Tuesday, January 10, 2012

The Hunger Games

I had to borrow this book from a friend because every time I picked it up in Barnes and Noble the gigantic print just screamed "Young Adult!" and, snob that I am, I couldn't handle it. Maybe this is why I haven't already bought a Kindle; clearly, the physicality of whatever I'm reading plays a relatively large role in whether or not I'm willing to pay to read it. But seriously, the book was 374 pages and could have been half that or less if it had been printed in a format resembling any Charles Dickens novel.

My quirks aside however, it was definitely an enjoyable read. There are a few things that bothered me, like the fact that it is highly convenient that Katniss' kills are always in the context of moral superiority and that she's never placed in the position of having to kill someone we sympathize with. I would have thought she'd have had no trouble tracking the boy with the bad foot from District 10 or killing him, but she never even comes across signs of him. In fact, the only one she kills outright is Rue's killer, since even Cato is supposedly begging for death by the time she shoots him.

Secondly, I'm sure it'll be resolved in the next novel but it's a little silly that Peeta could be so dense and shallow as to resent Katniss for hypothetically acting out the whole "love story," given that A) It kept them both alive and B) He knew the whole thing was televised and that everyone had to act in order to give themselves a fighting chance.