The Hunger Games

I'm not one who starts in on the latest thing right as it comes out.  I've saved myself a lot of time and money (at least, a little more time and money) that way.

I use the two crazes that went on in Junior High, years and years ago.  The two hottest stories that went on were Harry Potter and Pokemon.  And I put both off forever and got a lot of crap from the other kids because of it.  But it wasn't because I didn't want to get involved in either one; although I couldn't express it at the time, I was waiting to see which one had staying power.

Pokemon was nuts.  Everybody was buying cards, using recess time to trade their cards or play a quick game with the cards, lunchtime chatter was on all the different Pokemon available, and the cartoon was what over half of them were watching on Saturday morning.  And I just couldn't get into it.  The whole thing just looked like a fad, much like the Power Rangers.  I loved Power Rangers when I was a kid, and even though I'll go back and shudder at the terrible acting and storylines, I can't bring myself to properly hate them because they were cool when I was little.  But it was still a fad and I have no interest sitting through even ten seconds of it now.  The Pokemon craze eventually did die down by the time I reached high school and I still don't feel bad that I never got into it.

Harry Potter, though, had staying power.  It was when I realized that even the grownups were reading these novels.  I don't need to go into this.  We all lived through it.  I started when the first three books were all there was and I eagerly anticipated the fourth.  And its popularity never diminished.  Quite the opposite.  It kept growing bigger and bigger until an avalanche of Potterphiles swept the literature world and spilled across all the different industries, including film, toys, games, etc.  And it's still going.

All this just to explain why it took me so long to finally read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which my sister had been pushing on me and many others had recommended these past months.

I admit, despite all the positive reviews, it was hard to work up any interest in the series.  The concept is not new.  Game shows gone lethal has already been tackled before.  The Running Man by Stephen King is the one that comes immediately to mind.  Beyond that, we have histories of gladiator matches and those were nasty, grisly affairs.  I knew that no matter whether the heroine made it out alive or not, I was still going to be miserable because of all the death and tragedy that went on before.  So why would I want to read another one of these depressing, violent stories?

What did it was that my friend loaned me a copy of his book and that did the trick.  I tend to read borrowed books first, whether they're from libraries or friends, on the belief that I can read my own books any time but I only have a limited time to read these other peoples books.  (This theory falls apart when I end up borrowing too many books that I never get around to my own.)

So I had this borrowed books and only a couple days to get through it, so I just plunged in.

It was better than I thought it would be.  Katniss is a remarkable character with a lot of strength.  I loved seeing how her mind worked and what she did to survive and even strike a blow at the Capitol at the Capitol.  I thought the story was intelligent, gripping, and it certainly was heartfelt.  I loved how she kept her humanity throughout.  What really sold it to me was how her family is at the center of her motivation to stay alive.

If there was one thing that bothered me, it's how callous she is towards the men in her life.  I think she deserves the problems with the love interests that are undoubtedly forthcoming in the second book, Catching Fire, but that's okay.  It doesn't ruin the story but rather adds to my interest in what will happen in the sequels.

Now, will this story have staying power?  Hard to say.  The Hunger Games definitely speaks to our time and generation.  We're at a point in our society where our minds are in survival mode.  The economy doesn't look like it's getting any better, there is still terrorism out there, and the natural disasters from hurricanes to earthquakes are increasing and getting more dramatic (not to mention aiming closer to home.)  It's a scary time in our lives and Collins has created a book that speaks to these fears we have and how even at its most desperate, it gives us hope that even though the way is narrow, there is still a way to rise above the tragedy.

Will it speak to future generations?  We'll have to wait and find out.  I'll be paying close attention to that.