Another year, another attempt

[oloriel]

at keeping some sort of reading list.

Because I actually managed to read books this month. And they were not parenting guidebooks! (I'm over the parenting guide phase, fortunately. I think I'm finally finding my own style. Moving on!)
So here we go...

What did Lyra read in January?

Bernard Cornwell: Death of Kings
Vikings vs. Anglo-Saxons, Pagans vs. Christians, Uhtred vs. Everybody: Round 6

Brief Summary/Review; may contain spoilers
As usual, I enjoyed this. By now, however, I am suspecting that this is merely because I find that period in English history fascinating, and because I didn't re-read the first five books in the series before getting started on this one. With a couple of years between readings, it's pretty exciting - but even so, you begin to know which remarks or observations of Uhtred's are foreshadowing, and you recognise certain types of character in advance by now. So there are no more surprises in the plot twists and developments. If I had recently re-read the other books, I'd probably have caught genuine repetitions, as well. As it is, however, this book brought the upheavals, intrigue and the chaos around the death of Alfred the Great to life convincingly and excitingly.
I'm still annoyed Cornwell seems to have no idea when it should be "[name] and I" and when it should be [name] and me" - because guess what? "They brought ale to Finan and I" is WRONG WRONG WRONG - but that's a problem many native speakers have, so I guess it's unfair to blame him. :P Moving on.


Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games
Panem's Next Top Killer, Season 74

Brief Summary/Review; may contain spoilers
Confession time: I avoided this series for a long time. I had Reasons, of course. Name issues, for instance. From friends' journals I knew that the protagonist was named Katniss and - surprise, surprise - was an able archer (Able Archer! Hah! Now that's a blast from the past... no pun intended). Her sister's name is Primrose (blossom in the dark, quick to fade? WE WILL GET THERE.). The baker's son is called Peeta, which is probably supposed to be a future variant of Peter but just reminds me of Greek flat bread, I am sorry. The other potential love interest, an angry rebel with a stormy temper, is called Gale. Everyone who's posh has a Roman name. The bloody country is named Panem, which makes no sense whatsoever, considering that when they set it up, they (presumably) didn't know they would, in the future, come up with the Hunger Games, so at that early point, panem et circenses didn't apply yet. Also, the government of Panem doesn't seem to be of the self-depreciating humour kind, so why would they call themselves Panem, hah hah?
Beyond that, I had Snob issues: the worldbuilding with those districts sounded rather shoddy from description, and the whole plot sounded basically like an Americanised version of Battle Royale.
But then I caved in and read it anyway - and I must admit: Although these issues exist, the story is still very well written, contains loads of fascinating details/twists/parallels to RL, and, all flaws aside, there is so much suspense that once you've started, you just can't stop reading.
I found myself impressed by the amount of preparation that went into the Hunger Games, and moreover amazed by the insidious cleverness of the Capitol - on the one hand, everybody hates them for taking the kids and forcing them to kill each other; on the other hand, they'll surely root for the kids from their own districts (if only for the food), so their enemy in the Games is also Everyone Else; on the one hand, they're only watching because they have to; on the other hand, there's a certain stardom/hype attached to the participants and particularly the victors. Everyone hates it, and yet everyone plays along - willingly or no. Additionally, the districts don't know much about each other aside from what they're there for, so they have no reason to see the others as "someone like us". Katniss is, for instance, surprised when she learns that the people of District 11, which is responsible for agriculture, are just as hungry as the coal minders of District 12. In short, the Capitol not only demonstrates its power through the Hunger Games; they also effectively prevent the districts from uniting. Should've called the country Impera, from divide et impera, instead of Panem! ;)
The POV is a bit difficult to get into at first - First Person Present. It makes sense to do that, as First Person Past would imply that the protagonist has a future from which to narrate this past, which in this book would be a major spoiler unless you pull a Lovely Bones. Well, actually, as this is YA, you can pretty much rely on the survival of the protagonist (and ONLY of the protagonist...), but anyway.
But after a while, you get used to it, and it's very effective to convey the immediacy of events, and it also reminds you that this is how Katniss sees it, not necessarily the gospel truth. This made me forgive some of the heavy-handedness and also some of the plot twists I found extremely predictable: Perhaps they were never meant to be hidden, but they just weren't as obvious to the 16-year-old protagonist as they are to the 28-year-old reader...
So, yeah! Lots of narrative traction, suspense, and in spite of everything, likeable characters. The worldbuilding as such really is a bit shoddy, but the arena, on the other hand, is BRILLIANT. The contrast between the Capitol and District 12 is worked out excellently, so that you get a feel of the different worlds the characters move in - not just in terms of power, but also in terms of culture. As soon as I'd read this book, I had to grab...


Suzanne Collins: Catching Fire
To Kill A Mockingjay

Brief Summary/Review; may contain spoilers
If I was impressed by the insidious cleverness of the Capitol (or I should say: the government - because most of the Capitol are just normal people. Sure, they do not question the horror of the Hunger Games, and the way they waste food and resources while the districts starve and toil to provide for them is disgusting - but in the latter case, they possibly don't even know about the situation there, considering the lack of information between districts; and on the former, the ancient Romans (on whom much of the society of the Capitol appears to be modelled, including the names) also condoned slavery and games where real people killed each other for their entertainment, and yet we praise them for their civilisation. If it's considered normal in your culture, it really takes a lot to think twice about it. And Collins brings this across pretty well.)
- Anyway! If I was impressed by the insidious cleverness of the government of Panem in The Hunger Games, in this book I find myself puzzled by their utter stupidity - starting with the way they appear to punish all districts for the uprisings in some (which the others officially don't even know about) and applying pressure almost unto breaking point. Yes, starving people rarely have the strength and time to revolt as they scrape to survive, but at some point, if they have nothing left to loose, they may as well try to win. Look at the French Revolution, President Snow. I know you have history books because they feature in Mockingjay.
Then they bring former victors back into the arena for the next Hunger Games - who are stars in their districts AND BEYOND. Including Katniss. Look, if her performance in the 74th Hunger Games inspired uprisings in some districts, the most STUPID thing to do is to bring her back for the 75th. Either she'll win, in which case there's no stopping anything, or she'll loose and be a martyr, in which case there's no stopping anything. Stupid, Y/Y?
AND THEN PEETA CLAIMS THAT KATNISS IS PREGNANT - and nobody questions this. Do they not have pregnancy test kits in the Capitol? Dudes and dudettes, the first thing they should've done after Peeta dropped the baby bomb is to CHECK IF THIS IS TRUE. Best case scenario (for the Capitol): It isn't. So the face of your revolution is a liar. Instead, they just go with it. I guess they want to demonstrate they're just that ruthless, but honestly, from there on they CANNOT win. Either Katniss will die in the arena, in which case she's a martyr twice over - or she survives but there is no baby forthcoming, in which case she'll supposedly have had a miscarriage due to the stress and exertion, so you still have a martyr. I don't know, is nobody thinking these things through? I think President Snow is getting old and suicidal.
Anyway.
Despite some overly rushed parts - I guess it all had to fit in one book - Collins manages to improve on the worldbuilding by offering a little more detail and history. She also manages to bring our protagonists back to the arena without repeating things from the first book! There are new likeable (and detestable) characters, wild plot twists, some snark, and actually (*gasp*) character growth. Again, I managed to foresee some developments before the official reveals, but there was still plenty of suspense left. Even better than the first book!
Which brings us to



Suzanne Collins: Mockingjay
The Revolution WILL Be Televised

Brief Summary/Review; may contain spoilers
In the third book of the series, everything I expected after the Capitol's behaviour in book two came true. And we learn what's been going on in District 13 all this time. What we do not learn, to my great frustration, is what's up with the rest of the world. I mean, whatever brought about the rise of Panem, surely it didn't wipe out everything else on the map? Otherwise, why should North America of all places have survived and remained habitable? It makes no sense. I am willing to believe that Panem has no contacts to the rest of the world, especially if there are no planes left (although if Capitol hovercraft can supposedly cover the distance from the Rockies to the Appalaches with no problems, why can nobody reach Europe?) - but what of District 13, lonely and cut off entirely from the supply stream of Panem? Wouldn't they want to turn outside for help/allies/supplies?
SHODDY WORLDBUILDING, I SAY.
What is not shoddily done is the way the rebellion works. Instead of doing the good ole classic scifi "Evil Empire/Good Rebellion" thing, Collins takes great care to depict the rebellion as basically a more idealistic version of the Capitol. As Katniss observes at some point, if the ends justify the means infinitely, you may just as well end up with something like the Hunger Games to discourage all dissent. So even while you admire the resourcefulness and organisation of the rebels, and cheer for every district out of Capitol control, you still feel that the "good guys" really aren't that good, either. This is very effectively played with the propos and Coin's powerplay.
It has the downside that the reveal at the end - about a particularly nasty strategy used by the rebel leaders, involving the bombing of Capitol children and rebel medics when the war is practically won anyway - doesn't really come as much of a surprise. Nor did, in my case, Prim's death, as her name was just too telling - I was surprised that she lasted as long as she did. But of course she had to "bloom" first - in the "night" of war. And when the defeat of the Capitol dawns, she fades. As the flower of an evening primrose would. Am I interpreting too much into this? I THINK NOT. Accordingly, her death left me cold - until Buttercup, that fugly cat, showed up in Twelve. That's when I almost shed some tears. :(
- Anyway! Despite my growing frustration with Katniss' repeated attempts to starve herself, I still found the story riveting and, on the whole, well-plotted. The warfare in the Capitol, with those pods and the mutts and the black wave? PURE TERROR. Compared to the other two of the series, however, I feel that this is the weakest - there's just too much going on.
However, I liked the epilogue. We all know how much I disliked the Deathly Hallows epilogue, and this one sort of goes in the same direction - but it avoids the "All was well"/Happily ever after deal (because really, after what these characters went through, how could anything be well for them ever again?). Fortunately. I just found it a bit sketchy that Katniss refers to her children only as "the children" and "the boy" and "the girl". Like, DON'T THEY HAVE NAMES? I suppose no names mentioned is better than "Albus Severus", but I'd still like to know. On the other hand, it's nice to be able to speculate. I suspect that the boy would be named Finnick or Thresh and the girl's Madge, Rue or Primrose. I hope it isn't Primrose.


Also, the Hunger Games series actually made it into my dreams - twice! In one dream, I was a player in what was basically a version of the Games in which you first had to make your way through a maze with a partner, collecting keys and passing disgusting tests (this is where Ich bin ein Star, holt mich hier raus! featured in, obviously) before being forced to battle your partner to the death. Hurrah. In the other, I was a gamemaker and had to design an arena for the Games, and THEN realised that I was also to be a player in that arena (for which I'd chosen a block of derelict buildings).
I have vivid and weird dreams all the time, but books rarely capture me so much that they make it in there - so this in itself is a commendation.

And that concludes this month's book corner. We shall see if I remember to do this again four weeks from now, right? ;)

Comments

[meril.livejournal.com]

Ha, re "Peeta", yeah you're probably right about future Peter, as that is how the Braves' Peter Moylan pronounces his own first name. (He's Australian.)

[nelyo-russandol.livejournal.com]

I've read the three Hunger Games books, and without going on such a long comentary as yours, I found the first novel riveting (yes, predictable too, but still I couldn't stop reading, it's so well paced, and just giving so little away you have to keep turning the pages) but then the second one was "What? Again?" with the same issues you point out about "where's the pregnancy test?" and "does the Capitol want a martir?" I just disliked the freedom fighters of the third book so much, I almost lost my patience and only perseverance made me read it to the end. Parts two and three could have fitted into one book. That's mareting for you!

And don't even start me on the Awesome Archer bits. Brrr!

[vout.livejournal.com]

Instead of doing the good ole classic scifi "Evil Empire/Good Rebellion" thing, Collins takes great care to depict the rebellion as basically a more idealistic version of the Capitol.

This is what I liked most of all.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's what ultimately made me forgive the weaknesses of the third book. That was a really good move, and well done, too.