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kleinreads 's review for:
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
by Suzanne Collins
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s rare that a prequel—especially one written so far after the original series—meets the expectations set by the original. This is such a rarity.
Through Collins’ uncanny ability to truly enter the mind of her characters, I found myself interested in the young Coriolanus Snow and wanting desperately for him to find his own way rather than clinging to the legacy of a man who barely acknowledged him. This made it all the more heartbreaking when we see the phrases and impressions he has grown up with constantly repeated.
As to the question posed by both the author and Dr. Gail, it’s difficult to answer. Do people’s natural instincts create a cruel world, or has this cruel world created such despairing instincts? Even on a person by person basis, was dear, Coryo born with a readiness to sacrifice everyone around him for his own gain, or was it the expectations set by his father, his grandmother, and the war-torn Capitol he has grown up in that forced this so-called Machiavellian mindset? The brilliance of this book lies in the uncertainty, I think.
Through Collins’ uncanny ability to truly enter the mind of her characters, I found myself interested in the young Coriolanus Snow and wanting desperately for him to find his own way rather than clinging to the legacy of a man who barely acknowledged him. This made it all the more heartbreaking when we see the phrases and impressions he has grown up with constantly repeated.
As to the question posed by both the author and Dr. Gail, it’s difficult to answer. Do people’s natural instincts create a cruel world, or has this cruel world created such despairing instincts? Even on a person by person basis, was dear, Coryo born with a readiness to sacrifice everyone around him for his own gain, or was it the expectations set by his father, his grandmother, and the war-torn Capitol he has grown up in that forced this so-called Machiavellian mindset? The brilliance of this book lies in the uncertainty, I think.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, Classism
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Cannibalism, War