The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games is an astonishing achievement and a hugely impressive piece of writing. Suzanne Collins is the consummate story-teller, and Katniss Everdeen is a brilliantly voiced heroine. Written in the first person and in the immediate present Collins carefully constructed prose gives her protagonist both a believable voice and a thrilling sense of immediacy. You find yourself drawn into the book through an invisible magnetic bond that you cannot shake off.

As I read the book I found a strong echo of Stephen King, particularly in his earlier novels such as The Shining and The Stand. When I was a teenager King had an ability to grab me by the throat; I was unable to stop reading until the early hours of the morning as I breathlessly finished many of his novels. Although the Hunger Games is purportedly targeted at the “Young Adult” audience I think its themes are universal and transcend any notion of narrow audience boundaries.

Set in a dystopian near-future the plot revolves around The Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death game show where a boy and girl are chosen as “Tributes” from each of the twelve surviving districts of North America (which Collins calls Panem), to provide a gladiatorial entertainment for the masses. When her younger sister’s name is drawn Katniss volunteers in her place, alongside Peeta Mellark, a boy with whom she shares a history and their adventures begin.

If I had two very minor criticisms of the book they would be that the minor characters within the games are fairly one-dimensional, most being killed before their characters can be fully established. The other point that irritated me was the lack of any mention of the cameras that must be filming every move for the reality show. This seemed like an opportunity missed by Collins as I felt that the awareness of these cameras (and their possible destruction) could have added another dimension to the piece and a greater sense of realism. However these are very minor gripes in what was otherwise a truly remarkable book.

Suspend all belief and allow yourself to be carried away into The Hunger Games. Just remember to breathe (at least between chapters!).