My Last Summer Promise
Because I've been trying to get better about blogging, I've taken to keeping a little list of potential post topics. And most of them are not very time sensitive, so I kind of just write them whenever I have a moment. Today was very hectic, but not very productive. However, I feel like I am just going to need to crash tonight after I finish up a few things. And one of those is to write one of these ideas that has been bouncing around in my head for about three months.
Or more like, I feel obligated to update the stratosphere (I come up with new analogies for my readership each post, don't I?) At the beginning of the summer, I told you about Sarah's summer instructions to me. And one of those was to read the Hunger Games books. And I did do that. So, I figure I am meant to give book reviews of all things which I read, as if anyone cared what I thought of the book.
So, here's my first thing I have to say upfront. I really like futuristic, dystopian novels. Let me qualify that. I really like good futuristic, dystopian novels. It seems that everyone and their dog these days thinks that it would be a good idea to write a dystopian novel. And a lot of the ideas are half-baked and not really realistic in terms of political philosophy and human psychology. Be that as it may, and acknowledging the Hunger Games' many flaws, the dystopian aspect is very well done. In fact, many American Heritage TAs use it as an example of many different political philosophy concepts. I think I may find myself doing it this semester some--it's a pop culture icon that actually illustrates the points well.
The plot of the trilogy is thoughtful, insightful and nearly plot-hole-free (which is fairly uncommon for today's dystopian novels). Suzanne Collins is also a talented storyteller, and I couldn't put the book down. I stayed up until 1 am several nights to finish all three books in four days.
I'm not much of a romance person, but the love triangle that was included in the story between Katniss, Peeta and Gale was refreshingly well done. It seems that a lot of writers today don't realize that a love triangle is not the same thing as two men viciously fighting over a girl. Peeta and Gale come to really respect one another as strong and loyal men, and greatly trust each other. They both realize that they both love Katniss, but only one of them is going to get her. And Katniss honestly loves them both (or at least wants to be in love with them both). I don't like too much romance-driven story, but I do enjoy me a good love triangle in an otherwise other-plotted book.
Now, for the downside. I cannot stand present-tense fiction. I hate it to death. I think it is trying to be edgy, and just always falls flat on its face. To me, it seems like the mark of a bad writer, trying to go down in history as a good writer. And all of the Hunger Games books are written in present-tense prose.
Next, I said the plot was nearly hole-free. However, the book is plot-driven. So plot-driven that the characters can sometimes be very inconsistent. It is so much about the plot that at times, to further the plot, the characters change their characteristics. At other times, the author was so caught up in the plot, that she neglected important aspects of character-reader connection. Like including appropriate mourning after the death of a fairly major character, for example. And that is something that would need to be fixed for it to go down in history as great literature.
Lastly, by the end of the third book, I hated Katniss as a character so much that I was hoping she would die. I'm being completely honest. It became that whichever male member of the love triangle didn't get Katniss was the real winner. Katniss deserved neither of those fine specimens of manhood. And we've got a problem when your reader hates your protagonist. I felt bad about this for awhile, but then I learned that I wasn't the only reader.
In the end, I call the series literary candy. Badly written, but well-told stories that I want to feel dissolve in my mouth like cotton candy, but when it's dissolved, I'm left with not much. So read them on your rainy days, preferably if you're female and need five days of monthly solitude, if you get my drift.
Or more like, I feel obligated to update the stratosphere (I come up with new analogies for my readership each post, don't I?) At the beginning of the summer, I told you about Sarah's summer instructions to me. And one of those was to read the Hunger Games books. And I did do that. So, I figure I am meant to give book reviews of all things which I read, as if anyone cared what I thought of the book.
So, here's my first thing I have to say upfront. I really like futuristic, dystopian novels. Let me qualify that. I really like good futuristic, dystopian novels. It seems that everyone and their dog these days thinks that it would be a good idea to write a dystopian novel. And a lot of the ideas are half-baked and not really realistic in terms of political philosophy and human psychology. Be that as it may, and acknowledging the Hunger Games' many flaws, the dystopian aspect is very well done. In fact, many American Heritage TAs use it as an example of many different political philosophy concepts. I think I may find myself doing it this semester some--it's a pop culture icon that actually illustrates the points well.
The plot of the trilogy is thoughtful, insightful and nearly plot-hole-free (which is fairly uncommon for today's dystopian novels). Suzanne Collins is also a talented storyteller, and I couldn't put the book down. I stayed up until 1 am several nights to finish all three books in four days.
I'm not much of a romance person, but the love triangle that was included in the story between Katniss, Peeta and Gale was refreshingly well done. It seems that a lot of writers today don't realize that a love triangle is not the same thing as two men viciously fighting over a girl. Peeta and Gale come to really respect one another as strong and loyal men, and greatly trust each other. They both realize that they both love Katniss, but only one of them is going to get her. And Katniss honestly loves them both (or at least wants to be in love with them both). I don't like too much romance-driven story, but I do enjoy me a good love triangle in an otherwise other-plotted book.
Now, for the downside. I cannot stand present-tense fiction. I hate it to death. I think it is trying to be edgy, and just always falls flat on its face. To me, it seems like the mark of a bad writer, trying to go down in history as a good writer. And all of the Hunger Games books are written in present-tense prose.
Next, I said the plot was nearly hole-free. However, the book is plot-driven. So plot-driven that the characters can sometimes be very inconsistent. It is so much about the plot that at times, to further the plot, the characters change their characteristics. At other times, the author was so caught up in the plot, that she neglected important aspects of character-reader connection. Like including appropriate mourning after the death of a fairly major character, for example. And that is something that would need to be fixed for it to go down in history as great literature.
Lastly, by the end of the third book, I hated Katniss as a character so much that I was hoping she would die. I'm being completely honest. It became that whichever male member of the love triangle didn't get Katniss was the real winner. Katniss deserved neither of those fine specimens of manhood. And we've got a problem when your reader hates your protagonist. I felt bad about this for awhile, but then I learned that I wasn't the only reader.
In the end, I call the series literary candy. Badly written, but well-told stories that I want to feel dissolve in my mouth like cotton candy, but when it's dissolved, I'm left with not much. So read them on your rainy days, preferably if you're female and need five days of monthly solitude, if you get my drift.
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