The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Several staff at Lillian H. Smith branch have been reading or listening to the Hunger Games trilogy. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, characters and the themes of these teen books. The author paints a compelling picture of a dystopian world with corrupt leadership and a strong rebellious heroine. However we find it hard to blame those in the capital city that mindlessly soaked up the bread and circuses provided by their government since they seem victims too. Lots to analyze and to mull over after Katniss's actions in Mockingjay, the third book. The author Suzanne Collins seems to tell teens and young adults to pay attention to their own government. Yep, a good message for everyone.

But above all, the books are a good read! A review by Pickychick says "you cheer her (Katniss Everdene) every narrow victory from start to finish. Furthermore, she presents an interesting paradox: is she truly a rebellious figure, able to both survive and protect her loved ones in this twisted society? Or is she just a puppet of the State, only able to last because she conforms? Is survival enough?"

The books have become a web phenomenon themselves. Many websites with quotes from the various books and fansites. There will be even more hoopla when the first movie comes out next year. Not sure I will see the movies though – probably too gory for me! But I think that Donald Sutherland will make a very scary President Snow.

I’m not really sure where to begin talking about just how wrongly vituperative, offensive and self-aggrandizing this comment of yours is. So I think I’ll start here and see where things go:
First, “juvie trash” is an interesting, if deeply unfortunate appellation for Collins’ work. I myself am not generally drawn to YA or YP fiction, but had you ever actually bothered to open the first book of Collins’ trilogy you would find the voice of a truly gifted writer.
Second, except on an extremely superficial or glancing level “The Hunger Games” is not a ripoff of “Battle Royale”. They do share common elements, true, but BR is about a deep seated enjoyment of cultural violence and the (now thankfully) slowing boom of reality television, whereas tHG is about youth revolt, self-identity on both a personal level and as a cog in a cultural system, and a (not deeply enough explored) riff on fascist governmental systems. Ultimately tHG has far more in common with pieces like Harrison’s “Make Room, Make Room” than with BR.
Third, while you are more than entitled to your opinion as regards HP and Twilight (and I’m not a fan of the latter either) there is NEVER reason to throw out books. Only Philistines and Nazis destroy art and culture for the sake of opinion. And while I am not saying you fall into either of these categories your words are, at best, ill considered.
Fourth, Vollmann, Gottfried, Benn and Faulkner are all interesting choices, but by no means the scope and breadth of “culture”. One might reasonably ask why you chose to ignore William Shakespeare, Arthur Miller, Leo Tolstoy, Herman Melville, Virginia Woolf, Franz Kafka, Edmund Dumas, Miguel Cervants, Joesph Conrad, Noel Coward, George Bernard Shaw, Dororthy Parker, and more writers than I can possibly list here. Or from my own Speculative neck of the woods Ursula le Guin, Samuel Delany, Peter Beagle, Roger Zelazny, etc.
Fifth, the reading of bad or ultimately bland work does not show illiteracy, it shows poor judgement or a lack of exposure to better work. And the best way to expose people to that better work? Get them reading. It doesn’t matter that people sometimes have to start with the dross to get them involved in literature, because they’ll find the way to the gold on their own.

Comments

5 thoughts on “The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins”

Chris

June 23, 2011 at 4:55 pm

Isn’t this series just a rip off of Battle Royale for people who can’t stand hard metaphors? These books look like juvie trash.
But then again, I hated Harry Potter and Twilight too.
Paren’ts, do your illiterate kids a favour and throw out all the Potters and Twilight and force them to read William T. Vollmann or Gottfried Benn or Faulkner. For God’s sakes, give your kids culture. They aren’t going to get it at school.

Frances

June 23, 2011 at 5:01 pm

Interesting! I haven’t read Battle Royale but I can certainly see some resemblance. Very much darker though.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_Royale
TPL owns the book – place a hold!
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDM221635&R=221635

Michael Matheson

June 24, 2011 at 1:14 am

I’m not really sure where to begin talking about just how wrongly vituperative, offensive and self-aggrandizing this comment of yours is. So I think I’ll start here and see where things go:
First, “juvie trash” is an interesting, if deeply unfortunate appellation for Collins’ work. I myself am not generally drawn to YA or YP fiction, but had you ever actually bothered to open the first book of Collins’ trilogy you would find the voice of a truly gifted writer.
Second, except on an extremely superficial or glancing level “The Hunger Games” is not a ripoff of “Battle Royale”. They do share common elements, true, but BR is about a deep seated enjoyment of cultural violence and the (now thankfully) slowing boom of reality television, whereas tHG is about youth revolt, self-identity on both a personal level and as a cog in a cultural system, and a (not deeply enough explored) riff on fascist governmental systems. Ultimately tHG has far more in common with pieces like Harrison’s “Make Room, Make Room” than with BR.
Third, while you are more than entitled to your opinion as regards HP and Twilight (and I’m not a fan of the latter either) there is NEVER reason to throw out books. Only Philistines and Nazis destroy art and culture for the sake of opinion. And while I am not saying you fall into either of these categories your words are, at best, ill considered.
Fourth, Vollmann, Gottfried, Benn and Faulkner are all interesting choices, but by no means the scope and breadth of “culture”. One might reasonably ask why you chose to ignore William Shakespeare, Arthur Miller, Leo Tolstoy, Herman Melville, Virginia Woolf, Franz Kafka, Edmund Dumas, Miguel Cervants, Joesph Conrad, Noel Coward, George Bernard Shaw, Dororthy Parker, and more writers than I can possibly list here. Or from my own Speculative neck of the woods Ursula le Guin, Samuel Delany, Peter Beagle, Roger Zelazny, etc.
Fifth, the reading of bad or ultimately bland work does not show illiteracy, it shows poor judgement or a lack of exposure to better work. And the best way to expose people to that better work? Get them reading. It doesn’t matter that people sometimes have to start with the dross to get them involved in literature, because they’ll find the way to the gold on their own.

Another Michael

June 25, 2011 at 11:14 am

I think you spent a little more time on that than it deserved. Forcing kids to read William Vollmann instead of Harry Potter? I’m sure that’s a great way to get them to stop reading.

JIM BRUNSWICK

August 23, 2011 at 11:52 pm

The Potter material is well crafted, trite trash.
Spectacular, sort of, imaginative settings and character creatures, but it just doesn’t work. You cannot suspend disbelief unless you are a medium I.Q, imagination-deficient
twank !
I’m sorry,but it must be acknowledged.
Who cares if millions loved the movies. The movies were trash also, expensive trivia,
for the same reason the books were.
Art criticism is difficult to conduct and I don’t have the rhetorical skills to demonstrate my perceptions.
Harry Potter is so UNINTERESTING an individual.
I do believe that the industry provides mesmer material for
those who cannot distinguish the fine work from the trite.
HUH ?

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