The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

I dealt with the Hunger Games a bit out of order for my taste. My friend came to stay with me the weekend the film was released, at a point at which I'd not yet read the book, and so we went and saw it. Frankly the movie thrilled me, I felt a range of emotions course through me as I watched it, and unusually I could only hope that the book lived up to my expectations.

The book did all this and more. I think the film was very true to it, but the two dealt with the same content from different angles. The book is very personal, told using Katniss' raw emotions; anger, fear, love. The film contains these elements, but they're almost held in sterile containers compared to the book, instead it takes you more behind the scenes, demonstrates just how much the game-makers are manufacturing the Hunger Games.

The plot of the Hunger Games is central to it's success I feel. It's a topic which so many of us have thought on and questioned at some point or another. It's a fascinating premise. We live in a world of Reality Tv and cosmetic images, and we do need to question at what point the whole thing just becomes too much. I don't think it would take a lot for our culture to reach the one Katniss lives in.

I liked the maturity of Katniss as a character, the way in which although all her life she has suffered at the hands of the Capitol she doesn't instantly condemn all it's citizens to the same mold. She's willing to learn to like these people and she empathizes with those close to her, particularly her design and makeover team.

Even if you don't particularly like this genre it's a fascinating read for it's moral implications, something I think was sewn perfectly into the setting of a wonderful story. I loved the Hunger Games, I barely put it down.

Rowen


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• Book Beginnings: The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
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• Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
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