Some of my friends had read The Hunger Games trilogy by the time I had caught on in early 2012. Not wanting to give into fandom, I hesitated to buy the book. But when I finally did, it blew me away.
This was the book that got back back into reviewing books and generally being more active in cyberspace. There's a lot been made of comparisons with the Japanese version of this tale called Battle Royale, but honestly, I'm happy to accept the world which Suzanne Collins has created.
This first book was utterly engrossing, super compelling, to the point that all I wanted to do was stop the world, get off, and read this book to its conclusion. I haven't read such a gripping novel in years. The second and third books in the story are all worthy of praise, and I will review them here in due course.
First off, I must say that this book is not for young children. It's quite graphic in parts, without being gross. The Hunger Games is simply one of the best books I have ever read, and I have read many books over the course of my 40 years. It's not a twee romance, although there is a love story, it's well written, and doesn't detract from the story.
That's why we read - to find good stories, and I was engrossed from the first page to the last. The last book to affect me that was was Stephen King's Desperation, and yet, while that was one of King's best, this is even better.
I'm happy to say I missed the film in the cinema, because reading the book was such a joy, I'm now looking forward to the film on DVD. Suzanne Collins has wrote believable characters in a world we can understand. I would describe the story as a mix between Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four, King's (writing as Bachman) The Running Man, and TV's the Crystal Maze.
Much has been said about the rather grisly theme of children killing children - true, although the story is so good, you almost forget about it.
The twists and turns are magnificently paced and introduced, creating a non stop tension throughout the book. My heart beat quickened at some scenes, such was the quality of the writing here.
Bravo to Suzanne Collins. This slots into my top ten books ever.
I avoided this series for a while as well! Everyone recommended it to me. I happened to watch the movie and loved it, so I decided to read the books. It took me a while to take to Suzanne's writing style but once I was into the story it absorbed me and I couldn't finish the series fast enough :)
ReplyDeleteI was lucky enough to read the book first, then get the movie on DVD. At the same time, I bought Catching Fire and Mockingjay. They didn't stand up as well as the first book, but that was always going to be tough. Glad to know someone else didn't give in to fandom (not that it's a bad thing, but it is nice to make your own decision rather than be mobbed into liking something!)
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