I have been hearing a lot lately about The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I went on Barnes and Noble website and got this description:
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival.
But I haven't yet decided if it is a good read.
Anybody read this book or its newly release sequel?
I devoured it! It will make you think initially of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery." But it takes on larger evil dimensions. The Hunger Games are rigged by the Capitol to be as suspenseful as possible, and as contestants gain an edge, the Capitol will introduce a newer, scarier element to the survival contest. Kat's dilemmas include the need to rely on others to survive vs. having to kill someone she relies on in order to survive in the end, whether or not to help the boy from her District who once saved her life or killing him in order for her family to survive their harsh living conditions, giving the Capitol and its viewers what they want vs. besting the Capitol, etc. The sequel, Catching Fire, is just as good, and the Capitol has managed to one-up itself!
I just finished reading the book. After reading your response to the question I thought that this was a book I had to read and as it turns out, it definitely was! The story was well crafted and brought you for a ride while being very conscious of what the Capitol is doing all along.
I couldn't believe the correlations between it and Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery." It reminds me of a thought I have wrestled with a lot, especially during my undergraduate literature classes, so much of what is in contemporary literature seems to have come from traditional/classics. It is interesting to have read the classics and be able to tie it back. I feel like this would be such a great way to teach certain classic stories. One such as Cyrano de Bergerac is replayed again and again in movies and books for teens. Does that help end the debate of whether reading the classics are important anymore?
Such a great book. Hope to hear from you other favorites you may have!
On the topic of being reminded of classics: that's because it is nigh on impossible to come up with anything original anymore. It's all been done. If you look at any modern book, there will be overtures of older tomes, dating back to the Bible, greek mythology, etc.
On the Hunger Games and Catching Fire: AMAZING books. They are involving and and twisted and explore the human mind. Mainly, it's like being confronted with the primal and the civilized parts of our inner being and finding out what we would do. That is what these books are about. In addition to overthrowing a corrupt, twisted government.
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