After the brilliant duo of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, the final instalment of The Hunger Games, Mockingjay, has let me down slightly.
I was told by several people that the third book was not as good but by half way through I was loving it. It is a complete departure from the previous two and I enjoyed the places that Katniss turned up in. She does get a bit whiny every now and then but her world has gone to pot.
Warning! There are spoilers ahead! Skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to know what happens...Where it goes off the rails for me is when Peeta returns from his capture, and the whole brainwash thing. I felt the previous two books had built him up to be such a courageous, big hearted guy and it was all snatched away to be replaced by some angry, emotionless robot. I felt betrayed by the author! The worst was that it wasn't fixed. That's it. He's damaged goods. Several other characters that were hinted at possibly being dead in Catching Fire were also confirmed, but there was no real grief (I'm thinking Cinna especially). It is such a downbeat ending, which I didn't see coming so take my hat off to Collins. I have thought whether I liked the ending and I'm still at a loss. I think I did, but all the emotional input that I gave the characters Haymitch, Gale and Peeta over the series seems to be wasted somewhat. I did however, like the bit with Prim at the end.
I'm interested in how they'll fit all this on screen. Will they change the ending?
It's definitely the weakest of the three so I've given it a 6.5 on the Comfometer.
Thoughts?
Michael
I kind of agree, in that that is pretty much exactly what I thought when I 1st put down the book too
ReplyDeleteHowever, over time, I kept thinking about how I'd do it differently and every time I came up against a big stumbling block
How I now feel about the ending and some of the plot points you've mentioned are that it's so deeply unfair - but also somehow real
It's not hollywood. You've not got the big happy ending (though in its weird way it is still a happy ending). Due to how we've been raised, in the initial, it's more of a let down, but somehow, over time, becomes more invigorating for that
I might be wrong, but let me know if, over time, you change your mind like me too
Yeah I know what you mean. Even a few days later I feel different from the day I finished it, but a more negative effect rather than positive. It wasn't really the downbeat ending but rather the dismissal of Haymitch and Gale that annoyed me. They just kinda go. I liked the way that Katniss ended up with Peeta though, as even if things were all rosy in the end Katniss did seem to love him more than Gale. I do need to give it time though. Really interested in the film now!
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