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| Friday, May 10, 2013 12:07 PM |
| Book Report - Catching Fire |
 by Fëanor |
I don't have a lot to say about this book that I didn't already say about the first volume of The Hunger Games. It's again very well written, with many fascinating characters, moving passages, and shocking twists and turns. I was struck by how much the book focuses on which of Katniss' two male admirers she will give her heart to. It's a romantic triangle that the fate of the world depends upon. I was wondering what would happen in the next Hunger Games, if perhaps Prim would be called again during the Reaping, or Gale, but I was completely unprepared for what actually did happen. It's interesting how Collins continues to find new depths for the Game to plumb and new details to reveal about it, like the Quarter Quell and the little boy opening the box full of all the yellowing envelopes, each encasing some new, secret torture. The clock structure of the Games is quite brilliant, and some of the perils in there are wonderfully horrific, especially the Jabberjays and their screaming.
(Spoilers ahead.) A few things bug me a little about one scene, which at the time I found really intriguing, in which Plutarch Heavensbee shows his unique watch to Katniss. Why does she never even guess what the Mockingjay symbol there might mean, when it was obvious to me almost immediately? Collins is careful to point out that in the Capitol the symbol means something else, but still. And then there's the question of why Heavensbee does this. At this point he supposedly has no idea Katniss will return to the Games, so why would he feel the need to risk so much to give her a hint about its structure? How can either of them gain anything from this? Of course, if in the third book it's revealed that Heavensbee did know Katniss would go back to the Games, that perhaps he deliberately engineered it as part of the larger plan to transform her into a symbol for the rebellion, then I understand. But his explanation makes little sense, and I wonder why Katniss doesn't question it.
But despite these few lingering questions, I really enjoyed the book, and got a huge thrill out of the moment when Katniss stands and fires that last arrow, and then got a stab to the heart when the aftermath of that shot is revealed. I've already made good progress on the third entry in the series, Mockingjay, so I ought to have a review of that one up soon. |
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