In Review -The Hunger Games

If you're an Aussie television watcher, no doubt you've seen, or are possibly even getting sick of seeing, advertisements for "The Hunger Games" movie, which is released here on Thursday.  For the last week or so, however, I've been immersed in the book-world of The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins.

I hate using clichéd terms.  I very much want to find something more imaginative sounding than "gripping" or "thrilling" or even "compelling", but either my brain isn't working properly (highly likely) or those words genuinely do it justice.  I've had trouble putting this book down, and in fact, am probably at least 1/3 of the way through the second book of the trilogy.  This book was also my first ebook experience, having read it on my kindle.  But lets get back to the book.

The Hunger Games takes place in what remains of North America, now called Panem.  Panem is divided up into the Capitol and 13 Districts.  There was an uprising in the Districts about 74 years earlier that was put down by the Capitol.  In the process of this, District 13 was completely annihilated and the rest of the Districts left to eke out their lives in service to the Capitol, whilst annually supplying a lottery-chosen boy and girl between 12 and 18 years of age to take part in the Hunger Games. These Games are required viewing by all and are designed to remind the greater population that they are subject to the Capitol, with the victor being the last "tribute" left alive.  It's a fight to the death.  The main character Katniss finds herself thrust into the Games after she volunteers to take the place of her 12 year old sister Primrose as the District 12 tribute.  And so the Games begin.

The Hunger Games presents such a bleak picture of life in Panem.  I found myself hoping from the start that they would rise up and overthrow the Capitol.  So many people in the Districts are left to starve to death under the horribly sadistic government, that just surviving ordinary life is no mean feat.  The story is told in first person present tense, which took me a little getting used to, having never read a book in this tense before.  I think it adds to the pacing of the book though.

Collins apparently came up with the premise of the book while watching the television one night and channel surfing between reality shows where young people were competing for money and stories of actual war, where young people were fighting each other to the death.  Whilst it is set in a very bleak world, I really enjoyed this book.  In fact, I found myself getting quite emotionally invested in it and feeling a genuinely concerned about whether I could handle the stress of the story when reading the second book. That's got to be saying something about the skill of the writer, if you find yourself that involved in their literary world!  I  give it an 8 out of 10.

I'm looking forward to seeing the movie and I hope it will do justice to the book.  Having seen some of the previews, it looks like they may have greatly sanitised at least some of the characters.  If it's as action-packed and well paced it should still be well worth it.


First image from http://www.firstnovelsclub.com/2011/04/judge-y-mcjudgerson-which-books-helped.html. Second image from http://screenrant.com/hunger-games-images-katniss-peeta-fire-costumes-kofi-147705/the-hunger-games-movie-poster-katniss/