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/lit/ - Literature

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2394073 No.2394073 [Reply] [Original]

Can someone explain WHY you enjoyed this series?

All the middle school kids tell me it's really good but they're not articulate enough to explain what the appeal of it is. I know the concept, but so what? Killing for honor, gladiator shit. What makes this book so good?

>> No.2394075

>All the middle school kids tell me it's really good

This should already tell you that the book is shit.

Also are you a pedophile or underage?

>> No.2394079

>>2394075
He's obviously an undercover meth narc.

>>2394073
Because it was easy and you didn't have to think too much.
Bloodlust, etc.

>> No.2394091

>>2394075
Third option, fucktard. I'm a teacher.

Middle school kids aren't retarded. They just often gravitate toward books with the same mindset they have, things they can relate to. That's why every goddamned elementary and middle school student has read Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It's because that book has about every bad thing in it that a kid can go through aside from sex, mutilation and death.

So here we have the Hunger Games, and I want to know why the kids are reading it and why the adults are reading it and why, if at all, I should read it.

>> No.2394095

Avoid it, read Battle Royale. Its the same thing, but for big kids, and is written for men and male teenagers, not single mothers.

>> No.2394099

>>2394095
That's an interesting response. Why exactly is it good for single moms? What, is there romance in it? It can't be that much if the kiddies are reading it.

Hah, on another board we're talking about the hunger games and someone just mentioned battle royale.

>> No.2394103

I liked it and I don't know why.

That said, I'm new to /lit/ and halfway through Battle Royale and enjoy that way more.

>> No.2394105

>>2394099
There's kind of a love triangle going on. It doesn't get TOO bad until the third book (which is legitimately terrible). It's a pretty interesting story I guess, the character is pretty decent and thee writing isn't offensively bad or anything (until the third book).

>> No.2394106

>>2394099
Yes there is a love triangle in the books. It's mostly in Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

>> No.2394107

>>2394099
Having not read The Hunger Games, I dont think I should respond. Why I did:

Two friends with impeccable taste recommended I not read it, because Battle Royale is one of my favorite books.
Im about 30, and my facebook is filled with women with questionable taste in my current and former social groups raving about the book. These are women who treasure twilight and dan brown as the pinnacle of modern literature. They are the ones whom you sit down to a date with, and you ask them the last book they read, and start raving about how the davinci code changed their lives.

On the other hand, battle royale is fucking awesome, well written, and a brutal pulpish analysis of human nature, like lord of the flies but with uzis

>> No.2394116

>>2394105
why does the writing get bad in the third book? Does the author just get lazy or...?

>> No.2394121

>>2394116
Character devolves into a blubbering piece of shit. Spends the whole book thinking about which guy to choose. Shitty story direction.

>> No.2394133

Gonna look into battle royal now. Thanks guys.

Also, I got this book as a gift for christmas, from my aunt; the same aunt who use to think a good gift was magazines and math books. While not bad gifts, they were by no means exciting.

Also, the only people i've heard raving about it is my mom and two aunts. I've yet to hear a single guy contribute on the book; which may speak volumes in itself.

I think it's the heavy focus on romance; the main characters are in love, and their love (and only their love, they're the first to have it happen) 'change the rules'. I don't know how it ends, but judging by the target audience i'd say on a happy note.

TL;DR recommended by older women, but unmentioned by 18-30 males.

>> No.2394155

My kid brother likes them, I think just cause it's the first dystopic fiction he's read, pretty sure he'll grow out of it soon

>> No.2394157

>all the middle school kids tell me
Why are you talking to middle school kids?
It's just dystopian fiction for youngsters, and it's easy enough to read that the retarded majority of America can read it without hurting their brains. That's it.

>> No.2394178

>>2394133
They're good, man. They aren't SUPER AWESOME HIGH ART, but they're above-average YA sci-fi with a little something for everyone. Most of the complaints people have about them just come from it being a YA series. Seriously, read the fucking book. It's short and EASY AS FUCK. Stop being a lazy bitch. Get to it.

>> No.2394192

None of the answers thus far have been a reason for why it is bad. It's young adult, not Tolstoy/Joyce/Pynchon/etc, of course the writing will be unimpressive. And the topics/characters will be immature.

The reason it's bad is that the entire setting of the book makes no sense. No empire in the history of the world has been organized in this manner (completely decentralized command economy). For 75 years, the ruling class has put itself under siege by handing over the means of production of ALL products and materials to geographically remote sections of the population. Why the events of the book didn't happen day two of President Snow's rule, I have no explanation.

FWIW, I have a BBA in economics.

>> No.2394198

>>2394178
you wouldn't know average if it bit you in the balls

>> No.2394275

>>2394178

Yup, easy accessible young pop-lit. Read the 3 books in 2-3 days and have very a light and entertaining experience. If you feel your brain melting half way through the first then put it down.

>>2394198

What constitutes above average YA sci-fi in your book?

> inb4 Ender's Game

>> No.2394298

Around my town, it's gotten pretty popular and I have to hear about how much everyone likes it and "OMG IT'S SO MUCH BETTER THAN STUPID TWILIGHT!!!"

Now, I had never read Twilight before, but decided to read the first chapter to see. Then read the first chapter of The Hunger Games.

I didn't like what I read of Twilight. But I didn't really like what I read of THG just the same. Does THG get better or are people just saying they like this more than Twilight because it's not Twilight?
and is Battle Royale (novel) worth the read? Or should I just read the manga?

>> No.2394319

>>2394073
>>2394178
my lit education is far vaster than yours i assure you. I dislike more books that I have been asked to read than you have read in your entire life. I'm not going to argue with you any more, because it isn't worth my time and it's shitting up the board.

>> No.2394326

>>2394298
Battle Royale is well worth the read. A lot of people bitch about the translation, but your mileage may vary. I didn't find it to be all that bad. The manga is different, but also very interesting and worth checking out if you like that type of thing. Definitely the book first, though.

>> No.2394350

it's pretty good. Except the third book can eat shit. EXTREMELY poorly written.

>> No.2394375

>>2394326
>>2394298

Picked up the viz media version of "Battle Royale". It was the only thing that caught my eye while checking out a PX, so the stock is limited. To be honest I looked past the errors and enjoyed the book very much.

I want to reread it but I rather get another translator's version...
Any suggestions?

>> No.2394383

22/m here who read all three. They were easy. I didn't think, I was just entertained. I would STRONGLY recommend Stephen King's "The Long Walk" if you want a more adult and deeper version.

I'll be sure to look into Battle Royale.

>> No.2394811

>>2394121
>love triangle
That must be the reason why my roommate was so obsessed with that book. He called me a "book asshole" because I thought it was a simple children's book. Huh, I guess I am since I dislike Twilight and John Green.

>> No.2394853

Didn't read it
My only guilty pleasure is the Dark Hunter series by Kenyon

CANT CATCH ME HOMO THOUGHTS

>> No.2394918

It's a shit tier knock-off of Battle Royale and The Running Man. The premise, though trite, is something that appealed to me, but the fact that it was a novel made up of cardboard cut out characters ruined it. None of the characters show any sort of depth or change and it is hard to say that they were even caricatures with how little development there was.

>> No.2394942
File: 28 KB, 500x375, 4e382e74-a719-4cad-9d27-4496cccfa345.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
2394942

>>2394319

>> No.2394950

>>2394073

> middle school kids
>they're not articulate
> gladiator shit

i lol'd

>> No.2394949

>>2394326
I would recommend against the manga. The best part of battle royale is the way it discusses human nature.

The manga has a scene where one of the main killers rapes a virgin that she has stabbed with typical japanese censor blobs.

Its a completely exploitive piece of work, you may as well go for good grimdark manga like berserk or something.

Or just read the novel.

>> No.2394955

>>2394918

After thinking a bit about what I said here, I suppose that I can see why this appeals to middle schoolers.

1. Uniqueness is a major theme and something that middle schoolers can appreciate because of the incredible pressure to conform with peers or be ostracized. If you look at each of the contestants they are given a "unique" ability.

2. Love triangle. Never understood why kids liked this. Even when I was a kid, I hated shit like this. It was particularly awful and ham fisted in this book.

3. The characters aren't challenging.

4. The "Us vs. The World" mentality. See 1. for more details on why I feel this appealing to tweens.

5. Retardation. Kids these days are fucking idiots. I blame their parents. Seriously, why isn't sterilization mandatory if you fail to make a certain benchmark on an IQ test? We could always make exceptions for manual labor specialists...

>> No.2395122

>>2394073
When I was in middle school I read Battle Royale OP. It was a pretty good book.

>> No.2395147

because it's an entertaining book, you pathetic troll. I would call you an autist and not a troll, but pretending you've actually spoken to any middle schoolers even when you were IN middle school was the tipoff

>> No.2395184

>>2394091
You sound like a shitty teacher if you're bitching about your students reading.

>> No.2395365

What's up, OP? You managed to pick one of the recent books that brings out the extremist mouth-frothers, so good job on that. Here's how the Hunger Games books work out.

1) The first two books are very different from the third. A lot of people hate the third, and consider that to be where it falls apart. Personally, I like the third quite a bit because it doesn't really pull any punches about the effects of all the tomfuckery that goes on would be on a kid.

2) The actual competition bits scratch a nice itch. Nothing is glorified, which is kind of a running thing throughout the books. Your moral of the story is that war is fucking awful, and so are people.

3) While it's not high art, it's competently written and proceeds at a nice clip. Things drag a bit in book three when the formula switches up, but that's fine. The characters are believable, most notably because their flaws are as integral to them as their good points.

4) There is a romance plot, but it's seriously not that big a thing. Some people just hate it because it starts off in book two, and becomes bigger in three, and these people didn't want this romance shit getting mixed up in the violence.

5) Just fucking ignore the comparisons to Battle Royale. It's not a 1:1 thing. It's not a bad idea to keep Lord of the Flies in the back of your mind, though.

>> No.2395392

>>2394918

I've never understood the criticism that the characters are unchanging cutouts. They go from being reasonably okay kids to fucking neurotic trainwrecks by the end that cannot even function in society anymore. And beyond that, yes, they do change. Nothing revolutionary, but they learn to trust, or become harder, etc.

>> No.2395396

>>2395365

All said, for a YA book it's fairly ambitious, and doesn't bother with any handholding. Fun for adults, and thought provoking for kids.

>> No.2396483

>>2395365
This.

>> No.2398033

I like the part in the first one where the little girl gets a javelin thrown through her