May the Odds Be in Your Favor

Addiction is an understatement.

When I first caught sight of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games on the display shelf of National Bookstore, I assessed it as just another terrifyingly eventful science-fiction novel written to somehow entertain, but ends up not making much of an impression instead.
It bears the overused concept of minimalism, with a seemingly far-off print (the mockingjay) and typeface that's too bold for anyone's taste. I thought it was commonplace, trite. Not exactly an option, if you'd ask me back then.

Apparently, right now, I am ruthlessly eating my words (they're delicious). A batch mate offered his copy up for borrowing, and he was so zealous at recommending it that I had to give in. The exam week just ended, in any case, so I decided to reward myself with something to rid my mind off of school matters. But I still had no idea what the book was about, so I probed him. Honestly, when he told me that it literally tells of an event called The Hunger Games, I was shocked to say the least. I always assumed from a small passage from the book (it served as the summary of the hardbound edition) that it was about a bald middle-aged man who was trying to do...something...(I know, epic fail, right?)

Who would have thought the protagonist is actually a girl who volunteered to take her sister's place at the world's most aggressive (and least humane) reality television show?

I love Mrs. Collins' idea of the Hunger Games: the way she portrayed the government and how agonizingly sadistic and power-hungry they can be, the way Katniss Everdeen planned her hunts and strategized her survival, and the way Peeta can be such an...actor. Since I've read only one book out of the three, I can say just this much:

1. The characters are well-formed with each having his or her own ideals, and with enough complexities so they don't get dull. Although some characters lack a bit background, the main cast is supplied with enough history and just the right persona. (Peeta Mellark is erratic at first, which led me to hate him awhile, but he's a sucker for romance in the later parts.)

2. The imagery is just amazing. Anyone could capture the Arena with no difficulty at all. Mrs. Collins has a way with synthesizing an environment that is new but not too hard to digest. The Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games was set in the woods, which made it only more interesting.

3. Fight or flight It didn't really matter whether you did the first or settled with the second, as long as you kept surviving. The plot was woven in such a way that you bite your lips while reading, and you bite them so hard they start to bleed. You bleed with the characters! (video game, haha) This is the best asset of The Hunger Games: its action. Never-ending action; not one page of lethargy. It can be counted as a stimulant, really. I was always on the edge of my seat while reading it.

The lesson? Never judge a book by its cover. And this time, it takes a literal turn.

PS. According to IMDb, the movie adaptation will come out at 2013 but some sources (though not as reliable) say it's next year. I just wish they'd release the cast list soon.