The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) in End of Days

Aug 12, 2011 Annis (New Dimensions Reviews) rated it it was ok

I'm almost as big of a dystopian literature nut as one can get so naturally I was thrilled to see that the genre almost suddenly became in vogue (I remember thinking something along the lines of ...dystopian fiction, of all things!). The fact that most (if not all) of the new additions popping up everywhere seemed to be YA didn't even tone down my enthusiasm too much. I went straight from children's books to adult literature (with the exception of Harry Potter) and never really looked back, so I I'm almost as big of a dystopian literature nut as one can get so naturally I was thrilled to see that the genre almost suddenly became in vogue (I remember thinking something along the lines of ...dystopian fiction, of all things!). The fact that most (if not all) of the new additions popping up everywhere seemed to be YA didn't even tone down my enthusiasm too much. I went straight from children's books to adult literature (with the exception of Harry Potter) and never really looked back, so I didn't really know what to expect.

Well, it's nice to see that all kinds of audiences are getting to experience the dystopian feel now. After having read three of the new crop of offerings so far (Delirium, Matched, The Hunger Games) I have mixed feelings, to be honest. These all have their strengths and weaknesses, but I had a hard time digesting the loss of what could have been true instant classics in the hands of skilled writers and/or stories intended for adult audiences. Brave New World I haven't found anywhere near this latest pile yet but admittedly that one's ranked so high in my opinion you'd need even more of a dazzling, eye-opening book than BNW was for me when I was thirteen years old. So that's not a fair comparison.

Anyhow. I struggled giving this a fair score - I hovered between 3 and 4 so much I'd have liked to have given it a 3.5 if I could. I feel three is kind of measly but I can't in good conscience rate something like THG a 4 and BNW a 5. So three stars it is.

The Hunger Games threw me for a loop: I had never expected it to be straight-laced, minimalist storytelling excempt of twists and turns but with negligable character depth (that one can be overlooked if the following compensates in quality, but it wasn't to be) and so-so worldbuilding. Yes, we got the basics of the society Katniss lives in and I know there are two more books to go but as a standalone this dystopian effort felt rather flat. It had some rather enjoyable style of writing and overall, I enjoyed the first 150 pages immensely, ie. everything up until they actually shoved the tributes into the arena. What followed was fairly gruesome but overall was also an okay-ish adventure/survival story, nothing more and nothing less.

While I loved the (admittedly none too subtle, but at least it was there) societal commentary and reflections during Games' preparations (the train ride, arrival in the city, the "interviews", etc.) for me the dystopian vibe almost completely stopped when the games begun. The few bits that we learned here and there throughout the games about how they manipulated the players weren't anything surprising and sometimes seemed to be put there just to serve as reminders that this was indeed a dystopian world, that the whole of (what was left of) North America was watching Katniss' every move. With lots of survival and adventure slash "action" going on it was easy to forget. As I said before the characters didn't get developed a lot but I did like the way they treated Katniss' conflicting and complex feelings towards her 'lover' in the last few chapters. That was a nice touch but it made me hungry once again for more exploration of human contact in a world so vapid and violent as theirs - and then the novel ended. Any contact be it with Rue or Peeta was really welcomed after Katniss had traipsed through the arena for more than 35% of the Games by herself.

So, in summary, this isn't bad, but nothing to write home about either as a standalone. Despite some great scenes and a particularly fantastic start, the rest just kind of made me wish for more. More worldbuilding than "the districts rebelled agains the Capitol so now, more than seventy years later, they let 24 teens brutally murder each other on live tv each year", more reasons and details behind how and why Panem became the way it is (or more details in general), more character development, more psychological insight and psychological terror considering the absolutely nightmarish situation these teens found themselves in, more sociological reflections and societal criticisms, more philsophical bait that could provide at least some food for thought after closing the book. As it is, The Hunger Games felt just what the back cover had made it out to be: a fact-paced adventure story with some knock-'em-over-the-head-with "symbolism" and a with a hint of "dystopia" to give the whole thing a context. I didn't object to the violence as much as some did because I feel this book would've been devoid of even more social criticism than it already was (and I'm a complete wuss so it's not that I enjoyed reading about violence).

That's not to say that this was bad; no, to the contrary, it was an enjoyable, solid read. But I hope the dystopia-shaped hole in the wall doesn't indicate that the whole trilogy has taken the action-over-substance route. Maybe that's one of the reasons it's so popular? I'm sure I'll read the next one to hope it'll prove me wrong on that assumption. ...more

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