Catching Fire

**I want to discuss the book, not really review it, so there are SPOILERS**

Catching Fire

by Suzanne Collins

★★★★★

Katniss Everdeen returns to District 12 after winning the Hunger Games with Peeta Mellark. They are quickly learning that despite their elevated status, not too much has changed. The people in the district are barely scrapping by and they never have enough food. Katniss and her friend Gale are trying to figure out their feelings for each other. During the games Katniss and Peeta used the story of a romance to try and keep themselves alive.

I first read this in 2009 and I loved it. As I re-read it this month I noticed more details and themes that resonant through the whole trilogy and it made my love of the book deepen. The reason this is my favorite of the books is because of the political plot that becomes much bigger in this installment. The first book is mainly about the games themselves and just trying to survive. In this book we learn so much more about the history of the uprising and the power the Capitol holds over all of Panem.

From the beginning when Katniss walks in on President Snow in her home, we realize that the government views her as a threat. Snow’s quiet manipulation is so disturbing. He threatens her, but in the most casual of ways and she’s knows he’s deadly serious. The games are celebrating the Quarter Quell (75 years) this year and they’ve decided all of the tributes will be drawn from the existing pool of winners. Because of this Katniss and Peeta must return to fight in the arena once more.

In this book we learn that the mockingjay pin that Katniss’ friend Madge gives her once belonged to Madge’s Aunt Maysilee who was killed in the games the same year that Haymitch won. The weight and power of the pin was so magnified once we realize the fate of its former owner. We also learn that Katniss’ mother was close friends with Maysilee and so when her daughter was called as a tribute she’d already watched one person she loved be sent off to the games, never to return.

There were a few things I’d forgotten since I first read the book. Katniss works hard to mend her relationship with her mother. After surviving the Hunger Games she realizes that sometimes grief cuts so deep that you can’t function. She’s able to forgive her mother for the depression she fell into after her father’s death. Katniss, along with the other winning tributes, struggles with PTSD after surviving the war-like conditions of the games.

There one moment where we learn that the Head Peacekeeper in the village has been paying young girls for sex. Instead of judging those girls, Katniss understands that they were doing what they could to put food on the table for their families. She knew that she would have been one of them if she’d been unable to hunt. She has such a straight-forward and realistic way of looking at the world. It’s a hard attitude to take, but the life she leads has forced her to become like this. There are only a few moments when we really see her loose control over her emotions, once when she finds out she’s returning to the games and once at the end when she learns Peeta wasn’t rescued with her.

I’d also forgotten how much Katniss dreaded the thought of marrying Peeta. It really had nothing to do with Peeta; she hated the thought of being forced into a marriage by the Capitol. She wanted the freedom to choose her own life. Her fear of marriage and having children was connected to the future she knew was in store for them. She didn’t want to watch her own children head off to the Hunger Games.

I’m so impressed with the handling of minor characters in this series. Ever person plays an important part. The former peacekeeper (Darius) who stands up for Gale when he is being whipped is later seen in the Capitol, he’s been turned into a voiceless Avox as a punishment. His presence is a clear message from President Snow to Katniss and she is heartbroken to see his fate. We meet a few new characters in this book, including Beetee, Wiress, Mags, Finnick, Johanna and Plutarch Heavensbee. Each one adds another layer to the plot and plays an important role in the story.

I always thought the prep team was one of the most interesting elements in the story. Katniss looks at them almost as pets; they are sweet but also completely oblivious to the gravity of the situation. They are products of their environment, but they are also willfully choosing to ignore the reality around them and focus only on the frivolous things. Cinna is from the same world, but he chooses to take a stand against it.

BOTTOM LINE: I love this series, but this remains my favorite book of the three. In Catching Fire we really see the birth of the revolution and the choice of a leader to step up and fight instead of running away. It’s a story about an oppressed people finding their voice and finding the courage to fight back and regain their freedom. 

Image from here. 

Top Ten Books to Read in a Day

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for our top ten books to read in a day. This list idea is well-timed as the Dewey Read-a-Thon is coming up on April 21! For anyone participating (and you should!) it’s fun to pick shorter books so you don’t get burnt out on a single massive tome.

1) Graphic Novels: I think this format is particularly good when read all at once. They are easy to read, especially once you adjust to that format. A few good ones to start with: The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Maus and Watchmen.

2) Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Pick up any of the books featuring Sherlock and you’re in for a treat. Even if you only have an hour or two, you can enjoy some of his cases and see his brilliant mind at work.

3) Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn – An epistolary novel that plays with language, too fun!

4) Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty – Jessica and Marcus’ banter is addictive and this is one book that’s even better when consumed in one sitting.

5) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby – This unbelievable piece of nonfiction was written by Bauby after he had a stroke and become a paraplegic. Using a system of eye blinks, his work was transcribed by aides. It’s short and very moving.

6) Plays: This is another great format to read in one sitting. A few good possibilities: Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire, Death of a Salesmen by Arthur Miller, A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen or and anything by Shakespeare!

7) Hunger Games – Just try to put this one down. Once you get caught up in the intense competition, it’s hard to peel yourself away.

8) The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger – Every time I read this one, I mean to read just a little bit and I end up lost in the story until it’s done and I’m crying.

9) 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff – Short and sweet, this collection of letters is perfect for any book lover.

10) Half Magic by Edward Eager – I somehow missed this great book when I was a kid. I only read it recently, but it’s a treat.

Image from here.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

★★★★☆

 

I read The Hunger Games before I started blogging, which means, before I heard the hype. I’m sure that had an effect of my opinion of it. One friend recommended it to me, but there was no ground swell of obsession at that point, so I was surprised by just about everything in the book and I loved it. I recently reread it, to refresh my memory before the movie’s release, and I was happy to find I enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

 

Here’s the basic premise, Katniss Everdeen lives in a dystopian society called Panem. It’s split into 12 districts, each one of which has its own unique aspects (fishing community, coal mining, etc.). Each year a lottery is held and one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen to compete in the annual Hunger Games. The 24 “tributes” must then fight to the death on live television, while the rest of the world watches. When her young sister Prim is chosen as a tribute, Katniss volunteers to take her place.

The plot includes elements of everything from Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” to gladiator fighting, but it still manages to feel completely unique. The characters are unforgettable. I usually have trouble remember who is who when I pick up a second book in a series months after reading the first. That wasn’t the case here. Each person stood out distinctly in my mind; Haymitch, the drunken former tribute, Cinna, the quiet designer, etc.

I particularly loved Katniss as a character. She’s one of the main reasons I enjoyed the book so much. There are so many characters that give us great examples of the emotional struggles that go hand-in-hand with extreme trials, but she is not one of these. She is hard and distant. She has been made this way because of the role she was thrust into. When her father died, her mother shut down and Katniss either had to find a way to provide for her mother and sister or she had to watch them die. Her strength and logically way of thinking is something much more relatable to me. She is not soft and emotional and there’s no reason she would be in this society. It feels so much more realistic.

It was always a bit frustrating to me that people made a big deal of the so-called love triangle in the series. To me, that was always a tiny subplot, not a focal point. Gale and Peeta are both interesting characters, but the story is one of survival, not which one to she has a crush on at the moment.

For me, Hunger Games isn’t about love triangles or even dystopian societies. Those are all aspects of the story, but the heart of it is the struggle of one young woman. Obviously her struggle to survive in District 12 and in the games, but it’s also about her struggle to become an adult at a young age, to deal with an unreasonable amount of responsibility, to reconcile her instinct for survival with her emotions, and her desire to make a better life for herself and her family. The book conveys this wonderfully and makes it impossible for me to put it down.
 

p.s. I saw the movie this weekend and I loved it. Of course there are going to be things to criticize and I didn't love all of the casting, but overall I thought they did a wonderful job. I also liked seeing some of the things that were going on outside of the arena, with Seneca and in District 11 and 12. I thought that added a great element to the story. So if you are interested in it, definitely go see it!

Image from here