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A review by andrew_j_r
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4.0
I bought this book (indeed the Trilogy) a while back now, but thanks to the amount of hype generated by the movie, I have never been in the mood to actually read it, worried that it would not live up to the amazing reviews.
As it happens, I should not have worried. This book very quickly draws you into a very believable world, somewhere in the future, where America is now thirteen areas - A Capitol, and twelve Zones where people live. The Zones once tried to rise up against the Capitol, and one of the many thinks they have as punishment for what they did is the Hunger Games. Every year, a boy and a girl from each zone are compulsorily entered into the games, which is a fight to the death with only one winner, which is televised.
It of course will come as no shock that our lead character quickly ends up as a contestant, and some of the scenarios that are played out are horrific in their brutality and callousness. But what draws you in, very simply, are the characters. Knowing that only one of the characters can survive, you start trying to work out, from the small clues that you are give, who will kill who and of course, which two will be left - our heroine and which other? The small girl we are led to believe is a pushover? The boy from her own zone who fancies her? One of the "careers" as they are called - rich people from the wealthier Zones who actually want to take part and win?
It is over a third into the book before the games actually start, which helps to build the world behind it and the characters trapped in it brilliantly, and there is a real sense that the shit has hit the fan when the games start.
What I like about it is that the book constantly pulls the rug out from under you. Things that you assume are certainties are quickly undermined, but not in a way that seems unrealistic or contrived. The fact that we have children between twelve and eighteen killing each other on a live TV show is also alarmingly plausible - anyone who has watched the human bear bating that Big Brother has become will attest to that. Perhaps mixed in with a little Total Wipeout for good measure.
It is also the first book in a trilogy (as I write this I am on holiday in Tenerife and am rather annoyed that I only bought Book One with me!) and although it is a self contained story, I am extremely curious to discover what happens next. Obviously there will be social and political ramifications to the outcome of this story (I like the fact that even having survived the Games our heroine still has politics to deal with as a result of her actions before she can truly be safe) but I am also interested in the personal consequences for three of the characters, two who have not, we assume, even met yet.
It's great story telling, it's engaging, it's violent (much more so than I was expecting from what I understood to be a kids show) and there is even burgeoning sexuality to deal with. I was truly impressed with this tale, and I am really looking forward to the end of my holiday so I can catch up with the final two volumes that are sitting lonely on my bookshelves at home!
As it happens, I should not have worried. This book very quickly draws you into a very believable world, somewhere in the future, where America is now thirteen areas - A Capitol, and twelve Zones where people live. The Zones once tried to rise up against the Capitol, and one of the many thinks they have as punishment for what they did is the Hunger Games. Every year, a boy and a girl from each zone are compulsorily entered into the games, which is a fight to the death with only one winner, which is televised.
It of course will come as no shock that our lead character quickly ends up as a contestant, and some of the scenarios that are played out are horrific in their brutality and callousness. But what draws you in, very simply, are the characters. Knowing that only one of the characters can survive, you start trying to work out, from the small clues that you are give, who will kill who and of course, which two will be left - our heroine and which other? The small girl we are led to believe is a pushover? The boy from her own zone who fancies her? One of the "careers" as they are called - rich people from the wealthier Zones who actually want to take part and win?
It is over a third into the book before the games actually start, which helps to build the world behind it and the characters trapped in it brilliantly, and there is a real sense that the shit has hit the fan when the games start.
What I like about it is that the book constantly pulls the rug out from under you. Things that you assume are certainties are quickly undermined, but not in a way that seems unrealistic or contrived. The fact that we have children between twelve and eighteen killing each other on a live TV show is also alarmingly plausible - anyone who has watched the human bear bating that Big Brother has become will attest to that. Perhaps mixed in with a little Total Wipeout for good measure.
It is also the first book in a trilogy (as I write this I am on holiday in Tenerife and am rather annoyed that I only bought Book One with me!) and although it is a self contained story, I am extremely curious to discover what happens next. Obviously there will be social and political ramifications to the outcome of this story (I like the fact that even having survived the Games our heroine still has politics to deal with as a result of her actions before she can truly be safe) but I am also interested in the personal consequences for three of the characters, two who have not, we assume, even met yet.
It's great story telling, it's engaging, it's violent (much more so than I was expecting from what I understood to be a kids show) and there is even burgeoning sexuality to deal with. I was truly impressed with this tale, and I am really looking forward to the end of my holiday so I can catch up with the final two volumes that are sitting lonely on my bookshelves at home!