The Philippine Online Chronicles

I was never a fan of dystopian or post-apocalyptic literature. The thought of reading a book where the world I know has been destroyed by natural or human forces (or both), or one ruled over by oppressive totalitarian government is depressing. With all the bad news on TV and in the papers, I don’t need to escape to another reality that pains an even bleaker picture of the future. So when I first heard of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins from a fellow Filipino book blogger, I just skimmed over her review. Kids killing other kids--dystopia and gore? No, thanks.

Then, at last year's Manila International Book Fair last year, I stopped at the central display of National Bookstore. There was a huge display for The Hunger Games and its sequel, Catching Fire, and a TV interview of Suzanne Collins playing on loop. The lady beside me was so enthusiastic about the books and, not wanting to waste my trip to the fair, I ended up getting both books despite my apprehension. Book-wise, that choice was probably the best I made last year.

The Hunger Games is set in the future in a nation called Panem, formerly known as North America, before a series of disasters decimated the once successful nation. Panem is ruled by the Capitol and divided into thirteen districts, each with a specific industry that sates the Capitol's lavish needs. Seventy-four years ago, the thirteen districts revolted against the Capitol but were defeated. To prevent further uprisings, the surviving 12 districts were punished through the annual Hunger Games: each district provides “tributes” -- a boy and a girl between the age of 12 and 18 -- through a lottery called “reaping.” The tributes, after much pomp and ceremony, are sent to the Hunger Games arena where they are made to fight each other to the death in a televised extravaganza, until only one remains. The last remaining survivor is declared winner, ensuring that his/her family and neighbors will have enough food for the rest of the year.

We meet the heroine, sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, on the morning before the reaping, with her best friend Gale, in the woods outside of District 12. In the course of the first few pages of the book, we learn a lot about her family background, her role as provider for her family, and the fact that her entire existence revolves around keeping her sister, Prim, safe. When Prim's name is drawn in the reaping, Katniss volunteers in her stead, knowing that her decision likely means her death.

Katniss has to compete not only against tributes from the richer districts, many of whom have been training to participate in the Hunger Games all their lives, but with Peeta Mellark, a young man she has a history with. As the Games go on and the tributes fall one by one, Katniss has to draw both on her learned skills and rock-hard determination not only to survive, but to make the hard decisions necessary to make it back to her family.

The premise may seem a bit complicated, but Collins weaves it into the story in a manner that makes it comprehensible and unobtrusive, as readers are plunged right into the action. The first thing readers will notice in The Hunger Games is the solid world building. Panem, the Capitol and its Districts, were described in such a matter-of-fact tone and detail that it felt real. It wasn’t exactly the numerous details that made the world so convincing, but the way that Panem was portrayed not just as a place, but as a living, breathing character in the novel. The contrast between the rich Capitol and poor District 12 was stark, and disturbingly familiar, almost a mirror to the societal division between the rich and the poor here in the Philippines. That being said, there were some aspects of the world that seemed inconsistent. Some reviewers ask: how can the Hunger Games be televised in all districts given that some are so poor that they can’t afford to stop working for a day, let alone afford their own television? There is also the question of how effective such games would really be in ensuring the people would not revolt, especially if you’re from a poor district. Wouldn’t these games simply fuel more unrest? Maybe these issues will be addressed as the series ends (or are simply a part of the contradictions of any world, even the real world), but despite these, Collins still successfully paints a vivid picture of Panem as a dark and dismal place to live – that is, if you’re not from the Capitol.

Complimenting the world-building is the heroine, Katniss. Her oddly-spelled name (some reviewers were so bothered by this that they just call her “Kat”) and her overall character make her one of the memorable characters in today’s young adult literature. I think there is a consensus among many reviewers as to what makes Katniss rock: she’s strong, smart and she’ll do anything to keep her loved ones safe. So deftly are her strengths portrayed in the early chapters that even if Katniss herself doubts her chances, her ultimate success will come as no surprise to the reader. (Although this reviewer observed that Katniss seemed to be in denial about her ability to survive and take care of her family, and this made Katniss less real for her. Personally, I don’t think we can blame her, especially since she comes from a district that has produced only one victor in the past seventy-four years.) What is important to know is how she survives the games, and in that, Collins really delivers. Katniss isn’t the perfect female protagonist; she may be loving and kind-hearted, but she’s not warm or friendly--most of the time she’s very surly. Katniss is not exactly a character I would want to be, but she is someone who I’d want to be friends with.

Beyond the setting and the characters, it is in Collins' execution--her excellent writing--that the novel finds its chief strength.  Entertainment Weekly describes her as “an efficient no-nonsense prose stylist with a pleasantly dry sense of humor.” Her writing is fluid, rich and powerful, yet she doesn’t make use of flowery descriptions to set the feel of the scene.  If you’re worried about gore in the book, rest easy – there is only a little of that, and when it is present it is never gratuitous. I had no complaints with the pacing, either -- I could hardly put the book down once I started reading. Collins’ background in scriptwriting had a huge effect on the way she wrote The Hunger Games, as reading the book felt more like watching TV than reading.  Young adult author John Green concurs: “…the words describe the action and little else. But the considerable strength of the novel comes in Collins’s convincingly detailed world-building and her memorably complex and fascinating heroine. In fact, by not calling attention to itself, the text disappears in the way a good font does: nothing stands between Katniss and the reader…” In a way, readers become more than just readers, they become citizens of the Capitol.

There are few criticisms of The Hunger Games (in fact, out of all the blog reviews I found, there was only one negative) and even those who criticize the book still agree that this is an engrossing read. Fans of the Japanese novel Battle Royale by Koushin Takami (such as most of the Amazon reviewers who gave it a one-star rating) will most probably be turned off by the similarities of The Hunger Games, but for people like me who would rather avoid gore, you will be pleasantly surprised by this dystopian novel. Out of all the books I bought in 2009 and re-read in 2010, The Hunger Games still remains one of the best books. If you haven’t read it, I strongly suggest that you put down whatever you’re reading, get yourself a copy and start, because you are missing a lot.

Welcome to the Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

The Hunger Games is available in hardbound (P759) and paperback (P349) in all bookstores nationwide. Its sequel, Catching Fire is also available for P759 (review coming next week!). The third book, Mockingjay, will be released this month.