Currently Reading: Suzanne Collins – The Hunger Games

The first time I’ve heard of Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy was when a literature critic couldn’t stop praising the books for their originality and their addictive plot on TV. So when I was at the library a few days ago and saw the first book of the series on the shelf, I just grabbed it, and I have to say the guy was so right! The book is really addictive and creative. The (German) book title makes it look like a Fantasy book, but it really doesn’t have many fantasy elements. It’s more like a science fiction or dystopia novel. Here is some more information from my most favourite online encyclopedia:

The Hunger Games is a young-adult science fiction novel written by Suzanne Collins. It was originally published on September 14, 2008, by Scholastic.[1] It is the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy.[2] It introduces sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem where North America once stood. This is where a powerful government working in a central city called the Capitol holds power. In the book, the Hunger Games are an annual televised event where the Capitol chooses one boy and one girl from each district to fight to the death. The Hunger Games exist to demonstrate not even children are beyond the reach of the Capitol’s power.

Collins says that the idea for The Hunger Games came from channel surfing on the T.V. On one channel she observed people competing on a reality show and on another she saw footage of the Iraq War. The two blended together and the idea of children fighting each other to the death was formed. The Greek myth of Theseus also served as inspiration for the book, with Collins describing Katniss as a futuristic Theseus.[3] Her father’s service in the Vietnam War helped her understand how it feels to fear the loss of a loved one.

The book has been released as a paperback and also an audiobook, which was read by Carolyn McCormick. The Hunger Games has an initial print of 200,000 – increased twice from an original 50,000. Since its initial release, the novel has been translated into 26 different languages and rights have been sold in 38 countries. The book received mostly positive reviews from major reviewers and authors, such as Stephen King. Hunger Games is the first novel in a trilogy, followed by Catching Fire, published September 1, 2009,[4] and Mockingjay, published August 24, 2010

Source: Wikipedia.com