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By jamie, March 29, 2012 4:12 am

Well that was brutal. I finished the book day before yesterday and have been in a funk ever since. I keep playing certain parts over and over in my head. I keep looking at my daughter (okay, I keep snatching her up and squeezing her, holding her me until she inevitably wants me to put her down), and thinking how children represent hope for the future. At the beginning of the books, I said I couldn’t figure out why the oppressed people of Panem even had kids, because what was the point if they would have to endure the Reaping and the Hunger Games? That’s the answer – because maybe someday there would be no Reaping, and maybe those children would be free from the horrors of the games.

The section where Katniss and her army march to the center of the Capitol – it does feel like a real life video game with a little bit of the Wizard of Oz rolled in for good measure. Of course, when Dorothy’s friends dress up like the enemy in order to infiltrate the castle, they do not have to endure the gruesome obstacles that the rebels are faced with, and, though they need repair, they all survive. Not so in this story. I expected her to paint an ugly picture of war, but I underestimated how far Suzanne Collins would go.

At first I was angry with Collins for her morbid imagination, then after it was all over I realized that her depiction kept me from imagining young people in camouflage, marching with machine guns in a far away desert. I know quite a few real life soldiers. Some are related to me and many are my students, and most of them have seen combat. I was distracted with the black goo and the giant lizards, so I didn’t see the real life faces in my head until afterward.

One thing I did not like, and I still do not think it was necessary, is the depiction of the rebels taking out innocent civilians. Obviously, the biggest example of this is the scene with the children and the parachutes. My only consolation is that they will surely have to omit this from the inevitable film in order to earn an acceptable rating. Too bad they made it to the book.

I have been going over this in my head since I read it, and here is why I don’t think the scene belongs here: I am not a fan of overselling one’s point. I think there is a line that, once crossed, makes you lose your credibility. For example, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) could be a very noble cause, one that I might support, if only they could refrain from overselling their case with some of the preposterous stunts ever attempted – because of PETA’s shenanigans, I would prefer to give my donations to, for example, a no-kill animal shelter. Anyway, I know that the books are about the horrors and ambiguities of war, and that revolution does not guarantee anything more than perhaps a different face that the top (in this case, a face that is willing to continue the Hunger Games, at least one more time); being a rebel against an evil totalitarian government does not automatically make you righteous. We get it – it isn’t necessary to use an implausible scene to illustrate this. To me, the whole incident just seems impossible – that all of those children would be barricaded in that spot, that the rebels would have sent their own relief workers through that barricade when there was still a very obvious threat of explosion, or even had them positioned so close to the president’s mansion in the first place – none of it makes any sense.

As for the final Hunger Games – Prim would not have wanted it, and I can’t imagine Haymitch would either. So did they happen? Maybe that was part of why Katniss aimed her arrow in the direction she did – when she realized that one would likely lead to another and that Coin was not the right person to change things.

I’m glad there is an epilogue, even though it certainly doesn’t tie up the loose ends. Two days later, I remain unsatisfied and ambivalent; there are so many questions left unanswered. I guess that’s part of the point as well. At least we are left with the knowledge that our two very damaged heroes are eventually able to put themselves back together and continue on with life. Maybe the film will answer a few more of the nagging questions, and maybe I will want to watch it.

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By jamie, March 26, 2012 4:19 pm

Have you seen the movie yet? I did, and I liked it. I know it’s sacrilege to say you liked the movie better than book, and the film wasn’t so great that I am about to commit blasphemy now – I DID enjoy how it removed some of the things I haven’t liked about the books. I’m not expecting this trend to continue, however.

Hijacked? Terrible plot point. I like to think that it’s impossible to completely remove someone’s core personality. You know how some people, after they have committed an unspeakable crime, are able to show through expert psychological testimony that they were driven to do this terrible thing because of years of abuse/torture? But others who have endured similar (possibly worse) circumstances do not ever commit crimes because something else inside of them prevents them from doing so (I’m not referring to acts of self defense, bot heinous acts committed against innocent people). I find it hard to believe that years of socialization could be undone so easily – unless they were misleading us all the time about this character who has been depicted as somewhat of a god among mortals. I’m not a psychologist, so can someone tell me – are there hallucinogenic drugs today that can damage someone in this way? And assuming this sort of thing IS possible, why couldn’t they have just reconditioned him?

Not to mention (uh oh, I’m ranting again) – did this hijacking thing happen after he risked his life to warn the people of District 13 about the air strike? Because if it didn’t, how on earth could have have done that? And why? If he thought Katniss was a mutt created by the Capitol, why not just let her get destroyed? Suzanne Collins, if she marries Peeta at the end of all of this, I will be convinced that you thought you could throw us off of this obvious trail by feeding the presumptive husband nominee some bad boy juice for awhile – that’s just lazy. Am I alone in this opinion?

But I guess it does help Katniss come into her own a bit – she is more focused, more confident, and is improving her interpersonal skills. I kind of liked it when she made the gift for Johanna Mason.

The war at the Capitol sounds like it’s going to be a like a real-life video game, no? I’m guardedly curious to see how it plays out and who Collins is going to kill off (there’s no way everyone lives). And did I miss something? Did Cinna get killed or is he still alive at the Capitol?

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By jamie, March 22, 2012 9:55 pm

I have to admit – I was a little bit worried about this whole “symbol of the revolution” part of the story. The girl has already been a pawn of the Capitol and now she is going to be a mascot? So far, and maybe I am just in a better mood because I had a nap today (I still have tons of papers to grade, but I’m taking the night off and resuming tomorrow afternoon – after I take myself to the movies – I am banking on this making me faster and more up to the task), but I think Katniss is actually shaping into a bit of the strong female character I was wishing for. [By the way - and this is a totally unrelated topic - did I ever tell you I have always wanted to learn archery? You can even ask GB if you don't believe me - we went looking for equipment a few years ago and couldn't immediately find anything locally, so I put that idea on the back burner. I had forgotten about that....]

So it appears that her strength lies in her unyielding desire to take care of other people. I can respect that. She has the opportunity to just wear the armor and pose for the cameras, but the first chance she gets she puts herself right into the line of fire to protect the weak. I actually love the scene where Haymitch asks the others to list times when Katniss personally moved them by her actions. She seems so surprised, and I think maybe I have been a bit too rough on her. She is, after all, a survivor – while it’s true that some of her success has been due to the efforts of others, I have always believed we are all interdependent and that this is as it should be. And the fact that she has been a victim and a pawn, despite all of her challenges, she has not only been acted upon – it appears she is the Mockingbird because of her personal choices after all.

I had forgotten about the “reality tv” aspect of this story, and this part of the book brought it back. The scenes where Peeta pleads for peace, as well as the bits where Katniss’ producer says “cut” at the end of a “scene” reminded me that this war is kind of an extension of the Hunger Games, only the appeals for sponsors have become appeals for allies. Talk about pressure. I enjoyed reading about the making of propaganda films (on the rebel side) and I’m glad that Haymitch is still the clever/brilliant strategist he has shown himself to be before. Actually, Haymitch as a strategist got me thinking about something – remember in the first book, how Haymitch makes a fool of himself at the Reaping, and then seems surprised that the 74 tributes are willing to try to win? Do you think this means that, had Katniss and Peeta not been the tributes that year, the revolution would not have occurred the following year? Because the way it is written, it really does seem that the stars aligned for the rebels when Katniss took her sister’s place and Peeta’s name was drawn. Do you think the rebels would have still planned it for the third quarter quell, assuming that former tributes would have been chosen even it Katniss and Peeta hadn’t been in the running?

So much to think about after reading section 2 – we get to see that moving out from under an oppressive government doesn’t mean you slide right into a utopia. Particularly given their numbers, it is smart for District 13 to be rigid about resource distribution, but it would be interesting to know more about their history. One character, one who has authority, says he misses coffee, and notes that he erroneously expected his position to grant him special perks – it starts off that way, I guess – one leader decides a few extra perks won’t be such a bad idea and then it escalates.

The most shocking revelation of the books so far – history books have not been destroyed, because the characters finally refer to them. I had to lift my jaw up off the floor after I read that – First of all, does this mean paper books didn’t become obsolete, or do they just refer to digital books as “books?” Second of all, who is learning “ancient” history in all of these propaganda-machines that pose as educational facilities, and why is no one at the Capitol planning their strategies so as to avoid repeating fatal mistakes from the past? Do they just use the history books for Roman baby names – is this where they got the idea for their vomitoreums?

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By jamie, March 21, 2012 9:30 pm

Katniss Everdeen is what some might call a strong female character. While still a child, she managed to keep her family alive despite all odds (even her mother, who had mentally checked out) in a very treacherous world where many a strong person would have failed. That’s why it irks me that she is written to be so needy and clueless so much of the time. Had this book been centered around a boy instead, he would not have been at the center of a love triangle of girls willing to sacrifice themselves to keep her alive and safe. He would have probably done a better job at reading his potential enemies and allies (Hmm – these people I don’t know are willingly laying down their lives for me instead of killing me – that’s odd, I just can’t figure it out… Really?).

How I wish a writer would create a strong female character who doesn’t willingly surrender all of her power to a boy the first chance she gets (I’m looking at you, Bella Swan) or who isn’t referred to predominantly in terms of what boy she should choose (Team Gale!…no, Team Peeta!). Maybe someone already has, but no one is reading their books. That would be sad. Please let me know if I am missing any strong-girl gold. And maybe I’m being unfair – she is, after all, supposed to be a child.

The author works in television, so maybe her foreshadowing would be less “clobber the reader over the head” if we were viewing this on screen rather than just “hearing” the internal dialogue of a single character. And on a positive note, she does a fairly decent job of character description even with a single narrator – we know quite a bit about the main characters, and enough to care about several supporting characters as well. For example, I am crossing my fingers for Cinna, Haymitch, and Finnick.

Despite the teen romance angle, this book puts us smack dab into what the series is really about – war and revolution. And it’s not pleasant; it’s ugly and people die. Sometimes authors shy away from killing off characters we have come to like and, while it’s true she introduces people in this book just to off them in the arena, it’s uncomfortable to read about their passing (this is true of the first book as well). Also, even though we can be fairly certain of their ultimate survival, she does not make things easy for the main characters. At all. Those Gamemakers are some serious sadists – I had to quit reading for a day after the fog scene and I still haven’t quite recovered from the zombie mutts in Book 1, to be honest with you.

I really hope the final book does a decent job of answering the many lingering questions I have. I would like to know more about the roots of the rebellion – when it began, and what role Haymitch played in it (I like him). What really happened in the global war? The rest of the world was destroyed, right? Panem is the only inhabited place? Where did the idea for the medieval torture devices used by the peacekeepers come from? They have those fancy guns, but they shackle and whip people instead – did someone read about these techniques in a history book or on the Internet, because given the absurd level of stupidity displayed by the capitol (although perhaps it really is just arrogance), I kind of get the impression that no history books have survived the initial war or the “Dark Days.”

Oh, and what about the fact that Peeta can’t get a decent prosthetic, but Katniss can get high-tech body polishes which rid her body of all scars? I’m curious, because it’s the other way around in 2012. I guess all of the world’s medical technology must have been destroyed in the global war that took all of the history books and useful computer files. (I guess computer technology was completely obliterated, leaving the future with only land-line phones and old-school television, but I digress.) Or maybe it’s simply less objectionable to let the heroic pretend boyfriend have a potentially fatal disability than to allow our pretty strong girl to have a few battle scars.

I hope I haven’t given the impression that I’m not enjoying these books, because I am. I prefer Catching Fire to the first one, only partly because of that dreadful zombie mutt business. Katniss might not be the strong girl character I’ve been hoping for, but she has her moments. We can’t forget that she VOLUNTEERED for the Games in order to save her sister (and the scene where she goes over the electric fence and frustrates the peacekeepers – just, wow). And maybe she’s just socially inept because she has been so focused on survival for all these years. I quite literally have hundreds of papers to grade this week, but I have been trying to sneak a few minutes here and there to read The Mockingjay, and so far I am impressed with some of Collins’ choices in that novel.

On that note, I understand a trip to the cinema is in order this weekend – I am trying to remain hopeful about the film, even though I have already read a lousy review. Already I see the characters from the movie in my thoughts as I read the third installment. Especially Donald Sutherland – he is also haunting my dreams. (And he smells like blood and roses in my dreams – uh oh, please tell me he’s not a vampire.)

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By jamie, March 19, 2012 2:50 pm

I finished this book about a week ago, and then we went to California where I was too busy to read or blog. I can’t stop thinking about the book – Collins is fairly obvious in her foreshadowing, but I still missed that the Gamemaker was in on the rebel plan, and I keep reviewing scenes in my head to see what I may have missed. Also, I wonder what each contestant knew about the plot – I can see how they were willing to sacrifice themselves to the cause – I mean, they were as good as dead anyway when they were chosen for the Games; from their perspective, this must have been a way to make their deaths be less senseless. I guess this is how soldiers on the front lines are willing to sacrifice themselves so others can live, and just thinking about it makes me feel hollow and sad about real life war, sad about real life people who “jump into the fog” so we can sit here with our feet up taking about fiction. And much of the time it’s a global leader pulling the strings (as opposed to people choosing on their own to take up arms), deciding when and why to send these people into the “arena” in the first place. Ugh.

Back to the Gamemaster – I have had a few bad dreams since reading this book, mostly about the clock and how each hour brings a new horror, some worse than others. The water in the center – it did give an advantage to one team over the others, so I guess that team had more knowledge than the others all along and that they were expected to survive. Still, I guess it would not do to tell them about the clock, so as not to arouse the suspicions of the rest of the capitol; at the same time, though, the fog could have undone the entire rescue plot, so I think the Gamemaster could have at least guided the rebels out of that part of the clock (unless the alternative was worse?).

I wonder how Gale is able to rescue the families in 12. Does the capitol move out the police force before bombing the city? What about the electric fence? Is Cinna alive? I am guessing that these questions will be answered in the next book.