"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

            Here one finds another of those popular books, written by an author known little by some, with a cover revealing nothing of the story within, yet drawing an audience illimitable in scope for indulgence of every word to every page.  Remarkable.  None of the dense, shallow, superficial traits readers use in determining their next ‘literary masterpiece’ is present.  Amazing.  An actual story must exist.

            On a personal note, which is what a review of anything is (a personal note from the author of the words), nothing better than an old-fashioned word-of-mouth campaign entices a reader towards a good book.  It is the manner by which I learned of ‘The Hunger Games’ hearing from a myriad number of people of this future North America where kids were forced to battle to the death.

            Okay.  One day I would need to read it.

            Underneath a pile of books already occupying my reader’s time, I set a yet-unseen copy I did not own.

            Then something unique transpired.  I visited a Barnes & Noble store and brought with me the Nook E-Reader I purchased nearly a year earlier.  One of my reasons for choosing the Nook over any other E-Reader available was this perk of being able to walk into an actual store and receive one-on-one attention for any problems that might develop.  Unbeknownst to me at that time, another perk was the Nook itself, as reading it inside the store permitted free reading time to sample some of the e-books offered.

            Hence, my opportunity to begin with ‘The Hunger Games’.

            I intended, merely, to read the first chapter; but, as anyone who has read the book knows, the first chapter ends with Katniss volunteering herself to take her sister Prim’s place.  With such a cliffhanger after just the first chapter, this was no more the story I could put off.

            This opening chapter establishes a background to the tale.  Somewhere in the future, of what formerly was known as North America, is Panem: twelve outlying districts and the Capitol, the governing city which exerts a dictatorial rule over the people.  Panem originally existed as thirteen districts, but rebellion arose from district 13, prompting the Capitol to respond with destructive justice.

            In order to maintain some semblance of authority over the remaining twelve districts, the Capitol institutes the Hunger Games as an annual spectacle where one boy and one girl, from each district, is chosen by lot to fight to the death.

            My analytical common sense mind, that continually tells me a reason exists for every purpose under heaven, raised a loud-red question mark/exclamation point at this element of the tale.  Any dictatorship seeking to mollify its populace would simply, and indiscriminately, begin executing innocent people at random – just to make a show of their power to do so.  What lies as the notion with these ‘games’?  It would seem their presence would do more to spur rebellion than ever to quell it.

            All any revolution needs is a true leader to show people the way.

            As I further dove into the story with more reading and more imbibing, I observed that the Capitol was never well defined.  The people own all the latest conveniences.  There is want of nothing.  Their entire world seems to revolve around these annual Hunger Games, as no other labor seems to either garner their attention or occupy their efforts.  They are a shallow and dense group in dire need of some external stimuli to make their lives carry meaning.

            Thus, the reasoning behind the Hunger Games: punishment for the districts; entertainment for the people.

            Suzanne Collins manages a remarkable job of combining Gestapo-like tactics with Roman Gladiatorial contests in the Coliseum with a bit of classic thrill-of-the-hunt from “The Most Dangerous Game”. 

            The idea of the games as being entertainment for the masses cleared any confusion over the punishment against the districts.  The Romans were ‘punishing’ the Christians, it could be argued, for not worshipping Roman gods; though, in truth, they were mollifying the people from becoming rebellious and restless.  The ‘people’ being the people of the Capitol, of course; the people of the districts lived their day-to-day lives merely trying to survive.

            Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist of this tale, is a sixteen-year-old girl who stepped into the role of provider when her father, a miner in this mining community, was killed.  Her mother never recovered from this loss, forcing Katniss to step up and assume a protector status over her younger sister Primrose. 

When Prim is chosen as the female representative from District 12, Katniss volunteers to take her sister’s place.  It is a veritable death sentence, which adds another solid element of storytelling to the narrative: giving one’s life for a loved one.

            Oddly, this book held a draw for me.  I am normally allured by stories of characters drawn deep with a theme stretching through a myriad of readers’ lives.  In other words: themes carrying a universal appeal, regardless of plot content.  People can argue this is a Young Adult book, which it is, by the age of the characters it is written with and the short attention span of most teenagers in mind.  Elements in the story, which would garner more attention and development in an adult book are merely touched upon here before advancing forward with the plot.

            One example of this comes when Katniss reaches the Capitol.  The mining community from which she lives, coupled with the hunter/forager for food she has become, establishes her as a rather earthy individual, i.e. dirty, filthy, smelly, etc. – according to the Capitol’s pristine standards.  Therefore her experience taking a shower would have been more fully threshed out in an adult book as significant, developing further differences existing between life in the workers districts versus life in the Capitol.

            Here, such is merely referenced.

            I also found the chapters dedicated to the training set in the Capitol to offer not much of a picture on how to view the Capitol’s setting.  When the games begin, and Katniss found herself trying to survive in the forested wilderness, more of a reference point could be established.  Her survival skills struck in my thoughts of what I read of George Washington and his exploration of the wilderness when he was a young man working as a surveyor. 

            The parallel is not without merit, as Katniss shows herself an unsuspecting heroine to a people desperately in need of hope.

            Even so, while she is surviving in this abominable contest, she never stops being a teenage girl when the confusion over another common plot twist in stories emerges: the love triangle.  Here is her friend, and fellow hunter, Gale, back home in District 12, helping to care for Prim and her mother; and there is Peeta, who publicly declared his love for the girl on national TV.

            Or did he?  Was it a gimmick used to curry the Capitol’s favor?  The more people like you, the better chance for survival.

            Katniss is never sure, as she is never sure of her own feelings.  What is real?  And what is just part of the game?  They have to put on a good show.  It’s what the people of the Capitol expect.

            The parallel with contemporary society is startling.  When one considers the number of lives ruined in Hollywood (is there any greater representative of superficiality?) and even the sporting world to a degree, how can the hunger for fame and fortune not be seen?

            I still marvel at how this was a book I never should have enjoyed, and yet I thoroughly nevertheless did.  Along with the cardinal storytelling elements, I found, and the parallel with real life the characters faced, there are bits and pieces elsewhere other readers will grasp I missed.  It holds a high readability factor one cannot deny, as it maintains a strong kinship with our everyday life.  The dense approach to the character development, I mentioned early, is a plus not merely for the Young Adult audience it intends to reach, but even more so for all audiences who greet the people of their days in that same one-dimensional  or two-dimensional manner.

            Rarely do we meet people whom we envelop whole.  Normally such deep relationships are reserved for family members and the closest of friends.

            Another remarkable achievement for a remarkable book.