For many years now, one of my favorite books has been
Battle Royale. A gripping novel by Koushun Takami,
Battle Royale tells the story of a future society where a yearly "Program" is held in which a randomly selected class of Junior high students are sent to a remote area, and then forced to kill each other. The novel shows a fascinating look at human nature and the different reactions people have when but in a life or death situation. There are those that try to band together, others who openly join in the killing, and even one who, as it is later revealed, is literally void of emotion. The book even takes a turn at politics, explaining that the "Program" was developed to instill a sense of mistrust in the population, thus ensuring an end to rebellion. As you can probably tell, I'm just a tad obsessed with this book. So, it was with great skeptiscim that I picked up a copy of
The Hunger Games yesterday. After reading the back cover, I saw that it was basically the same concept: A future society invents an annual program, this time called "the Hunger Games", in which a group of randomly selected adolescents must compete. Effectively killing each other off until one is named victorious. But after reading the first chapter, and later the entire book, I was hooked. It may be the same basic plot, but it is also different. The author has choosen to focus on different ideas, and we really only get into one person's head. Here the focus is more on one girl's will to survive, her often coinciding struggle to open up to people, and the idea of rebellion. Plus, there's already a sequel out with a third to come!
Battle Royale is still a far more sophisticated novel, and The Hunger Games has a fair hint of teen romance, but I adore it nonetheless!
