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A review by mrmokek
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Ugh it pains me to not give this book 5 stars because I really do adore it but criteria and whatnot
I am going to limit myself and talk about this book as a text and not a social phenomenon I can do this here I go
Things I loved:
- katniss is an excellent unreliable narrator: the writing style embeds us deeply in her perspective and the very quick characterisation of her as having Issues means it's often clear when there is something going on she is missing (mostly incidents of kindness and goodness in the world + peeta)
- the very clear and incisive allegories for life under dystopia capitalism. Most of THG's Substance lies in the actual content, plot, and worldbuilding of the book rather than any ingenious use of language, which is fine because all of those are excellent
- the Range!!! I find most anti capitalist novels find a very specific thing to explore but Collins takes on capitalism, war, kindness and love as revolutionary acts (in a surprisingly nuanced way), trauma, and much more as subsets of those things
Why it didn't get 5 stars:
- I am jaded and anticapitalist texts don't Get me the way they did
- the large chunks of exposition are effective but still clunky
I am going to limit myself and talk about this book as a text and not a social phenomenon I can do this here I go
Things I loved:
- katniss is an excellent unreliable narrator: the writing style embeds us deeply in her perspective and the very quick characterisation of her as having Issues means it's often clear when there is something going on she is missing (mostly incidents of kindness and goodness in the world + peeta)
- the very clear and incisive allegories for life under dystopia capitalism. Most of THG's Substance lies in the actual content, plot, and worldbuilding of the book rather than any ingenious use of language, which is fine because all of those are excellent
- the Range!!! I find most anti capitalist novels find a very specific thing to explore but Collins takes on capitalism, war, kindness and love as revolutionary acts (in a surprisingly nuanced way), trauma, and much more as subsets of those things
Why it didn't get 5 stars:
- I am jaded and anticapitalist texts don't Get me the way they did
- the large chunks of exposition are effective but still clunky