"Happy Hunger Games! And my the odds be ever in your favour"
Effie Trinket - The Hunger Games
[SPOILERS AHEAD.]
To all the readers that thought this would be my next literary undertaking, kudos.
Yes, in order to fill the void left by my finishing the Harry Potter saga, I moved onto Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games.
I read the entire HG trilogy in a week, which speaks volumes for Collins' work; she's woven an incredibly gripping, mature and entertaining narrative around the absolutely abominable tradition of the Games. The author has an uncanny ability to create a dystopian future which, much like Philip K Dick's 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' (later to become the film 'Blade Runner'), seems lived in, used and broken when we find it - it's not a world of gleaming spires, full of hope and sci-fi tradition; her universe seems old when we, the readers, get to it.
This, of course, is no mean feat, very few fictions manage to create this same sense of gritty realism - the only other aside from the aforementioned Philip K Dick works that springs to mind is Joss Whedon's Firefly. Indeed, The Hunger Games creates a very similar palette, tonally speaking, to these other science fiction classics.
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| District 12 as depicted in the 2012 film adaptation. |
one can obsess over.
What Collins has done so brilliantly, in creating the character of Katniss Everdeen, is she's given a whole new generation of readers a heroine in which they can believe. A truly original and understandable character with all her flaws, leg hairs and need for urination in tact. Katniss is a surly, grouchy young woman; completely strong willed and independent (to a fault!) and unashamedly intelligent. Collins clearly didn't feel the need to make the character of Katniss attractive or sexy in all the traditional senses and in doing so, creates an icon which is far more endearing than any of her contemporaries, warts and all.
It'd be easy to compare the character of Katniss to that of Rowling's Hermione Granger, however, I feel this is unfair to both characters and their authors; while Rowling sought to create a bossy know-it-all the audience couldn't help but find endearing, Collins creates a brash, hot-headed and impulsive female lead, the likes of which is seen so little these days. While what I've written here may be enough to turn any young reader off the character of Katniss Everdeen, it is, in fact, quite the opposite; Collins gives us the narrative through the mind of young Ms Everdeen and in doing so, allows us to see her motives, understand her actions and get right to the heart of that difficult love triangle we, the audience, so knowingly expects.
Speaking of the love triangle, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that this is no clichéd Twilight style romance - there is very little in the way of cloying declarations of love, there are next to no outwardly romantic moments and, what we see of Katniss' feelings, come from she, the narrator, herself. This allows us a unique insight into the mentality of a 17 year old girl being forced to deal with feelings and situation far beyond her years. Collins, I feel, may have experienced some sort of similar triangle of emotion when she was at such a formative stage in her life because I don't, personally, understand how she could've written such a charming and believable conflict otherwise.
Aside from Katniss it is the supporting cast which really helps to sell the universe to the reader: Katniss' sister Prim provides a lot of the emotional drive for Katniss, from inspiring her to volunteer as tribute to save the younger Everdeen from the same fate, to giving her pep talks and showing her maturity in the later stages of the narrative, Prim seems to be Katniss if Katniss were allowed to grow up at her own pace.
The girls mother is, however, a different sort of emotional foil; Katniss feels a great deal of resentment towards her lack of self control and stability after their father's death. It is this relationship which proves interesting, especially towards the end of the last book when we see the two beginning to build a proper relationship and letting go of the years of resentment Katniss felt towards her.
Then, of course, there's the ever-rugged Gale, Katniss' hunting partner and confidant. It seems that the two
were made for each other, however, as our characters mature and try to deal with the aftermath of the Games, we see a slight shift in the dynamic of the pair. This is possibly due to Katniss' new found companionship with baker's son and fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark.
Now, Collins does a fantastic job of allowing all dorky, nerdy and awkward guys the chance to have a dog in this fight; compared to Gale, Peeta can't possibly compete, right? He's not as handsome or as strong, nor is he as smart or charming. But there's something there that Katniss can't quite put out of her mind and that's what makes him such an interesting read, especially when we understand Katniss' confusion in her feelings for both young men. It's easy to see pros and cons for each, often leading the reader feel as conflicted as Katniss is in choosing her beau.
Of course, the love interest is hardly the main point of the story and, through much trial and tribulation, our protagonist and supporting cast must rally together to do something about the barbarism on display in their despised Capitol. Through a fascinating turn of events we see our beloved characters enter into an even more turbulent time than experienced in the first instalment of the trilogy and, at times, it's pretty touch and go as to how it's going to end. There were times, in fact, when I honestly thought Collins was going to pull a George RR Martin and have everyone killed.
Luckily, she didn't go quite that far and the story is all the more endearing for it; we're even lucky enough to get a Potter style epilogue to the action. Now, this is something I felt I really needed due to the fact that, owing to Collins' natural writing style, she seems to feel the need to leave everything on a slight cliffhanger (seriously, every chapter seems to give us some new revelation which makes it hard to put the blasted books down) and so, upon reading the final words of the story (as we know it) I was initially worried that she would leave the readers devoid of closure.
Thankfully, that wasn't the case and I was left with that sort of happy/sad glow you get when you finish a
truly exceptional set of books.
Honestly, if you're looking for something in a similar vein to Harry Potter but you don't want to go down the supernatural/magic route, The Hunger Games is for you. It is at once funny and sad, silly and absolutely genius. Collins has woven a story which, like all literary classics, will stand the test of time.
Having seen the film adaptation of the first book before even considering reading them, I was worried I wasn't going to enjoy the books as much; boy was I wrong! While the film is marvellous (and I'm eagerly awaiting the release of Catching Fire on November 21st), it's impossible to put as much detail into a film as Collins does to the books. It's also interesting to note that you don't get the same level of insight, owing to the film's omniscient nature, as opposed to our protagonist/narrator system in the books.
In all honesty, I can't rave about these books enough - they're just a rollicking good read with plenty of heart (and heartache) that will leave you at a loss as to what to do next.
Until next time, dear reader, and may the odds be ever in your favour.
It'd be easy to compare the character of Katniss to that of Rowling's Hermione Granger, however, I feel this is unfair to both characters and their authors; while Rowling sought to create a bossy know-it-all the audience couldn't help but find endearing, Collins creates a brash, hot-headed and impulsive female lead, the likes of which is seen so little these days. While what I've written here may be enough to turn any young reader off the character of Katniss Everdeen, it is, in fact, quite the opposite; Collins gives us the narrative through the mind of young Ms Everdeen and in doing so, allows us to see her motives, understand her actions and get right to the heart of that difficult love triangle we, the audience, so knowingly expects.
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| Katniss Everdeen as played by Jennifer Lawrence. |
Aside from Katniss it is the supporting cast which really helps to sell the universe to the reader: Katniss' sister Prim provides a lot of the emotional drive for Katniss, from inspiring her to volunteer as tribute to save the younger Everdeen from the same fate, to giving her pep talks and showing her maturity in the later stages of the narrative, Prim seems to be Katniss if Katniss were allowed to grow up at her own pace.
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| The average man's man: Peeta Mellark, as played by Josh Hutcherson |
Then, of course, there's the ever-rugged Gale, Katniss' hunting partner and confidant. It seems that the two
were made for each other, however, as our characters mature and try to deal with the aftermath of the Games, we see a slight shift in the dynamic of the pair. This is possibly due to Katniss' new found companionship with baker's son and fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark.
Now, Collins does a fantastic job of allowing all dorky, nerdy and awkward guys the chance to have a dog in this fight; compared to Gale, Peeta can't possibly compete, right? He's not as handsome or as strong, nor is he as smart or charming. But there's something there that Katniss can't quite put out of her mind and that's what makes him such an interesting read, especially when we understand Katniss' confusion in her feelings for both young men. It's easy to see pros and cons for each, often leading the reader feel as conflicted as Katniss is in choosing her beau.
 |
| Citizens of the Capitol eagerly enjoying The Hunger Games. |
Luckily, she didn't go quite that far and the story is all the more endearing for it; we're even lucky enough to get a Potter style epilogue to the action. Now, this is something I felt I really needed due to the fact that, owing to Collins' natural writing style, she seems to feel the need to leave everything on a slight cliffhanger (seriously, every chapter seems to give us some new revelation which makes it hard to put the blasted books down) and so, upon reading the final words of the story (as we know it) I was initially worried that she would leave the readers devoid of closure.
Thankfully, that wasn't the case and I was left with that sort of happy/sad glow you get when you finish a
truly exceptional set of books.
Honestly, if you're looking for something in a similar vein to Harry Potter but you don't want to go down the supernatural/magic route, The Hunger Games is for you. It is at once funny and sad, silly and absolutely genius. Collins has woven a story which, like all literary classics, will stand the test of time.
Having seen the film adaptation of the first book before even considering reading them, I was worried I wasn't going to enjoy the books as much; boy was I wrong! While the film is marvellous (and I'm eagerly awaiting the release of Catching Fire on November 21st), it's impossible to put as much detail into a film as Collins does to the books. It's also interesting to note that you don't get the same level of insight, owing to the film's omniscient nature, as opposed to our protagonist/narrator system in the books.
In all honesty, I can't rave about these books enough - they're just a rollicking good read with plenty of heart (and heartache) that will leave you at a loss as to what to do next.
Until next time, dear reader, and may the odds be ever in your favour.
