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A review by missbrightsidereads
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
5.0
“Although he couldn't help hoping that (...) he'd realize what so many others had realized when they'd challenged him. What all Panem would know one day. What was inevitable. Snow lands on top.”
This novel right here has overturned the already established order of my favourite books of the year the moment I have read the very first chapter. Although I had not read the original trilogy, I was and still am a huge fan of the movies. I definitely had to see the new prequel film, which ultimately convinced me to read the novel itself.
This is a fascinating and thought-provoking villain origin story that doesn't let go of the reader for a very long time. The symbolism and metaphors of the story are both astonishing and chilling, and the plot is truly captivating. I love unreliable narration in which the events and characters are for some reason twisted and the reader only sees them through the narrator's personal (mostly incorrect) observations – all of which is perfectly delivered from Coriolanus Snow's viewpoint.
My favourite characters were definitely Tigris andmy sweet darling innocent POOR Sejanus in the movie, and that hasn't changed after finishing the book either. The character of Tigris is so devastating: she did literally everything to keep her family alive, she sold every part of herself to help Coriolanus and kept him safe so that he never truly knew how bad their situation really was, but at the end she still lost him to war and greed.
Also, while many theorise about how the aged Snow saw Lucy Gray in Katniss, I would argue that Katniss is not Lucy Gray, but rather Sejanus: Katniss was able to achieve everything that Sejanus had been fighting for since his family moved to the Capitol. Sure, Katniss represents Lucy Gray's legacy, but her personality and her views are the same as Sejanus's. Snow did everything he could to get rid of Lucy Gray and her memory, but not only she, but Sejanus also returned to haunt him.
And then comes the most pressing question: did Coriolanus really love Lucy Gray? I think he did not, but it's not because Coriolanus is incapable of affection. It is precisely the most tragic thing about him: he can indeed love, but he repeatedly chooses to subject his love to unfulfillable conditions, so as to avoid even the slightest impression of weakness. He can only love someone until that person crosses the boundaries he has predetermined: he could only love Lucy Gray when she was his dependent and completely under his control, and he could only love Tigris until he found out about all the humiliating sacrifices she had to make for his survival.
Coriolanus Snow, despite the fact that every opportunity was given to him to stop the Games and not be the man we know so well from the original trilogy, chose the other path time and time again for his own personal rise without any concern for anyone else's interests but his own. These fatal decisions and sacrifices are what this novel is really about, and not about a love story gone wrong.
This novel right here has overturned the already established order of my favourite books of the year the moment I have read the very first chapter. Although I had not read the original trilogy, I was and still am a huge fan of the movies. I definitely had to see the new prequel film, which ultimately convinced me to read the novel itself.
This is a fascinating and thought-provoking villain origin story that doesn't let go of the reader for a very long time. The symbolism and metaphors of the story are both astonishing and chilling, and the plot is truly captivating. I love unreliable narration in which the events and characters are for some reason twisted and the reader only sees them through the narrator's personal (mostly incorrect) observations – all of which is perfectly delivered from Coriolanus Snow's viewpoint.
My favourite characters were definitely Tigris and
Also, while many theorise about how the aged Snow saw Lucy Gray in Katniss, I would argue that Katniss is not Lucy Gray, but rather Sejanus: Katniss was able to achieve everything that Sejanus had been fighting for since his family moved to the Capitol. Sure, Katniss represents Lucy Gray's legacy, but her personality and her views are the same as Sejanus's. Snow did everything he could to get rid of Lucy Gray and her memory, but not only she, but Sejanus also returned to haunt him.
And then comes the most pressing question: did Coriolanus really love Lucy Gray? I think he did not, but it's not because Coriolanus is incapable of affection. It is precisely the most tragic thing about him: he can indeed love, but he repeatedly chooses to subject his love to unfulfillable conditions, so as to avoid even the slightest impression of weakness. He can only love someone until that person crosses the boundaries he has predetermined: he could only love Lucy Gray when she was his dependent and completely under his control, and he could only love Tigris until he found out about all the humiliating sacrifices she had to make for his survival.
Coriolanus Snow, despite the fact that every opportunity was given to him to stop the Games and not be the man we know so well from the original trilogy, chose the other path time and time again for his own personal rise without any concern for anyone else's interests but his own. These fatal decisions and sacrifices are what this novel is really about, and not about a love story gone wrong.