Day late and a dollar short, y'all. Let's get polemical.If you are not already a fan of the series there is nothing I can say at this point to get you to read it. NOT UNLIKE how if you are not already a fan of the first two books, the initial chapters of Mockingjay are a rough, info-dumpy slog. IF, on the other hand, you're right interested but you read Catching Fire well nigh a year ago and have LITERALLY forgotten EVERYTHING, an info-dump is the best thing this side of a bullet-proof vest.
Brief sum: more or less of the Districts are at war with the Capitol. Many people are for the war, and a few people are vocally against it, and some things explode. Tough choices are made all around.
One of the major strengths of these books is that they are both Whizz-Bang Actiony and Psychologically Interesting. I mean, you have children sent out to kill other children, not only so that they aren't themselves killed, but also so that their families will eat and be clothed. There is the Action of the killing, and then the Psychology of the Oh damn, I have to kill someone.
Now that small-scale Oh damn becomes a world-wide Oh damn as Katniss decides whether she's going to be the rebel mascot, and thereby sanction the war and the many, many deaths on both sides, or whether she's going to let the rebellion fizzle for lack of a mascot and return to the hunger-gamey-status quo. Also, whether she's just going to be a puppet or engage in some actual killing herself, both of which are shitty alternatives.
I'm not going to touch the discussion of whether Katniss' indecision and sad-facing in this book sissifies her, because I don't think we'd be having it if she was a boy-character. She is freaking seventeen. I like that she is pissy sometimes, because dude, so would you be. Realism is my delight.
And Collins continues to throw her characters willy nilly under the bus. Not just by killing them OH NO! Killing would be a mercy. Terrrrrible things happen, people are emotionally ruined, and it makes for excellent suspenseful (if fairly dark) reading. I, for one, was a fan of the emotional ruination, because it turned a very tired and frankly irritating trope into something Intriguing.
Oh, and then some people are actually killed. If you're at all emotionally invested in this series by now there are some unexpectedly heartrending moments. I feel like I have less invested than the average Hunger-Games-reader-who-bought-Mockingjay-instead-of-just-waiting-for-it-at-the-library, but I mostly only pre-ordered it because I like to be hip with the cool kids. ALL THAT TO SAY, I haven't sunk my soul into it like I've sunk my soul into, say, His Dark Materials, and I also like characters that I adore to die spectacularly. So I am less miffed than most of you by the Very Sad Deaths. I thought it helped underscore Collins' (admittedly ham-handed) message that war is indiscriminatory, and that people will die even if you'd rather they didn't, even if they leave behind a mad wife and fetus-child, even if they represented the hope of the future. War is no respecter of your affections.
And how about that love-triangle, hey? When I wasn't busy being annoyed, I was #teamtheboythatdidnotgetkatnissintheend for the first two books, but by the end of Mockingjay Collins had wheedled me around to #teamtheotherone. There has been some discussion as to the message this sends given what happens, and it is either a woefully ignorant or an incredibly bold choice vis a vis loving someone despite their shit. Back mid-Catching-Fire I thought that #teamneither was the ballsiest choice Collins could make, but she found one ballsier still, and you know what a fan I am of ballsiness. Although I still play for #teamthatepiloguewasunnecessary.
Well! That's done. The writing is never brilliant, but we are here for the social commentary and for the ZOMGs, which come aplenty.
Eight caterpillars.
Second Opinions
Bibliolatry
The Book Smugglers
Fizzy Thoughts
Angieville
The Zen Leaf
Book Nut
Beth Fish Reads
Book Journey
Lola
Well, it's good to know that the first-chapters-slog doesn't continue, because this morning on the bus actually choose to read Bloomberg Businessweek [I don't know where this comes from. It just arrives at my house even though we never paid for it] over Mockingjay.
ReplyDeleteEgads, don't do that (I mean, maybe do. I don't know how fascinating Bloomberg Businessweek is). Mjay is definitely more introspective than either of the first two, and most of the whiz-bang happens near the end, but it picks up for sure. You will hate it or love it but you will probably not be meh.
ReplyDeleteThat is perhaps the most astute summary of the book I've read so far. I might have to steal it from you.
ReplyDeleteI'm still not a happy camper. Yes, war is indiscriminate, but I'da rather one of the major characters (oh, say, like Peeta. Or Gale) was offed. That would've been even ballsier. And much better than ending up working for District 2.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to be part of the cool kids too. I was number 46 for the audio and I just couldn't wait. But now I have the audio which was pre-ordered, but am CREEPING through because my kids and I have to all be in the car to hear, and our schedule is bullshit. Anyway, I read a "non-spoiler" review and saw who died (dammit) but I am a girl that likes important people thrown under the bus. Makes it more real.
ReplyDeleteI skimmed because I've yet to wrastle it from the daughter, but I'm not going to touch the discussion of whether Katniss' indecision and sad-facing in this book sissifies her, because I don't think we'd be having it if she was a boy-character
ReplyDeleteAbout frikkin time someone said this.
Love it. I just love reading all the opinions. I was so #teamtheotherboy. :)
ReplyDeleteI thought the epilogue was unnecessary too. And I was teamtheotherboy, but by the end I was just teamKatniss.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't upset that the characters died as much as I was that we hardly got a chance to think about the fact that they had. I suppose war IS like that, but I would have preferred a little slower pace (especially when the beginning was slow).
ReplyDeleteTeam Buttercup forever!
ReplyDeleteYes, excellent review. I'm linking to it on my blog, my posts about will pop up on the 5th and 6th...took me awhile to get my hands on it.
I think it's Gale at one point who says something like "you'll pick whoever you must have to survive" and she gets mad and thinks "I don't NEED either of them to survive." I thought that was a strong, true moment for her and that she carried it forth from there. Excellent book!
ReplyDeleteJessica - Steal away!
ReplyDeletesoftdrink - That WOULD have been ballsy, and caused a different sort of uproar. But I like this uproar.
Sandy - Kill them off! And if I were you, I'd listen to it on the sly while the kids were at school. They'll never know.
Celine - I'm all for ass-kicking female characters, but they need equal treatment and that includes letting them suck at stuff.
Sheila - #teamtheotherboy is the right team.
Alyce - The epilogue was, I think, an attempt to soften various blows, but it fails at that and just dulls a powerful ending.
Meghan - It's true. I could have done with another hundred pages or so to slow down that last rush.
Amy - Oh Buttercup! Angriest cat ever.
Holley - I agree, that was a very true moment, and a powerful realization that sometimes love isn't about squishy feelings, but about making smart decisions. In the end I think [redacted] was the smarter decision for her, and that's why I was ok with it even though MY personal preference was for #theotherboy.