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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
I loved this book. I loved every second of it. Sure, maybe the writing wasn't as good as it could've been (I noticed numerous mistakes in terms of the grammar, but I suppose that could be blamed on poor translation) but I think the premise of the novel made up for the lack of quality writing.
I hate to compare it to The Hunger Games (which disappointed me greatly, in both writing and plot) but Battle Royale really left much more of a gruesome and... real impact. When reading The Hunger Games, I never thought about the "what if this all happened to me?" side of things- whereas with Battle Royale, I was constantly shivering in disgust at the idea of what I would do if I were put in such a terrible situation. Even if the story was set in a totalitarian society, I could still relate it to my real life situation, and just these thoughts when reading it really made the book incredibly effective for me.
I hate to compare it to The Hunger Games (which disappointed me greatly, in both writing and plot) but Battle Royale really left much more of a gruesome and... real impact. When reading The Hunger Games, I never thought about the "what if this all happened to me?" side of things- whereas with Battle Royale, I was constantly shivering in disgust at the idea of what I would do if I were put in such a terrible situation. Even if the story was set in a totalitarian society, I could still relate it to my real life situation, and just these thoughts when reading it really made the book incredibly effective for me.
Oh my God. This is such a fantastic novel. It’s not just about the violence but also about the different characteristics of the 41 students, their lives, their emotions and their views about the ‘Program’ where they have to kill each other. They were woven together beautifully to create this masterpiece.
Each student’s point of views were shown and through that, I got to peek on how they lived their lives before the Program. They also got to know each other’s real facade too. Some are horrified that their other classmates are willing to kill just to win.
There are a lot of parts that striked me like the couple, Sakura and Kazuhiko, who chose to commit suicide than kill others and be killed, the group of girls who killed each other because of a misunderstanding and the brutality of Mitsuko (but I like her) and Kazuo. Then there is this part about childhood friends Takako and Hiroki, their closeness and their conversation just before Takako died in Hiroki’s arms. It was really sad.
And just the thought of killing your classmates, if your class was chosen for this kind of ‘Program’, could you do it? Could you kill your friends, the people who you have known since first year?
The quote “But tramps like us, baby we were born to run.” from Bruce Sprinsteen’s song “Born to Run” suits Shuya and Noriko the most.
I really loved this novel and I might watch the movie soon.
Each student’s point of views were shown and through that, I got to peek on how they lived their lives before the Program. They also got to know each other’s real facade too. Some are horrified that their other classmates are willing to kill just to win.
There are a lot of parts that striked me like the couple, Sakura and Kazuhiko, who chose to commit suicide than kill others and be killed, the group of girls who killed each other because of a misunderstanding and the brutality of Mitsuko (but I like her) and Kazuo. Then there is this part about childhood friends Takako and Hiroki, their closeness and their conversation just before Takako died in Hiroki’s arms. It was really sad.
And just the thought of killing your classmates, if your class was chosen for this kind of ‘Program’, could you do it? Could you kill your friends, the people who you have known since first year?
The quote “But tramps like us, baby we were born to run.” from Bruce Sprinsteen’s song “Born to Run” suits Shuya and Noriko the most.
I really loved this novel and I might watch the movie soon.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
The second I finished, I said out loud “Damn, that was good.” and it was so good! Wow. Very timely, moving, and emotional. I laughed and I cried and I was entertained. What’s not to love?
So I picked up The Hunger Ga-, err, Battle Royale as a huge fan of the film. It's one that I've owned on DVD for a good many years, and should I ever get the opportunity, I will happily update to a blu-ray. That's Battle Royale I'm talking about. Not The Hunger Games.
It's an incredible, fast-paced thrill-ride with a heavy social message about the evils of authoritarian government. And just in case you're in any way confused, it is also incredibly gory. So, no, NOT The Hunger Games.
And of course that film comes from this novel by Suzanne Collins ... Ha! I did it again. Of course it didn't. It's from a novel by Koushun Takami, which was written in 1999. Years before Ms Collins published The Hunger Games. Even though she never, ever, cross-my-heart, no way, nope, had not heard about Battle Royale when she wrote an incredible, fast-paced thrill-ride with a heavy social message about the evils of authoritarian government ... only without the gore factor.
Genius. Deny deny deny.
Anyway, back to my now short review. The novel version of Battle Royale suffers from being far too long, and way too detailed in fleshing out the minor characters no-one ever really cared about. It is also overly "teeneagery" with way too many characters focusing on who they like and whether they're liked in return when they should be running, screaming, hiding, shrieking, and murdering as per their innate survival instinct. Simply put, I lost count of the number of times I groaned as they latest bit character who barely been cited in 250 pages lamented about how amazing Shuya was.
But - and this is a massive but - there are still some great sequences, surprising deaths, and the agony over how far any one would go to preserve their life is richly detailed.
So whilst reading Battle Royale was not a patch on my viewing experience, I'm glad I grabbed myself a translated copy and it now graces my bookshelf.
Unlike anything in The Rip-Off Games series.
3 15 Year-Old Empathy-Lacking Psychopaths with a Sub-Machine Gun for Battle Royale.
It's an incredible, fast-paced thrill-ride with a heavy social message about the evils of authoritarian government. And just in case you're in any way confused, it is also incredibly gory. So, no, NOT The Hunger Games.
And of course that film comes from this novel by Suzanne Collins ... Ha! I did it again. Of course it didn't. It's from a novel by Koushun Takami, which was written in 1999. Years before Ms Collins published The Hunger Games. Even though she never, ever, cross-my-heart, no way, nope, had not heard about Battle Royale when she wrote an incredible, fast-paced thrill-ride with a heavy social message about the evils of authoritarian government ... only without the gore factor.
Genius. Deny deny deny.
Anyway, back to my now short review. The novel version of Battle Royale suffers from being far too long, and way too detailed in fleshing out the minor characters no-one ever really cared about. It is also overly "teeneagery" with way too many characters focusing on who they like and whether they're liked in return when they should be running, screaming, hiding, shrieking, and murdering as per their innate survival instinct. Simply put, I lost count of the number of times I groaned as they latest bit character who barely been cited in 250 pages lamented about how amazing Shuya was.
But - and this is a massive but - there are still some great sequences, surprising deaths, and the agony over how far any one would go to preserve their life is richly detailed.
So whilst reading Battle Royale was not a patch on my viewing experience, I'm glad I grabbed myself a translated copy and it now graces my bookshelf.
Unlike anything in The Rip-Off Games series.
3 15 Year-Old Empathy-Lacking Psychopaths with a Sub-Machine Gun for Battle Royale.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved this book so much! I can 100% see the influences it had on such books as the hunger games
I'll admit, I'm rounding up a little with the 4-star rating. Now that I know who lives and who dies, I can see myself maybe reading this one more time in my life, but that's about it. But damn if this first read through wasn't a ride through hell in the best possible way.
The book manages to balance between giving you what you want emotionally and what you need towards believeability. Given that there are 42 students that we're expected to follow, Koushun smartly invests us seriously in a handful, all of whom sporting skills and motivations that could mean victory, while endowing everyone else with just enough character and biography (and the occasional Princess of the Light) to feel both tension and sympathy. On top of it all, the rules of the game are designed to keep everyone moving - during the slowest moments of Parts 2 and 3, when the "main" characters are lying low, there's still a battle-to-the-death going on all around them. It's actually hard to believe I just read about three-dozen or so students dying (don't take that number seriously, that's just the easiest way I can mention the death-count spoiler-free).
All the action of a war movie with all the political paranoia of Orwell's 1984 (a quote from Orwell even made it into the epigraph). I highly recommend it to anyone who wants an action-packed read, and not just fans of The Hunger Games. Though be warned, with weapons like steel baseball bats, shotguns, and machine guns, it's not for the light of heart.
The book manages to balance between giving you what you want emotionally and what you need towards believeability. Given that there are 42 students that we're expected to follow, Koushun smartly invests us seriously in a handful, all of whom sporting skills and motivations that could mean victory, while endowing everyone else with just enough character and biography (and the occasional Princess of the Light) to feel both tension and sympathy. On top of it all, the rules of the game are designed to keep everyone moving - during the slowest moments of Parts 2 and 3, when the "main" characters are lying low, there's still a battle-to-the-death going on all around them. It's actually hard to believe I just read about three-dozen or so students dying (don't take that number seriously, that's just the easiest way I can mention the death-count spoiler-free).
All the action of a war movie with all the political paranoia of Orwell's 1984 (a quote from Orwell even made it into the epigraph). I highly recommend it to anyone who wants an action-packed read, and not just fans of The Hunger Games. Though be warned, with weapons like steel baseball bats, shotguns, and machine guns, it's not for the light of heart.
3.7
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