Just Finished Reading: Hunger Games – Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (FP: 2009)
After unexpectedly winning the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and her ‘boyfriend’ Peeta Mellark are still coming to terms with the events that propelled them into the public eye. Using their new found fame and money to aid those around them still doesn’t quell the nightmares and the ever present fear that the Capitol will extract its revenge for making them look foolish – but no one expects how the Capitol finally responds. The 75th Hunger Games will be something special – to remind everyone that even winners lose no matter how good or resourceful they are. This year’s contestants will be picked exclusively from all the previous winners still alive which means that Katniss is definitely going into the area again and with end up fighting, and possibly killing, either Peeta or Haymitch. It is the perfect revenge. Katniss has her own plan – to do whatever it takes to keep Peeta alive. But behind the scenes alliances form and for possibly the first time Hunger Games contestants remember who the real enemy is. Meanwhile in the districts rumours of rebellion and uprising spread and the Capitol starts to see the possibility of all-out war. To prevent Katniss becoming a living focus of the uprising she must die in the arena one way or another. This time the odds are most definitely not in her favour.
Despite having seen and not particularly enjoyed the second movie in this series I was surprised by how much I liked the book. It did follow the film (or actually the film followed the book!) very closely which was to be expected but what interested me most was what the film left out – most of the politics. The actual action took place, surprisingly I thought, in the last quarter of the book. A great deal of the proceeding pages where given over to conversations between the main protagonists discussing the system, how to fight it and speculation of what was happening elsewhere – including the first mention of the almost mythical District 13. Of course none of this would play well in a movie – too slow and too boring for the intended audience. But it was this very un-filmable stuff that made it for me. As you know ideas interest me so I obviously found the ideas bit more interesting than the Game itself which, to be honest, wasn’t really a game this time but just an exercise in guessing who Katniss should trust.
Although none of the three films so far have exactly wowed me I will be seeing number four and am actually looking forward to the finale – after which I will read the last book. Watch this space.
[2015 Reading Challenge: A Book set in the future – COMPLETE (10/50)]
3 comments:
I loved these books and read right through them in record time, which is unusual for me. I also liked them better than the movies. I'm having a similar frustration right now. My favorite book series of all time is Diana Gabaldon's _Outlander_ series that they've just made into a series on Starz here. I know you have it over there, but I don't remember which network. The books are amazing, the series, not so much. They got episode 5 right, and whichever episode is the wedding, but the rest was just dull. I'm hoping the next 8 episodes will be better as the actors begin to understand and inhabit their characters.
I liked the books as well. It's been a nice experience to share with my son (and wife). It's the only group of books all 3 of us have read.
I think that the problem with all translations - onto the big or small screen - is the bits they have to leave out (more of a problem for movies with their time constraints), the bits that they have to mess with because of that and the bits that can't easily be filmed (the boring bits or interior dialogue). Plus often the imagination of the director doesn't always gel with your imagination. Personally I hate seeing movie versions of books I've loved - though I have been pleasantly surprised a few times.
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