Monday, September 5, 2011

Books: The Hunger Games

I think it might be impossible to review The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins' inaugural dystopian novel of a post-war America, without using terms relating to my own hunger for reading the novels, or symbolic utilization of food in comparison with the text itself.  Trying to resist is futile, so instead I will comically overuse these reviewing standards.

The Hunger Games is the delectable first voyage into the dystopian (by the way, Google Chrome - that is a word) world of Panem, as narrated by a young woman named Katniss.  Every morsel-sized chapter flourishes with the flavor of the intricately designed world of Collins.  Because of rebellion against the overseeing government, every year one young man and young woman are selected by lottery to compete in arena deathmatches called The Hunger Games.  This is the story of how Katniss goes to the Games and her experience.

The relative isolation of District 12 where Katniss originates from is a convenient avenue to introduce readers to the strangeness of the world.  But the effect never feels burnt to the reader, and very natural - or shall we say, granola.

There are moments when putting the book down is near impossible, the savory story absolutely enraptures the reader.  Action sequences (which you can depend on with any story that involves 24 individuals fighting to the death) are well written, but so are those scenes where Katniss is alone, and in survival mode.  This varies substantially from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where Harry and Hermione's similar treks into the wilderness are near painful.  Instead, I'm chomping at the bit to follow the heroine's trek in the arena.

Sure, sure, the book has the stink of an Atwood dystopia (still a word, Google Chrome!), but it's a delicious smell, really.

This book was also my first run reading a book on the iPad Kindle reader.  I really enjoyed it.  iBooks has a slightly cooler looking dictionary tool, but luckily The Hunger Games didn't push my vocabulary.  Kindle lets me read via the CLOUD, which sounds so future-esque.

So, I've added the series to my Amazon Wish List.  Also, the list below:

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2 comments:

  1. Sarah AlvesSeptember 12, 2011 at 5:55 PM

    I'm so glad you liked it! Can't wait to hear your thoughts when you finish the series... THG was unlike anything I've ever read before. At times it reminded me of V for Vendetta, other times, The Giver. Then sometimes Lord of the Flies. But it really is it's own thing and I totally loved it. ALSO: if you've held off and don't know who has been cast in the movies, WAIT UNTIL YOU FINISH ALL THE BOOKS BEFORE LOOKING. I swear, it'll make your head SPIN and it's AWESOME.

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  2. dmumaSeptember 13, 2011 at 8:38 AM

    Loved it! Now I'm reaping Rapture, which is the telling of the origins of the undercity world of Rapture (the setting of the Bioshock video games). Next up is Catching Fire.

    You have tempted me with this casting thing. I'm very glad I've already started reading the series because I have a clear image of most of the characters already. This was a problem with Harry Potter.

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