Oh yeah, you can tell I'm back in Uni, now I'm doing proper books again! Don't worry - I'm still going to do Mockingjay (the final Hunger Games book), but I haven't finished it yet, so I'm doing this review first.
Sooo, anyone know what this book's about? If you've seen the film Easy A you might have a very, very vague idea about what happens, but that film really doesn't do this book any kind of justice. It's set in 17th Century America, in the town of Salem, where a young woman is being punished for having a child out of marriage. Hester Prynnehas been condemned to wear a red letter 'A' for the rest of her life, to remind her and everyone of her adulterous nature. The book follows her and her daughter as she becomes accustomed to it, and defined by it, and as she fights to save the honour of the man who fathered her child.
At first, I was a bit affronted, because Hester alone was being punished for this "crime", when we all know it takes two to actually conceive a baby. I thought that the ministers were just being sexist pigs, and were targeting Hester because she was a woman who made one mistake. However it seems that they had been asking her the identity of the father for a while, and she had resolutely refused to divulge the information.
As we find out, the father is a man called Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister of Salem, who the people seem to look to as some sort of saint or angel-in-waiting. It seems that Hester knew that if she said that it was him, the people of Salem would never believe her, as they wouldn't want to think that their perfect leader could possibly do something wrong. I also wondered a few times if they would suggest that Hester had bewitched him somehow, as I know that Salem is notorious for its witch-burnings, and I thought that maybe they would decide that she was in fact a witch who had taken a fancy to Dimmesdale and lured him to her. There is never actually a definitive answer as to why she put herself through so much suffering alone, but there are various theories abounding.
I thought the fact that Dimmesdale never told the public himself that he was the father (except for right at the end, when he was dying) showed weakness: he let Hester, who he seemed to love, be ridiculed and humiliated for seven years, without ever helping her in the slightest, just because he was afraid of the reaction of his people. Little bit douchey and weak. But then someone else pointed out that there were times when he tried to tell his congregation that he was a sinner, and was far worse than they, but the people just thought he was being modest, and that if he was a sinner, they must be much worse, and it was impossible to convince them. I still think he is a weak character (the fact that he is permanently ill and about to die throughout the whole novel doesn't help), but he is certainly redeemable.
Their daughter Pearl is a very strange child, constantly referred to as an elf-child or some strange, mystical being, but I just think that she seems strange in comparison with the strict, highly conservative, religious community she is brought up in. Being shunned her whole life doesn't help, and she has no conatct with other children, and therefore her connection with nature doesn't seem at all surprising to me.
It's certainly a slow book, and I only had a week to read it in, so I had to breeze through a large part of the descriptive bits, but I did find it interesting. Hawthorne's engagement with the psychology of the characters, and their mental disintegration/strengthening in Dimmesdale and Hester respectively was in some ways more exciting than a lot of the content of the novel. Watching Hester cope with the scarlet letter, and how the people of the town gradually begin to appreciate her humility, eventually seeing the 'A' to stand for 'able', or even 'angel' was even satisfying, as it shows us that, even in extreme conditions, people are still able to forget past wrongs and accept people if they're just strong enough.
Man, that sounds cheesy! Ok, I know this is a short review, but I have a lot of work to do!! Until next time (hopefully Mockingjay!!)
Wednesday 19 October 2011
Saturday 15 October 2011
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHH MY HEART IS IN PAAAAIN!!!!!!!!!
OH, SO DEVASTATED!
I DON'T EVEN FULLY UNDERSTAND WHYYYY!
Who would have guessed what would happen in this book?? Not me, certainly.
Before I get wrapped up in the utter heartbreak and darkness that goes on in this novel, I want to do some praising of Suzanne Collins, which I don't think I really did much of in my last review.
I know I had a few troubles with her writing style before, but now I've realised the huge benefit it gives to this type of fiction. Because it's in first person, present tense, ther is no way of knowing if Katniss is going to survive or not. There is no opportunity for hindsight which would give us a hint that she will make it, and at certain points of the book I wasn't sure that she would. Now I've finished this book, I am pretty sure she'll make it through the final one, but unfortunately I can't say the same for Peeta.
It kills me to write this, because he is officially my favourite character in this series. I can relate to him so well, and I sympathise with him completely. Whilst Katniss has moments of being a little dense, insensitive or moody, Peeta clearly thinks ahead, always has a plan of action, and is evidently hopelessly in love with her. Because he is so totally awesome I don't see him lasting. Partly because Collins DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ABLE TO KEEP ANYTHING HAPPY, and partly because I saw on Twitter that someone had finished the book and were going off to cry. Which doesn't bode well at all :( *sadness forever*.
Back to Collins being a legend. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE books where the opressed rise against the opressors. I don't know what it is: as far as I know, I have no radical political views; and yet I really love books about rebellion (see Harry Potter and His Dark Materials). So it excites me greatly to read about all these rebellions going on, and to have Katniss as the figurehead of it all. Could she be the female Harry Potter? Interesting...
So, shall we move onward to the story?
I may as well start with the *love triangle*. I am not a fan of love triangles. Ever since I made the gravest mistake of my life and read Twilight I have become irrationally angry whenever I read about them. Don't get me wrong, I love reading romance in novels. But when another love triangle starts, I just get sooo bored. So I was a little worried when I sensed one coming on here between Katniss, Gale and Peeta, but I needn't have worried. This is why I find Katniss's character so refreshing. She is not romantic, and she is not in love with either of the boys. She admits she has feelings, though what they are she isn't sure, for both of them, but when they tell her they love her she doesn't melt into their arms and sacrifice her life for them like some "heroines" might do. Instead, she tells them both that she has no time for romance in her life right now, as she has to keep her family,and now her fellow rebels, safe. OK, she has to maintain this strange rigmarole with Peeta whenever they're in the public eye, but other than that she won't let it cloud her vision. I think this is really great of Collins because it is so different, and I'm interested to see where this is going, although I have to state now that I hope she and Peeta get together, even though I would feel so awful for Gale... maybe it would be better for him to die... :(
I was surprised how quickly the Victory Tour passed by. After their first stop in District 11 it just went by in a few pages, but of course I understand why, as there is so much worse to come. I enjoyed finding out about the other districts, as I love delving into the imagination of the author, as I said in my last post. I really love everything in the Capitol. I know the people are awful, and the juxtaposition of that and the destitute Districts shows how corrupt the government is, but I loved the lavish detail, the descriptions of food, fashion and frivolity that peppered the pages.
But then, of course, after things seem to be going just about OK, they announce the plans for next year's Hunger Games. And my heart nearly stopped beating.
I couldn't believe that Collins could be so cruel. How could she do this to her characters again?
I'll admit, I did cy when I found that Katniss, along with one other male Victor from the District would be joining 22 other previous Victors. I'm now wondering how the people of the Capitol, the people who actually enjoy the games, reacted, or will react. We heard rumours that they weren't happy with this decision, as they had got to know the Victors over the years, and now they were going to have to watch them kill each other. Could this lead to dissent even from those in the Capitol? I'm interested to see where this goes.
So, Katniss and Peeta return to the Games, and I didn't think the run-up was as suspenseful or detailed as last time, but then, of course, we know what's coming, and I suppose by throwing her in there quicker it gives us more of a shock. Before we get to that bit though, I want to say how totally awesome Cinna is. I LOVED the idea of sending her on in a Wedding Dress that disintegrated to become a Mockingjay: the symbol of resistance for Katniss's fellow rebels. I hope we see more of him, that they didn't kill him when they took him away.
As for the actual games, although I loved the idea of the island being a clock with each section holding a different horror, I actually preferred reading about the character interactions than anything else. I'm not sure what to make of Finnick yet, although I'm pretty sure he's an OK guy. With Johanna, I'm glad there's another fiesty girl around, and also I enjoyed the disparity between them. So many people love Katniss that it was refreshing to see some verbal sparring.
I also liked how determined Katniss was to have people like Mags, Beetee and Wiress on her side, rather than the tougher tributes like Brutus, and, hey, it paid off!
Before I get on to the traumatic ending, I'm going to talk briefly about ~the kiss~. So, I'm pretty sure Katniss does have feelings for Peeta, more than friendly, but I don't think she'll act on them until this is over... if he survives. I'm not saying that she doesn't have feelings for Gale, though. Those two have such a history behind them, and now she knows he loves her I think it'll be hard to ignore it. Although I'm swaying on the Peeta side, I do still think Gale is an awesome character, and I don't want him to be an empty shell if she rejects him. It's so difficult for her!!
Ok. To the endless sadness.
Once Beetee concocts his plan, Katniss and Peeta are forced to split, and I was not happy. The confusion that ensues was completely discombobulating (yes, that is a word) that I wasn't really sure what was happening. All I knew was that I was positive that Johanna's stabbing of Katniss was just a way to protect her from Brutus and Enobaria, rather than a malicious attempt to kill her.
It's hard to sum up what happened, but Katniss's shooting of the forcefield was great: a nice piece of foreshadowing from Collins there, and I love me some foreshadowing!
BUT.
BUT THEN...
I SOB FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY.
Katniss hears Peeta shouting for her, but they can't get to each other, and then she gets picked up by a hovercraft!
I thought the hovercraft was the capitol, thinking she was dead, and when Plutarch Heavensbee (coolest name ever, btw) closed her eyes, I though somehow they actually thought she was dead and she was going to be buried alive, or turned into a mutt or something awful, but THEN!!!
We find out that actually, PLUTARCH WORKS FOR THE REBELS AND....
DISTRICT 13
OMG!!
Sooooo exciting!!
I love that there's a significant rebel movement and everything, but then we learn two things that kill me:
Bring on Mockingjay.
OH, SO DEVASTATED!
I DON'T EVEN FULLY UNDERSTAND WHYYYY!
Who would have guessed what would happen in this book?? Not me, certainly.
Before I get wrapped up in the utter heartbreak and darkness that goes on in this novel, I want to do some praising of Suzanne Collins, which I don't think I really did much of in my last review.
I know I had a few troubles with her writing style before, but now I've realised the huge benefit it gives to this type of fiction. Because it's in first person, present tense, ther is no way of knowing if Katniss is going to survive or not. There is no opportunity for hindsight which would give us a hint that she will make it, and at certain points of the book I wasn't sure that she would. Now I've finished this book, I am pretty sure she'll make it through the final one, but unfortunately I can't say the same for Peeta.
It kills me to write this, because he is officially my favourite character in this series. I can relate to him so well, and I sympathise with him completely. Whilst Katniss has moments of being a little dense, insensitive or moody, Peeta clearly thinks ahead, always has a plan of action, and is evidently hopelessly in love with her. Because he is so totally awesome I don't see him lasting. Partly because Collins DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ABLE TO KEEP ANYTHING HAPPY, and partly because I saw on Twitter that someone had finished the book and were going off to cry. Which doesn't bode well at all :( *sadness forever*.
Back to Collins being a legend. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE books where the opressed rise against the opressors. I don't know what it is: as far as I know, I have no radical political views; and yet I really love books about rebellion (see Harry Potter and His Dark Materials). So it excites me greatly to read about all these rebellions going on, and to have Katniss as the figurehead of it all. Could she be the female Harry Potter? Interesting...
So, shall we move onward to the story?
I may as well start with the *love triangle*. I am not a fan of love triangles. Ever since I made the gravest mistake of my life and read Twilight I have become irrationally angry whenever I read about them. Don't get me wrong, I love reading romance in novels. But when another love triangle starts, I just get sooo bored. So I was a little worried when I sensed one coming on here between Katniss, Gale and Peeta, but I needn't have worried. This is why I find Katniss's character so refreshing. She is not romantic, and she is not in love with either of the boys. She admits she has feelings, though what they are she isn't sure, for both of them, but when they tell her they love her she doesn't melt into their arms and sacrifice her life for them like some "heroines" might do. Instead, she tells them both that she has no time for romance in her life right now, as she has to keep her family,and now her fellow rebels, safe. OK, she has to maintain this strange rigmarole with Peeta whenever they're in the public eye, but other than that she won't let it cloud her vision. I think this is really great of Collins because it is so different, and I'm interested to see where this is going, although I have to state now that I hope she and Peeta get together, even though I would feel so awful for Gale... maybe it would be better for him to die... :(
I was surprised how quickly the Victory Tour passed by. After their first stop in District 11 it just went by in a few pages, but of course I understand why, as there is so much worse to come. I enjoyed finding out about the other districts, as I love delving into the imagination of the author, as I said in my last post. I really love everything in the Capitol. I know the people are awful, and the juxtaposition of that and the destitute Districts shows how corrupt the government is, but I loved the lavish detail, the descriptions of food, fashion and frivolity that peppered the pages.
But then, of course, after things seem to be going just about OK, they announce the plans for next year's Hunger Games. And my heart nearly stopped beating.
I couldn't believe that Collins could be so cruel. How could she do this to her characters again?
I'll admit, I did cy when I found that Katniss, along with one other male Victor from the District would be joining 22 other previous Victors. I'm now wondering how the people of the Capitol, the people who actually enjoy the games, reacted, or will react. We heard rumours that they weren't happy with this decision, as they had got to know the Victors over the years, and now they were going to have to watch them kill each other. Could this lead to dissent even from those in the Capitol? I'm interested to see where this goes.
So, Katniss and Peeta return to the Games, and I didn't think the run-up was as suspenseful or detailed as last time, but then, of course, we know what's coming, and I suppose by throwing her in there quicker it gives us more of a shock. Before we get to that bit though, I want to say how totally awesome Cinna is. I LOVED the idea of sending her on in a Wedding Dress that disintegrated to become a Mockingjay: the symbol of resistance for Katniss's fellow rebels. I hope we see more of him, that they didn't kill him when they took him away.
As for the actual games, although I loved the idea of the island being a clock with each section holding a different horror, I actually preferred reading about the character interactions than anything else. I'm not sure what to make of Finnick yet, although I'm pretty sure he's an OK guy. With Johanna, I'm glad there's another fiesty girl around, and also I enjoyed the disparity between them. So many people love Katniss that it was refreshing to see some verbal sparring.
I also liked how determined Katniss was to have people like Mags, Beetee and Wiress on her side, rather than the tougher tributes like Brutus, and, hey, it paid off!
Before I get on to the traumatic ending, I'm going to talk briefly about ~the kiss~. So, I'm pretty sure Katniss does have feelings for Peeta, more than friendly, but I don't think she'll act on them until this is over... if he survives. I'm not saying that she doesn't have feelings for Gale, though. Those two have such a history behind them, and now she knows he loves her I think it'll be hard to ignore it. Although I'm swaying on the Peeta side, I do still think Gale is an awesome character, and I don't want him to be an empty shell if she rejects him. It's so difficult for her!!
Ok. To the endless sadness.
Once Beetee concocts his plan, Katniss and Peeta are forced to split, and I was not happy. The confusion that ensues was completely discombobulating (yes, that is a word) that I wasn't really sure what was happening. All I knew was that I was positive that Johanna's stabbing of Katniss was just a way to protect her from Brutus and Enobaria, rather than a malicious attempt to kill her.
It's hard to sum up what happened, but Katniss's shooting of the forcefield was great: a nice piece of foreshadowing from Collins there, and I love me some foreshadowing!
BUT.
BUT THEN...
I SOB FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY.
Katniss hears Peeta shouting for her, but they can't get to each other, and then she gets picked up by a hovercraft!
I thought the hovercraft was the capitol, thinking she was dead, and when Plutarch Heavensbee (coolest name ever, btw) closed her eyes, I though somehow they actually thought she was dead and she was going to be buried alive, or turned into a mutt or something awful, but THEN!!!
We find out that actually, PLUTARCH WORKS FOR THE REBELS AND....
DISTRICT 13
OMG!!
Sooooo exciting!!
I love that there's a significant rebel movement and everything, but then we learn two things that kill me:
- Peeta was not saved by the rebels, and will likely be tortured by the Capitol for information
- District 12 has been decimated, and there is nothing left.
Bring on Mockingjay.
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