The Hunger Games Trilogy

[DeeDee]

Yes :) The Hunger Games part one comes out where I live March 23rd! All 3 books were page turners...I only hope the movies do them justice!

 

[anthony]

Just finished Part 1, about to venture into Part II, The Games. Had to pause and share my thoughts...

Haymitch is such a dick... am I correct if memory serves me, Haymitch was the last winner from District 12? Does Haymitch have PTSD as a result? From everything I have read thus far... yes he does. The anger, hostility, drinking to suppress, forgetfulness, etc. It screams PTSD all over it.

How are you finding it Clair? I struggle to put it down when I pick it up for reading. I picked it up an hour ago and just read through to the end of Part 1 in an hour... I hope to devour Part II today as well. Just so thrilling to read it. I fully understand what people mean now when they have read a book vs. watching the movie, how a movie just struggles to really captivate and do the book justice.

Reading the detail of Katniss and her dressing for the interview... vivid. I love her attitude when ignored. It kind of reminds me of how Nicolette responds to me if I ignore her at times... if she had a bow and arrow I may be the recipient of said warning shot! :eek:

And then Peeta's most public statement as the last interviewee.... WOW! Not having read into the games yet... I anticipate Katniss's response and thoughts on this, especially with her best friend Gale at home whom she relates so readily with.

 

[anthony]

OMFG....

I must say, just from watching the trailer and seeing some of the screen motions, reading the book is just so much more detailed from all the hidden thoughts and such. I would still watch it though...

 

[DeeDee]

Haymich should be the poster child for PTSD! Anyone whos been through "The Games" will suffer from it!

 

[Deaf Global Nomad]

I somehow thought that the second book would be a repeat of the first. How wrong I was! The third moves toward a rather obvious next chapter. At the same time it is taking me on a wild roller coaster ride. I am definitely struggling to keep up with all of the different spins and enjoying it. My brain is tired and cannot possibly think of what might come up next.

Haymitch is the first character to display a trauma history. His drinking made me suspect he was trying to drown his feelings of past trauma. What the trauma consists of is not described until later (or maybe I just missed it). Bit by bit other characters display the symptoms of PTSD as trauma hits them. It took me a while to put all of it together of what I was reading.

she's especially concerned about how wars affect the coming-of-age of young people caught up in it.

One of the areas I have researched is risk and resilience. The author's worry about the effects of coming-of-age of children/teens/young adults who experience war is definitely a real one. In these books you can see several generations living in the different districts and how they experience life and how the occurrences affect them.

I can already understand how trying to read anything other than from the first book, would cause disillusionment within further books.

I guess some series allow you to just read one if they have limited story content (e.g. the same type of outline through all books or the same few characters). This is absolutely not possible with this series. First the long list of characters makes it impossible. Not too much of the story is based on repetitions of entire sections of previous books. References are made to what happened earlier, but not providing much more. The experiences that the characters had add up to how they end up in the third book. These definitely add up. Different generations and people in different districts have their own outlook on life. In the third book a lot of them make sense, even though throughout the books some things may seem random.

The most interesting thing about Peeta (to me) is that you never know what to make of him.

This holds true for Peeta throughout all three books as well as other characters. Peeta is viewed as a "hero" by lots at the beginning and then some consider him to be a bad guy. Other characters are seen as "the enemy" at one point and only later do they turn out to be "a hero". Haymitch is another one of those characters whose identity changes, especially through Katniss's eyes.

 

[Deaf Global Nomad]

reading the book is just so much more detailed from all the hidden thoughts and such

The hidden thoughts just become more throughout the books. I can imagine how the first book can be portrayed and corresponds to the trailer. However, the second and the third I definitely cannot imagine a film.

In this sense it reminds me of Stieg Larsson's trilogy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The Swedish version follows the book bit by bit, making the movies as long as the books whereas the American film version completely skips over important details (e.g. twists, thoughts, characters).

 

[anthony]

I became so engrossed, I have just finished part II of the first book. The way I'm going, I may very well finish the book tonight if Nicolette has work to do.

I'm not one that feels sadness easily, but I have to say, the book put me feeling quite sad when Katniss was scouting for Rue, then as she finds her, the district one boy killed her, and Katniss didn't even realise what she had instinctively done through feeling protective of Rue... killing him.

I absolutely love how they brought together the roof top discussion between her and Peeta, about how Peeta wanted to make a statement against the capitol... and Katniss achieved that very thing with her presentation of Rue to the cameras in her death.

Captivating... to say the least.

DGN... so jealous you have read them all already. They are just so engrossing...

 

[kimba]

Okay guys, I finished The Tiger's Wife and now my curiousity has been aroused. Will start this today. Who can I blame for not wanting to get anything else done? :D Kidding...

 

[Sammy]

I had just finished the whole series about the time a book club was mentioned. This series was absolutely captivating while causing all kinds of PTSD reactions in me! I could relate to Katniss a little too well. I was having nightmares. At the same time, I couldn't put the books down. Kinda like riding a roller coaster - terrifying but can't resist. I couldn't not finish the series because I had become so invested in the characters, I couldn't not know what happened. I saw evidence of PTSD throughout the books and it made me so angry - others causing so much pain, exerting so much control, so much harm being caused. I cried and my hands shook as I read but couldn't stop. A very strange and intense process for me. It is interesting to me to read the reactions of other PTSD sufferers to the books. It is different than nonPTSD folks.

 

[DeeDee]

I agree with Sammy. I cried and my heart rate went up when reading the books. I really identified with Katniss and her relationship with her sister. Even though I was raised as an only child, I'm 21 years older than my sister, I can see myself taking her place at the reaping! I cried so much in the 3rd book, I think I had a migrain second to dehydration! I could empathize with all the characters (minus Snow) all the districts were so oppressed. Everyone has their own unique story to tell. Kind of like all of you on this forum. All sad and unfair but united for the same cause! Makes me want to change my avatar to a Mockingjay, mutated for my survival!

 

[Diore]

I could relate to Katniss a little too well. (...) I saw evidence of PTSD throughout the books and it made me so angry - others causing so much pain, exerting so much control, so much harm being caused. (...) It is interesting to me to read the reactions of other PTSD sufferers to the books. It is different than nonPTSD folks.

Exactly! And I definitely want to discuss this angle further when I've finished all 3 books (first 2 down; just started the third).

What impresses me about PTSD in the books so far is that it's... not exactly shown as normal, but I feel the author did a great job of setting it into the proper context. After all the pain and loss and stress the characters go through, it just feels natural that it has to have affected them somehow, without ever tossing out the term PTSD. Contrast this with how hard it can be in real life to explain why you're sensitive to triggers or having flashbacks or whatever else - most of the time people think you're exaggerating or crazy!

Then again, in the books you follow the characters. You live it with them. In real life, you rarely get to tell the story - people just see the effects and judge without understanding what created them. Kind of like Haymitch's earliest appearances in Book 1; it's not until you see what kinds of things happen during the Games that you can appreciate what kinds of experiences he must have had and how he came to be the way he is.

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

I love the huge amount of detail so far. It's been a while that I've read a book where the author so obvious spend a lot of time thinking and writing the book. It makes you feel you are there, that you are in Katniss's mind.

I also love that Katniss is so incredible independent and so strong. I love female characters like that! Refreshing...