Book review
The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
Well if there is ever a time where I start a book full of doubts, this was one of them. Just from reading the blurb I thought I was going to be reading a Western, toned down version of Battle Royale.
Having read it, I still have reservations about the plot similarities, but that does not detract anything from how much I enjoyed this book. Katniss takes the place of her younger sister in a annual sadistic take on Big Brother. Here children, two from each district (future US no longer has states) have to fight and kill until only on is left.
Katniss’s voice was brilliant and her struggle to survive and fight and win so that she could go home sucked me in until I could do nothing else than read. Well, almost nothing else. Because the plot similarities weren’t the only problem
From Katniss’s brief description I understood that Global Warming did a whole bunch of damage and as a result huge parta of America are now under water. The subsequent war was over resources and land. All this I can understand and believe to happen. But what I don’t understand is how the Hunger Games came into being. They were supposed to be a punishment given by the Capital to all the districts, which 75 years ago rebelled. So now they have to watch helplessly as children are murdered.
I’m sorry, but what?
Did no one else think that that was a huge leap from one to the other? Dissidence and rebellion does not equal child murder (well it might but not in such a public way). No government would do this. Seriously, I spent three years learning just what they can do and this is not one of them.
But OK, sure, the US is now authoritarian and therefore deranged. Fine, I can suspend disbelief and go with the flow. But excuse me, what about the rest of the world? Is there a Hunger Games in each country or is it just America? Katniss says nothing about global Hunger Games so I think it is only a US twisted invention. But then don’t the rest of the world care about what happens in the US? I don’t care how much countries want to be completely separate from each other, if you set a novel in this reality, you have to be aware that there is no such thing as pure isolationism. It just doesn’t work.
These Hunger Games are broadcast live so the rest of the world must be aware of what is happening. It may be a silly, small problem, but it annoyed me. If Katniss had explained it somehow, anyhow, then again my disbelief could be suspended. But as it is it just seems as if Collins either didn’t realise the problem or didn’t want to try and address it. If the novel had been set in the UK, or nay other island, then I think it would have been better. But US has Canada on end and South America on the other. What happened to them?
And there was one other issue that I had with the book. Peeta, the boy sacrifice form the same district as Katniss is in love with her. OK. He then, in a TV interview tells the whole country that in an attempt for people to like them and for them to get supporters. OK, clever tactic. I get it. Then while in the arena and during the Games, he seems to forget this. So when Katniss acts all lovey-dovey he goes with it because he thinks she has actually fallen for him.
But she hasn’t.
And then when he realises that she did it because she didn’t want to die, he is pissed and has a little hissy fit (a very small one-more of a sulk actually). And this made no sense to me. It was his tactic. Did he just forget it? I realise that it is a great un-tied thread for the next book in this series, but again it seemed very convenient and a little forced. It also is the making of a love triangle in the next book when Katniss goes back home to the boy she left behind.
But if you suspend disbelief and shut your brain off for a little while, you will LOVE this book. I loved Katniss; she was a girl after my own heart, willing to do what it took to stay alive. And it is because of her that I am not going to give this book such a low score. She and the secondary characters were absolutely brilliant.
4**** out of 5.