Literary Musings: Final Word

Final word on The Hunger Games, that is. I finished the book last night and felt strangely unfulfilled when it was all over, as if I had just watched a superficial, popcorn-filled, summer blockbuster of a movie. Entertaining to be sure, but there was something missing.

And then it dawned on me: fear. The fear that comes from being hunted and ambushed. The fear that comes from not knowing who to trust and from perceived betrayal. Real, palpable fear that chills you to the core and brings bile to your tastebuds. It just wasn't there. Sure, there were several moments when the protagonist displayed some nervousness or anxiety, but for the most part her character was fearless and matter of fact, with moments of compassion and worry interspersed. Katniss just didn't feel real to me, nor were the other characters sufficiently developed. Did I want to know what happened to Katniss at the end? Sure. Was I so drawn in by her story that I feel compelled to start the second book? Not really. Did I find Hunger Games thought-provoking, as did some literary critics? Not a chance.

Maybe I expected too much. I guess I had anticipated a story more layered and nuanced and complex, given all of the hype I'd seen in various news outlets and the near obsessiveness of the books' fans (I counted three different fanzines on the newsstand at Barnes & Noble, for crying out loud). I wanted raw, gripping emotion; to be immersed in the brutality and injustice of a world divided into haves and have-nots, to be riveted by Katniss' ferocity and fight to survive. None of this was present. But as I wrote in my previous post, the Hunger Games trilogy is aimed at young adults...though who's to say that that demographic couldn't grasp more complicated and profound issues? I haven't read fiction aimed at young adults since, well, I was a young adult, so I'm not sure if this simplicity is typical of the genre or if it's particular to this book; I hope the latter. But I suppose if I want nuanced and provocative, I should return to the land of Tolstoy and Kunzru and Murakami.