The thing with the epilogue is I'm looking at it less from an HEA/romance standpoint and more at the "Katniss and Peeta will never fully recover from what they've gone through" standpoint. Showing how that even with time, veterans and soldiers, while maybe having happily lives, will always live with the nightmares if they've really been in the shit when it comes to war. I know someone personally who's the father of a friend of mine, and he's a functional and happy man, but still haunted by nightmares. And he's had a stutter since Vietnam (he was REALLY in the thick of it). The effect on a person is haunting to see, even if they can live normal lives.
But maybe knowing this gentleman is why I latch more on to the aftereffects of war than you or Erika? Both of you just saw the HEA and got mad. :)
I really like where you talked about how Katniss's mental health. It's a really good point that so many heroines go through hell and come out of it pretty much unscathed, which is not only unrealistic but unhealthy. When you've been through a lot of trauma, you can't just pretend everything's okay.
Also, I find it a little amusing that you read this book while on painkillers while Katniss spent so much of her time on painkillers too :)
I liked how Collins portrayed Katniss' mental health in this novel, too. It was really realistic. Which is what I love about Collins. She doesn't sugercoat things. She gives everything to us straight up.
And I totally didn't catch that possible shout out to Eclipse! Props to you (:
At first, her mental health threw me off--but then, I sat back and thought on it, and went, oh yeah, that makes sense. You can see bits of it, processed differently, in all the victors: Finnick (oh, Finnick), Annie, Haymitch, what's-her-face who trained with Katniss (I am sleep deprived and the memory suffers, forgive me), etc. They're all irreparably damaged
( ... )
Part of me wishes Prim had been reaped the next time, and Gale going with her. I mean, srsly, THE ANGST. But this worked too. What would have been worse, though, than having to train your sister and your best friend to die?
YES. And Catching Fire could've been about Katniss finding ways to save her sister and best friend AND get introduced to the rebellion. You're genius!
Alas, Collins did not think of that...
Yep, she lost her mother too. So, so much was lost, but that's so realistic. In real life, tragedy can bring people closer or tear them apart. Like when a couple loses a child? It always saddens me to hear when the couple can no longer be together. But it's the same principle applied to Katniss and her mother.
I KNOW. I mean, Collins plot was very effective, but I think it could have been amped up a lot. I mean, Snow focused on her family and loved ones--but he could have focused in an even more personal way. I mean, Peeta torn between helping Gale and wanting him out of the way. Gale not trusting him. Prim and Katniss and their mother. God, if only I had the focus to actually write fic now lol.
I like how unapologetic Collins was about being real with the violence, consequences, and tragedies. Not many people would be that blunt with it, though she did manage not to be too horribly graphic.
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The thing with the epilogue is I'm looking at it less from an HEA/romance standpoint and more at the "Katniss and Peeta will never fully recover from what they've gone through" standpoint. Showing how that even with time, veterans and soldiers, while maybe having happily lives, will always live with the nightmares if they've really been in the shit when it comes to war. I know someone personally who's the father of a friend of mine, and he's a functional and happy man, but still haunted by nightmares. And he's had a stutter since Vietnam (he was REALLY in the thick of it). The effect on a person is haunting to see, even if they can live normal lives.
But maybe knowing this gentleman is why I latch more on to the aftereffects of war than you or Erika? Both of you just saw the HEA and got mad. :)
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I really like where you talked about how Katniss's mental health. It's a really good point that so many heroines go through hell and come out of it pretty much unscathed, which is not only unrealistic but unhealthy. When you've been through a lot of trauma, you can't just pretend everything's okay.
Also, I find it a little amusing that you read this book while on painkillers while Katniss spent so much of her time on painkillers too :)
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I was a little annoyed that Collins used "morphling" to refer to the drug "morphine." Or maybe I misread something while under my own painkillers!
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I liked how Collins portrayed Katniss' mental health in this novel, too. It was really realistic. Which is what I love about Collins. She doesn't sugercoat things. She gives everything to us straight up.
And I totally didn't catch that possible shout out to Eclipse! Props to you (:
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YES. And Catching Fire could've been about Katniss finding ways to save her sister and best friend AND get introduced to the rebellion. You're genius!
Alas, Collins did not think of that...
Yep, she lost her mother too. So, so much was lost, but that's so realistic. In real life, tragedy can bring people closer or tear them apart. Like when a couple loses a child? It always saddens me to hear when the couple can no longer be together. But it's the same principle applied to Katniss and her mother.
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I like how unapologetic Collins was about being real with the violence, consequences, and tragedies. Not many people would be that blunt with it, though she did manage not to be too horribly graphic.
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Yes, I'm glad for that bluntness too. :)
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Makes you wonder what Collins is going to come up with now, doesn't it?
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