Fight and flight
It turns out I'm a much faster reader than I am as a listener. Catching Fire the audiobook, while serviceable, was just not my cup of tea. The narrator didn't sound a thing like Katniss, or at least my version of Katniss, which I know is a petty little annoyance. It deterred me from checking out the audiobook version of the final book, and I'm glad: say what you will about the Hunger Games trilogy, but it is dangerously readable.
The rebellion has already begun by the time Katniss Everdeen is rescued from the 75th annual Hunger Games. District 13 is not only real but a full-functioning headquarters. Katniss's family and friends are safe, but the rebellion wants to elect Katniss as its leader - in appearance only, of course, since the cameras need to film someone in action. She agrees, but with reluctance, heavily aware of all the lives she has destroyed up until now by being used as the Capitol's pawn. But worst of all is that she doesn't know where her unlikely comrade-in-arms Peeta is, or what has been done to him. Neither side is willing to give up the fight, but Katniss has her own issues to deal with - and her own scores to settle. The mockingjay will not be tamed.
This is one of those books I had to step away from before writing about it. What that means is I had to take some time to pick through my feelings about it. This may not be my more coherent review, so fair warning. I also might criticize aspects of the book that many fans love, or praising those that many dislike.
The theme of Katniss's personal mission vs. what people expect of her reaches a fever pitch here -it's very satisfying to see how she deals with it when she's finally in a position of power. The conflict between Katniss and a new character, District 13 president Coin, evolves in surprising ways before reaching a truly shocking conclusion. Many parallels between the Capitol and the rebels, for example how they use Katniss, are drawn, casting a deep gray shadow over the story. Haymitch's words from the last book - telling Katniss to remember what side she's really on - comes into play here on multiple levels, as we see tensions between the rebels and distrust plaguing Katniss - and especially Peeta. Tortured to the brick of insanity by the Capitol, Peeta's sudden change makes for a sharp turning point in the narrative and a setback for Katniss in particular. Both their characters really take a beating here - emotionally as well as physically - and it pulls the story in darker territory (character-wise, of course; it's been pretty brutal throughout all three books, obviously). It's at about this point that some high-paced action scenes kick in, and at the risk of sounding superficial, it is a nice relief from the heavy character stuff. And of course, character deaths litter the pages the closer we get to the ending, so we don't really get a breather until the last few dozen pages.
That said, there were a couple of things that I feel could have been stronger. The Coin/Katniss conflict could've been fleshed out some more. One of Gale's later actions is a huge shock and seems somewhat out of character. A book with so many subplots like this - so many things going on that all converge at the ending - feels much like a complex mathematical equation. The answer looms large, marking the end with clarity, but if someone has fudged the numbers a bit here and there, the whole feels slightly incomplete.
Perhaps that was Collins's intention. Katniss, and the reader, certainly feel broken at a certain time around the last chapter. One thing I really appreciate is how Collins spends time emphasizing Katniss's struggle with herself, especially after her independent streak becomes a hindrance to putting herself back together. She's not interested in the world post-Capitol because she's too busy mourning, and then just trying to get back to normal. The ache of this process is what stayed with me the most - the way violence can really seep into every aspect of a person's life and leave its marks. This is also tied in to the love triangle's resolution, which is a nice idea in theory at least, and I guess it's executed well, but I think I'll always be second-guessing my feelings about that. At the end, it's Katniss's story, and that's all I need.
Rating: 4.5 arrow caches out of 5.
This is one of those books I had to step away from before writing about it. What that means is I had to take some time to pick through my feelings about it. This may not be my more coherent review, so fair warning. I also might criticize aspects of the book that many fans love, or praising those that many dislike.
The theme of Katniss's personal mission vs. what people expect of her reaches a fever pitch here -it's very satisfying to see how she deals with it when she's finally in a position of power. The conflict between Katniss and a new character, District 13 president Coin, evolves in surprising ways before reaching a truly shocking conclusion. Many parallels between the Capitol and the rebels, for example how they use Katniss, are drawn, casting a deep gray shadow over the story. Haymitch's words from the last book - telling Katniss to remember what side she's really on - comes into play here on multiple levels, as we see tensions between the rebels and distrust plaguing Katniss - and especially Peeta. Tortured to the brick of insanity by the Capitol, Peeta's sudden change makes for a sharp turning point in the narrative and a setback for Katniss in particular. Both their characters really take a beating here - emotionally as well as physically - and it pulls the story in darker territory (character-wise, of course; it's been pretty brutal throughout all three books, obviously). It's at about this point that some high-paced action scenes kick in, and at the risk of sounding superficial, it is a nice relief from the heavy character stuff. And of course, character deaths litter the pages the closer we get to the ending, so we don't really get a breather until the last few dozen pages.
That said, there were a couple of things that I feel could have been stronger. The Coin/Katniss conflict could've been fleshed out some more. One of Gale's later actions is a huge shock and seems somewhat out of character. A book with so many subplots like this - so many things going on that all converge at the ending - feels much like a complex mathematical equation. The answer looms large, marking the end with clarity, but if someone has fudged the numbers a bit here and there, the whole feels slightly incomplete.
Perhaps that was Collins's intention. Katniss, and the reader, certainly feel broken at a certain time around the last chapter. One thing I really appreciate is how Collins spends time emphasizing Katniss's struggle with herself, especially after her independent streak becomes a hindrance to putting herself back together. She's not interested in the world post-Capitol because she's too busy mourning, and then just trying to get back to normal. The ache of this process is what stayed with me the most - the way violence can really seep into every aspect of a person's life and leave its marks. This is also tied in to the love triangle's resolution, which is a nice idea in theory at least, and I guess it's executed well, but I think I'll always be second-guessing my feelings about that. At the end, it's Katniss's story, and that's all I need.
Rating: 4.5 arrow caches out of 5.
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