A Book (or three) A Week: The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games, Scholastic, 2008

Catching Fire, Scholastic, 2009

Mockingjay, Scholastic, 2010

All by Suzanne Collins

This trilogy tells the story of the post-apocalyptic world and life of Katniss Everdeen. In a post-United-States future, the confederacy called Panem is made up of twelve districts. A thirteenth district was destroyed in an uprising that led to the creation of an annual contest called The Hunger Games. The Capitol rules the districts with an iron fist, keeping residents of the outlying districts barely subsisting, while Capitol-dwellers enjoy lavish and absurd abundance. In order to maintain control in the districts, each year a boy and a girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen are called to the Capitol to fight to the death in a fully televised competition in The Arena. Victors of the games are lauded and rewarded, and along with their home districts enjoy the extra food and supplies.

When twelve-year-old Prim Everdeen is called in the lottery, her older sister Katniss volunteers to go instead. The first book is about Katniss fighting for survival against the other tributes and against a brutal government that wants a good show. She has to ‘sell’ the story that has been fabricated to make her more appealing and win her sponsorships, because with sponsorships often come crucial supplies that increase the odds of survival. The horrifying conclusion of the first book is haunting, and leads Katniss into both survival and further danger. She becomes an enemy of the state for her insolence and insubordination in the Arena.

In the second book, Katniss is thrown back into the Arena in a special Hunger Games that features only Victors of previous Games.  It is a fabrication crafted to punish Katniss. She unwittingly becomes involved in an organized rebellion, not just as a resistance fighter, but as the symbol of the uprising. She becomes a spark that ingnites the imaginations of oppressed people to rise up against tyranny. The final book is about the resulting uprising and war.

The books are a poignant and effective illustration of the deep and lasting psychological damage of war, torture, and social violence. Collins crafts a story that demonstrates the ways in which the abuses of a tyrannical regime can create both the circumstances and the people necessary to bring down those regimes.

I was uncomfortable with the artifice and focus on style and physical manipulation that Katniss’ “Handlers” (yes, that’s what they’re called) impose on her. I was very frustrated with the helplessness and disconnection of Katniss during much of the third book. I was wrankled by what I first thought was the uselessness of the Epilogue. I didn’t think the story needed it. But when Collins picks up the folk music theme that is very powerful throughout the story, the Epilogue demonstrates how a song can be innocent for some and painful for others.

But everything I found frustrating in the story was a product of good storytelling. The story made me uncomfortable. The story made me think. That society horrified and disgusted me. I was frustrated, angry, shocked and dismayed by all that the characters endure. And more than a little disturbed by the similarities I see in our reality. 

Katniss is an honestly and consistently wrought character. Because she does not realize the extent of her strength, power, and will, she is manipulated for different ends by everyone around her. Only when she finds a way to throw off that manipulation and be true to herself is there a chance for her people to be free. The story brings Katniss’ life full-circle in a satisfying, if heart-wrenching way.

Collins must be a queen of catchy phrases. The one that sticks with us long after this story ends is the broadcast tagline for The Hunger Games themselves: 

May the odds be ever in your favor.

One final note: As these books are adapted into films and their popularity soars ever higher, anyone who devolves into Twilight-esque Team Gale and Team Peeta nonsense is completely missing the point of the story.