. I loved that in a world of technology and convienience they were in a stark contrast arena with nothing but nature (and a few genetically engineered animals..) I love learning about the humans basic need for survival, how we will do anything to achieve it, survive, fight, out-last, how in times of stress we change. I was drawn into seeing the absolute depravity of this world, how we in the present are only a stones throw away from being from The Capitol. A place you want to loathe, but not very much unlike ourselves.

I loved the first book so much I watched the movie again.

As for the second (Catching Fire), I found myself trying to guess what happens next, trying to figure out where the author would take us. At least one of my theories was right most of the time (I had a lot!) but I was still left surprised occasionally. I enjoyed the new characters but the cast was large and I found myself getting confused between them. I liked that the author could create something original from her already established story.

The third book (Mockingjay) is centered around politics, not my most favourite topic, and it was there that my interest started to wain "I signed up for the Hunger Games" I thought, not to follow the politics of Panem. My want to know more of the Hunger Games and that primal instinct of survival which I enjoyed so much came second. Politics won. Boo.

I think a small part of me wanted to side with the districts "I am like them" rather than relate to the Capitol, of which we are so alike already, however once you learn more of the district, especially the one the third book is based around, you learn that we are all alike. Capitol or not. We are depraved, power hungry sinners. Much like regular life really.

Over all I enjoyed the Hunger Games, and couldn't help but relate it to Battle Royal, a fight to the death concept that was explored in 1998 through a japanese novel and then a film. Do Hunger Games fans realise they are almost the same? Unsure. But they are.


4 comments:

  1. I felt the same way. I devoured the first book, second took a bit longer, I put in down for a week or two and came back to it. Third, I let my son start reading because I was taking so long and I've never got further than half way through..haha

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  2. I loved the first book and had to know the rest of the story ASAP. I'm like that with books, once begun they can be abandoned until ALL is known.
    But yeah, the third book wasn't as goo, although I was satisfied in the end and I could finally see her design/over-arching theme or purpose for writing the stories.

    I would LOVE you to link this up to the book club linky Sophie!
    If you read/review books on a semi-regular basis you should totally sign up to be a host sometime as well.
    xx

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  3. I haven't read them or watched the movie - shock horror but it's for the same reasons as you I totally resist doing what everyone else is doing or feeling like I HAVE to like something - marching to the beat of my own 'totally-out-of-touch-with-popular-culture' drum!

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  4. I really enjoyed this series. I haven't seen the movies, but I felt the whole story was well constructed and not cheesy - it could have been. I read an article on the writer and that she was inspired by Amercian footage of the Iraq war and reality TV shows. I thought about the ending for days - and I guess I felt it sad and a litte scary.

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