The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is my most anticipated release of 2020. I decided to re-read the Hunger Games trilogy before diving in the new book.
Last time I read this trilogy was in 2011 and hence it is almost like reading the books for the first time. I forgot a lot of things that were different from the movies. Despite the fact that Jennifer Lawrence is amazing Katniss you can't see in her head and read her thought on the screen. I realised (again) how much of The Hunger Games is actually happening in her head. All the ideas, thoughts, internal monologues are much more important than the actual events.
This was one of the first (if not the first ever) sci-fi/dystopian Young Adult series and I am not even surprised it was so hyped up and loved. The books are amazing!
The writing style of Suzanne Collings is something out of this world. There is so little direct speech it is shocking. The descriptions are short, sharp and not detailed at all. I love how much space is there for my imagination to take over. We know there are 24 kids in the arena, but we get to know only a few. I know that a lot of authors (including me) would introduce all of the Hunger Games competitors. Tell the reader their names and maybe some interesting information. I love that Suzanne Collins doesn't do any of that.
Thanks to her unique writing style the books are short, dynamic and have such a brisk plot that you don't have time to take a breath without something going down and I love it.
I admire how the character involve. At the beginning of the first book I believe that Katniss and Gale should be together because they have so much in common, they understand each other better. They are meant for each other. But during the books, events take place and by the end of book three... it does make perfect sense that Katniss picks Peeta. They went thought impossible together and that creates such bond and such love between them you can't compete with that in any way.
I love to hate President Snow. He is perfectly evil, he loves the power and comfortable spot in the Captial. I can point out several politicians who are like him in the real world. His character, despite the fictional novel, seems very real. We do have people like Snow at power at this moment and just like districts we have to shake the earth to get them off of their comfortable chairs in the Capital.
To be honest, back in 2011 I was 23 years old and I have had no interest in politics what so ever. That is why I didn't really understand the ending of the trilogy to the full extent. Let me tell you (without spoilers) that after reading the end this month, I had an existential crisis. The realisation that you have maybe 20 pages until the end of the trilogy and such a surprising turn around of events takes place almost killed me. I had a hangover for a few days and I kept thinking like everything I read was real and truly happened. The politics in Hunger Games is on the background because Katniss doesn't care about it that much and all the scheming is done by other characters, but this time I was able to read between the lines and see things that my 23 years old me simply just couldn't see and it was horrifying.
I am not ready to let go of this world. It is time to read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I know this is a story about President Snow. Am I ready to learn his backstory? Am I ready to understand him better? No. I love hating him in the original trilogy, but no one is simply evil and I am curious to learn the "why" behind his actions.
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