Hunger Games - Come tell me that I'm wrong

[CoteDAzur]

So, DH and I watched Hunger Games last night. I haven't read the book so not sure if I'm imagining things, but it seemed to me that it was trying to be more clever than your average teen story.

For example, have you noticed the significance of this country's name "Panem"? It means "bread" in Latin and is famously used in the phrase "panem et circences" (= bread and circuses), the only two things necessary to easily rule the people of Rome. Keep the people fed and entertained and they will not only elect you but will be easy to rule. Along with the Hunger Games as Roman circuses, "tributes" as gladiators entering the arena in chariots, the name "Panem" also points at the Roman Empire.

I also thought the whole selection of tributes for Hunger Games, going from their poor towns to rich Capitol to fight for their lives, with the promise (albeit with a small chance) of riches and glory, felt like an allegory for USA's green card lottery - each poor nation's promising young people go to a rich place where the vast majority will be exploited and spat out, enticed with the small probability of power and glory.

Now tell me why I should go read the books because I didn't get it at all

i downloaded the first one and was gutted when someone mentioned it was a teen book. i gave it a go and really enjoyed it. was on holiday and downloaded the other 2,read all 3 in 2 days.

I keep thinking I should read these, but then I pick one up in the library and see that the story is told in the present tense, which I hate hate hate it's so gimmicky!

So I will probably never read them at all.

Agree re present tense, which is SO irritating (step forward Wolf Hall). I liked the first book and really enjoyed the film, although I thought both were over-sentimental. HATED the second book though - thought it was really badly written, boring and ridiculus. Won't bother with the third.

What I liked most about the film was the way that the people in the Capitol looked like Dr Seuss characters, or Munchkins - comic but freaky (and sinister) at the same time.

Scuse typo-filled ranting.

I cannot even begin to express the level of disappointment I had when I read the third book. Everything about it was wrong wrong wrong.

Read the first, would say it was an easy read, took me about a week on and off.
Wouldnt say fantastic, but a good read yes.
Im very picky, fussy and difficult to please, dont normally entertain fiction.
That said, i did enjoy it.

Not seen the film though, not sure if i would enjoy it.As has already been said, i didnt read into it intellectually, just took it for the story that it was.

Decided to read the book before seeing film. LOVED book. wasn't let down by film which I also enjoyed. about to start second book but can't quite see how it will stretch to a third but I'll read it before passing comment!

If there's one thing that I hate it's fucking patronising intellectual snobs who think they know more than anybody else.

Have we somehow displeased Your Highness in this thread from five months ago?

I suspect it's one of those creatures who dwell under bridges :o

The panem refernce is quite deliberate. So too are the parallels with the story of Theseus and the Minotaur.

Either that or it's Suzanne Collins

Haven't seen the film yet but did devour the books. Agree that Panem is clearly deliberate. Not sure I buy the Green Card analogy though.

I enjoyed the book at first and thought she was a good heroine. However I grew to really dislike her by the end. I don't remember the details now but I seem to remember she has to lie and pretend and abandon who she really was. I couldn't see where the story could go by the end of it. And I read a bit about the other two books and it was as I suspected, more of the same. In fact I think they are very like Twilight, in that it was a good idea, reasonable well executed, fluffy fiction-wise, but because of its success the author decided to spin it out and should have left it at one book.

Suzanne Collins references the bread and circuses herself in one of the books (can't remember whether it's Catching Fire or Mockingjay though). It's clearly all intended.

I've only read the first one. Not sure why I haven't moved onto the next. Kind of feel they will be the same and I will be disappointed.

Interesting - the long walk is also one of my favourite books, although from what I recall the kids volunteer with the hope of winning a fortune, I don't remember them being particularly poor.

The Running Man I remember as being quite different to the film adaptation. In the book there is no arena as such he is running/hiding in real life through everyday towns.

Suzanne Collins did explain how she got the ideas for the book and they seem quite plausible. Either way I really enjoyed the books and thoroughly recommend them.

I think The Hunger Games is wonderful. The Twilight series I couldn't read. And the films made me watch to pull my eyes out. Couldn't read Harry Potter either. But adore Pullman. Really teen fiction is just as mixed as adult. And on that utterly lame note, I think I will take myself off to the drunk thread. Sorry.

The dark materials trilogy beat twilight, hunger games and potter into a cocked hat. Lyra is one of the best female heroines, ever. I'll drink to that.

Obviously the Panem et Circenses reference is intentional, but so what? Why not?

I think the red herring here is that this thread is about adult fiction (which I would expect to be more subtle) and The Hunger Games is emphatically teen fiction, so might need to be more explicit in some of its cultural references.

I'm with LaQueen - I thought all 3 books were good fun, refreshing, enjoyable un-soppy and generally pretty good at presenting an empowered, bright and 'strong' female character, who wasn't overly hung up on boys, clothes or make-up, which made a nice change.

I read them all but I wish I had stopped after number one as I found two and three a bit pointless.

Just finished the final book. Tbh, I was quite shocked at the level of violence, but I think the point about the horrible dehumanising potential of reality shows was quite persuasive. Quite liked the film and found all 3 books great pageturners, but I was disappointed by the ending of book 3. I don't want to spoil it so I won't say why, but I didn't like what happened and found some of it totally confusing.

I'd say it's still worth reading, though, as you kind of have to find out what happens...