... I can make no apologies other than this whole work thing has sapped any sort of creative, blogging energy from me... But on the up side if there was to be one I have been reading more than I have in a little while - not that I am counting...Since Santus I have read a wide array of titles but perhaps the one that has left the deepest impression has been 'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins... It is categorized as YA - Young Adult fiction and I would agree - as an adult reader this book has left me thinking about the world and how we view it.
Hunger Games is a three book series... Hunger Games being the first, Catching Fire the second and Mockingjay the third and final book.
Plot synopsis of The Hunger Games courtesy of Wikipedia
The Hunger Games takes place in an unidentified future time period after the destruction of North America, in a nation known as Panem. Panem consists of a wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts. District 12, where the book begins, is located in the coal-rich region Appalachia
As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol, every year one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected at random and forced to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised event in which the participants, or "tributes", must fight to the death in a dangerous outdoor arena until only one remains. The story follows fatherless 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a girl from District 12 who volunteers for the 74th Games in place of her younger sister, Primrose. Also participating from District 12 is Peeta Mellark, a boy whom Katniss knows from school and who once saved her life by giving her bread when her family was starving.
Katniss and Peeta are taken to the Capitol, where they meet the other tributes and are publicly displayed to the Capitol audience. During this time, Peeta reveals on-air his long-time unrequited love for Katniss. Katniss believes this to be a ploy to gain audience support for the Games, which can be crucial for survival, as audience members are permitted to send gifts to favored tributes during the Games. The Games begin with eleven of the 24 tributes dying in the first day, while Katniss relies on her well-practiced hunting and outdoor skills to survive. As the games continue, the tribute death toll increases, but both Katniss and Peeta are able to evade death.
Supposedly due to Katniss and Peeta's beloved image in the minds of the audience as "star-crossed lovers", a rule change is announced midway through the games, stating that two tributes from the same district can win the Hunger Games as a pair. Upon hearing this, Katniss searches for Peeta and finds him wounded. She nurses him back to health and acts the part of a young girl falling in love to gain more favor with the audience and, consequently, gifts from her sponsors. When the couple are finally the last two tributes, the Gamemakers suddenly reverse the rule change and try to force them into a dramatic finale where one must kill the other to win. Instead, they both threaten suicide by means of poisonous berries in hope that the Gamemakers would rather have two winners than none. It works, and both Katniss and Peeta are declared winners of the 74th Hunger Games.
Though she survives the ordeal in the arena and is treated to a hero's welcome in the Capitol, Katniss is warned that she has now become a political target after having defied her society's authoritarian leaders so publicly. Afterwards, Peeta is heartbroken to learn that their relationship was at least partially a calculated ploy to garner sympathy from the audience, although Katniss remains unsure of her own feelings.
What did I think of it?? As I said previously it left a deep impression on my pysche. After reading it I did some internet research and found this again on Wikipedia
"Collins says that the idea for The Hunger Games came from channel surfing on the T.V. On one channel she observed people competing on a reality show and on another she saw footage of the Iraq War. The two blended together and the idea of children fighting each other to the death was formed..."
I think that the plot is brutal and yet convincing - I thought about all the reality programs that are currently aired where we the viewers sit in the comfort of our living rooms watching contestants battle it out for 'the end prize'...
The Hunger Games takes all of this a step further - these contestants are children chosen by a ballot (echoes of 1960 conscription here in Australia) to participate in a game which will see them battling it out to the death. This game is televised country wide. The Capital which is the ruling power - use the Hunger Games as a means to suppress their people making them realise that they, the Capital are the controlling force which governs their lives even taking away their children at will...
This series is very popular with YA I wouldn't like to see anyone under about fourteen read it - or though I am told that most of them play harsher computer games or watch more violent films and TV - I rest my case...
I haven't gone on to read the next two as yet - I felt like I needed a breather before I went onto the next one. I doubt very much whether I will see the proposed film when it comes out. That doesn't say I didn't like the Hunger Games or not appreciate the point Suzanne Collins was making... I thought it was well written and if perhaps it makes one person think about a larger picture then I would say she, Suzanne has done her job well... The only thing that niggles me a tad , aren't we again the 'watchers' of a violent arena and perhaps endorsing violence as entertainment - there is a very fine line drawn here...
But in saying that I think it would make an interesting text for schools and even adult book clubs would benefit from it. Would I recommend it - yes I would but I would caution the reader to the content first...
But why don't you make your own minds up and give it a read...
What am I reading now??? One book which caught my eye at the library was 'a brief history of Montmaray' written by Michelle Cooper. Again this one is written for the YA market. Again, as in the Hunger Games the main character is a sixteen year old Sophie - instead of a distant future this one opens in 1936.
Plot synopsis of 'a brief history of Montmaray' courtesy of Michelle Cooper
"I need to write down what has just happened. I need to set down the truth. If I write lies or if I write nothing at all, this journal is worthless. I must do this, in case anything happens.
All right. This is what happened tonight, every single terrible thing that I can remember . . ."
Sophie FitzOsborne lives in a crumbling castle in the tiny island kingdom of Montmaray, along with her tomboy younger sister Henry, her beautiful, intellectual cousin Veronica, and Veronica's father, the completely mad King John. When Sophie receives a leather-bound journal for her sixteenth birthday, she decides to write about her day-to-day life on the island. But it is 1936 and the world is in turmoil. Does the arrival of two strangers threaten everything that Sophie holds dear?
The other book that finally won me over to start was 'Discovery of Witches' by Deborah Harkness. This is my go to bed book and I am loving it. I wasn't sure what I thought about it when I started it but I am loving every page of it... Here, I will give you a link to go read the plot synopsis yourself...
Keep watching my sidebar for more titles as I go over the page...
Until later
S x
