Review | The Hunger Games

Anytime Stephen King tells me to read something I read it. Most of you know about The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. The first book in the series was published in 2008 and the sequels, Catching Fire and MockingJay, followed swiftly. It's a Number one New York bestseller, has been translated into 26 languages (why is it always 26?) and is the base for the third largest grossing movie of all time or some such thing.Again, Stephen King told me to read it. It's BIG. So a giving it a great review here is akin to telling you it's going to rain in the monsoons or you should really read Harry Potter. Pointless. But here's the thing. The Hunger Games never got very big in India unlike Harry Potter or Twilight and I kept putting it off because it came under the realm of science fiction, usually off my radar. So the point of this review is to tell you to please read it before you watch the movie.

The story is simple, horrifying but simple. Children are picked from 12 districts to fight each other to the death in an arena that is filmed 24/7 to provide entertainment for an extremely rich and decadent audience.   So our beautiful poignantly funny protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, steps up when her sisters name is called and we follow her as she figures out how to survive and kill a twelve year old girl named Rue and a boy who literally turned her life around when she was at her most vulnerable.

Suzanne Collins' prose is riveting from the very beginning and the suspense never cedes. It is at heart a young adult novel and the romance is a little awkward, but a book hasn't made me shed a tear since Dumbledore died and just for this I thank Ms Collins. She says she was inspired by watching reality tv and also the greek myth of Theseus as he battled the six entrances of the underworld.  You have romance, action and an underlying theme that addresses the possible consequences of having the gulf between have and have nots become so wide where one side views the other as fodder for entertainment. Anyone thinking Slumdog Millionaire or the many books on the Mumbai slums that entertain us? The futuristic world of Panem is quite reflective of how we live today- our overwhelming need for voyeurism and celebrity and the huge disparity between people who tile their bathrooms in gold to starving children. But let reality not depress us. This is  fantastic entertainment that should NOT be missed. Perhaps I am the last one to arrive at Ms Collins party, but am so glad I finally came. 

Verdict- MANDATORY READING! Buy it NOW! 

For bookworms like ourselves, trilogies are the ultimate indulgence and there is nothing better than having all of them waiting for you on a bookshelf to devour in one sitting. The sequels  Catching Fire and Mockingjay - I have to say that Catching Fire threw me off a little and I did skip a few pages. The writing seemed a little lazy but she was back in the game in the final book- Mockingjay.

And here is the movie trailer. DO NOT SEE THE MOVIE BEFORE READING THE BOOK!

RecommendedReads | So many books, so little time.

Happy Vinayaka Chaturthi!
At the outset The Caterpillar Cafe would like to say that it is a sad day when people are not allowed to tell their stories. The cancellation of the Harud Literary Festival in Kashmir on the back of partisan lobbying is an outrage, especially when it has been based on hearsay. Rahul Pandita's The Autumn of Hypocrisy is a beautiful lament to the freedom of expression. If we stop people telling their stories quietly, how can we blame them when they begin to shout?

Headline: The best new debut authors!
Publication: According to the Guardian Long List
Reshma Says: Looking for something to read? A fantastic new list of debut authors is ripe for the picking. I am salivating at the thought of reading Sidereal by Rachel Boast, who they say is like a confident Seamus Heaney. High Praise indeed! The Collaborator by Mirza Waheed has been receiving rave reviews and is the first on my must- read now. The Night Circus seems to echo The Water for Elephants but other wise the list is chocoblock with newbies that will make your bookshelves sparkle.
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Headline: Do I Have to Read 'Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' Before I See the Movie
Publication: The Atlantic
Reshma Says: “Argh! How could they leave that scene out? How could they possibly cast that singular expression Keira Knightly as Elizabeth?" Books-to-movies is a perennial source of frustration to both fans and directors alike. Be honest, you have always visualized your favorite movie being put to screen. You were the first to run to the cinema when X men hit the screens and you waited patiently for Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the ring to be released even as you refreshed the web page day after day to ogle at Aragon and check if the Uruk-Hai matched your childhood fantasies. No? Ok, ignore that. About 13 movies are coming out this autumn that are based on books-after all novelists do all the hard work to come up with the story that script writers joyfully tear apart. This write up is useful for those who want to know whether to read the books before they watch the movie. I agree with most of it except I would not recommend either reading or watching Twilight after the disastrous films. Sadly I cannot comment on the list having not read many of these books, but I do believe that when in doubt always read the book before the movie.
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Should you read Game of Thrones before you start discovering it on HBO?
Reshma Says: Absolutely, even though the HBO adaptation is in fact quite good. The casting has been fantastic and apart from portraying Cersei with a bit too much humanity, the HBO adaptation brings you the sex, intrigue and the sheet ruthlessness of Westeros with startling graphic. For instance they don't shy away from killing of children. However I am curious to know how future books will be adapted. The Feast of crows for instance is a slow read that focuses primarily on politicking with little warfare. And Martin has decided to create parallel timelines that would give HBO episode issues. Also what about scripting minor characters like Davos and Anita. Here is another article on the adaptation of Game of Thrones and True Blood to TV from the Atlantic. Enjoy!
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