The Hunger Games: The Book Version of Crack

[saucydiva]

I really enjoyed these books. No, wait, I was addicted to these books.

Comments

[whimsical_irony]

Margaret Atwood > Ayn Rand.

Should I finish the series? I read 1, got through part of 2, had 3 spoiled for me, thought, "that sounds like BS," and never finished the rest.

Then again, I haven't finished the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series either so I might just have a problem.

[saucydiva]

Gosh, I remember the first time I read The Handmaid's Tale and spent a hour bawling over the way women are treated. Literally, bawling, because it freaked me out so much. Of course, I didn't realize we'd be living it soon, Texas.

I thought the novels were pretty damn gripping, so I'd be inclined to say yes, but if you weren't gripped personally... I'd say it's less essential. The movie was pretty excellent; I'd at least go see that. It's fascinating to see how popular it is; it's all we're talking about at work.

And I've still not started those Dragon Tattoo books, even though the first one has been sitting in my car for two months. They just look really long, and I'm not one to complain about book length, but... life is short.

[throwingpens]

The way we are treating women makes me kind of sick right now. And I live in Texas, and even here most normal people don't realize it.

Which is how I think all of these Brave New World-y changes are going to happen.

[lizinstereo]

I could not put down the Dragon Tattoo books. I was hooked, even though they are written in a very clinical style and have many dated references to "top of the line portable computers." Still have not seen the movie, but I'm going to rent the DVD and fast forward through the triggery stuff.

[whimsical_irony]

Oh and since you've read the book and watched the movie you should tell me what you think about this book/movie comparison . Some of my friends were discussing this today and I had to fake like I knew what was going on.

[saucydiva]

Actually, yeah, that article's pretty good. It hits all the major points, and actually, I'd forgotten that Peeta does kill the girl from District 8. Huh. And here I was thinking he didn't kill anyone until the second book (though I think we don't find that out until book 3). But yes, the biggest change, in my opinion, is that we really only get a four second reaction shot of Peeta looking disappointed when Katniss ignores him when they return home (so she can stare at her family and Gale) but other than that, I think its pretty unclear that she's entirely using him for his earnest romantic streak. Or that she spends most of the time thinking he's faking it, too.

[ballroom_pink]

Vulture also did a pretty good comparison.

http://www.vulture.com/2012/03/hunger-games-book-versus-movie.html

[whimsical_irony]

Are you going to/did you already make a post about your thoughts? Because I would love to read about them.

[throwingpens]

So now that you've finished and can articulate things, is there one moment that stuck out in your head from all three books? The Fin/Mags/Katniss/Peeta alliance was kind of my favorite from all three books. I don't know why, it just was.

[saucydiva]

One of my favorite scenes is in the first book, when they have their on-screen reunion after returning from the games, and they are kissing and Cesar comes up and taps Peeta on the shoulder and Peeta flicks him away and the crowd goes nuts. I'm not sure why I loved all those scenes with the interviews and the crowds, but I did, and that scene in particular, maybe because it was just a hilarious visual.

I think I could read an entire book of Fin hanging out with Johanna.

[throwingpens]

I love those scenes as well. I think I enjoy the interviews/crowd stuff because it's like they're putting on a show but also being themselves, and at least for Peeta, who he wants to be with her. I think that's kind of why he does the whole "secret marriage and a baby" because part of him wanted that to have been what happened.

Johanna was awesome. I really enjoyed the antagonistic/begrudging relationship she had with Katniss. Also Finnick being her friend made me smile. Something about them being the young ones, I guess.

[saucydiva]

That's really insightful! I hadn't thought of it that way, but Cesar has a way of making people seem the best version of themselves, charming and interesting and able to captivate a crowd, and that has to be fun for Peeta, which might be why I always got a kick out of those scenes.

And in the movie, when she sits on the love-seat with him, and her makeup is perfect- I really want to find a video teaching me how to do my makeup like that scene. They look like a pair of dolls; fake, but beloved for what they represent to the people... and her butterfly eyelashes! I have a lot of movie clothing feelings, too.

[saucydiva]

Here's a question I have. Many people seem to hate Mockingjay, and I'm curious what everyone hates about it. I didn't love it- my problems were that no one seemed particularly upset she shot Coin, that she voted for the Games, that then I'm not clear on if they held the Games after Coin was shot, and that maddeningly vague ending, but is there something I'm missing?

[whimsical_irony]

I haven't actually read it, but from what I was told happens it all seems a bit anticlimatic? Like, Katniss is this spunky badass heroine who fights through hell again and again and in the end, what does she get? I think people just wanted a happier ending for the protagonist of the series.

[stillscape]

I hated it for the following reasons

[saucydiva]

Alright, I can see all that. Kat is drugged, unconscious, or in a coma for... more time than seems possible. Given that they are turning the last book into two movies, it'll be interesting to see how much they deviate from the book, or at least come up with ways to better motivate the action. Because I absolutely agree that once Katniss is shipped out with the army, things get really confusing and sort of weird. Let someone else kill Snow, you nut.

[stars_inthe_sky]

My understanding was she voted for THG 2.0 at the end of Mockingjay not because she thought it was a good idea, but so that Coin would trust her--thus allowing Katniss to be the one allowed to shoot Snow, which gave her access to offing Coin. I was shocked in the moment, too, but like so much else with these books, it made more sense once you understood the endgame

[saucydiva]

I really like that interpretation; plus, it allows me to believe she wouldn't have voted for the games otherwise. Because that part was troubling to me, in a way I can't quite explain. I might need to reread that with fresh eyes. I also really appreciate the point that Kat/Peeta each lost the one thing they hoped to get when they went into their first games, something I hadn't thought about. Somehow, that makes it all the more heartbreaking.

I went into the book unspoiled, other than a vague knowledge that people hated the last book, and while I wasn't shocked Prim died I didn't predict it. I thought it would be Haymitch, and kept thinking all throughout the book that any minute now, someone was going to come running in and announce it. I never thought Gale would die, though I also never thought he'd leave. Did you ever think Peeta would die?

(And thank you for the lovely compliment)

[stars_inthe_sky]

I can't imagine she would have voted for the Games again for real, especially by that point. She had recognized them for what they were (though I think most others did, too) from the get-go, and she didn't get caught up in vengeance against the Capitol and its citizens the way some of the other Victors did. (Obviously she was pretty damn set on getting Snow, but that was specific and, at least in her mind, well-deserved--she wasn't ever interested in getting innocent children killed