The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Ok, a couple of things, before I get into the review: First, I saw the movie version of this book a couple years ago, and I loved it! Secondly I didn't actually read this book; I listened to it as an audio book. I don't generally read a lot of fiction as I'm an incredibly slow reader, and if it is going to take me a month or two to read a book, I want to get both enjoyment and increased knowledge out of it. So I decided to get an audio book from our public library.

So now that I got that out of the way, let's get into the book. No, wait, let me just say one more thing. I want to talk about the difference between an audio book and a real book. You know, besides one being print and one being audio...kind of thought that would have been implied. Personally, while I found listening to audio to be a much quicker way to get through a book, I also found that listening to the author's words being read to you by a reader, rather than having the character's voices be imagined in your own mind can deliver quite a different experience.

I found that the reader would read the lines AS the character of the book. So Katniss Everdeen had a particular voice and cadence , and Rue would have a particular voice and lilt, and Hamish would have a particular voice. And I think that is where I had the biggest issue. Now this may be because I had already seen the movie, and the characters were already seeded into my imagination, but I found the voices she used didn't suit the characters. Hamish, played by Woody Harrelson in the movie, was a drunkard and an uncouth, short fused blow hard. But the way Harrelson played him in the movie, is the only way I can envision him now. I thought that the reader tried and failed to capture Hamish's personality. She slurred her words too much when in that character's voice, something I don't think a person with a 25 year drinking problem would have.

...just an opinion there.

Ok, back to the book review itself. No wait, one more thing. I have heard that there were tonnes of critics of the movie who had issues with Jennifer Lawrence playing Katniss as she wasn't thin enough, or they had issues with the movie being too different from the book. I won't get into the who Hollywood version of skinny vs reality thing, and I'm glad Jennifer Lawrence didn't bow to the pressures to become like all other actresses. But to that point, the book doesn't really talk about Katniss being this emaciated waif of a girl. Katniss was a skilled outdoorswoman and hunter, who kept her whole family stocked in meat, as well as catching enough game to trade on the black market. I don't picture Kantiss as small or emaciated. I envisioned her as strong, lean, and powerful. Now as for how closely the book and the movie resembled each other, except for a few changes to the ending, I thought the movie pretty much nailed the book!

Ok, now onto the review. Oh wait, we're out of time! Ok, long story short, I really enjoyed the book even though I watched the movie first. I'm currently listening to the second book now. Now if people want to complain about the differences between this book and the movie...well, I'll have to address those concerns after I listen to the book.