Hunger Games

So many of my friends have read the Hunger Games and have pretty much raved about it to me. I knew a bit about the story line. Although the plot wasn't something that would have drawn me to the bookshelves, I decided to give it a try, based on the recommendation of said friends and family. If this is on your to read list, you many not want to read any further.

I was disappointed, and more than disappointed, disturbed that so many people (particularly our upper el/middle school children) loved this book. Not just because of the premise (children killing children), but because of the acceptance of society (wait, not just acceptance, but eagerness of society) to watch the broadcast with all the gory details. Don't bother to tell me it's just a book - a book (at least a good book) will take you outside yourself and make you a part of the story. The very best books make you forget the world you are currently living in and enter another.

The book starts well, with the heroine Katniss, giving up herself to the "games" to save her sister Prim. That is an admirable part of her personality--that and the responsibility she took for her family after her father's death. Once she is in the Capital, and then in the games themselves, she loses her luster for me.

First, she is the most confused heroine I ever met. The things she does that are good, are accidental events, not intentional events. The fact that she is later chosen to be the leader of an uprising, has nothing to do with doing what is right and good, but only to do with getting some selfish desires on her part. These desires are not necessarily bad desires, but, they are not for the greater good, they are for the good of her, her family and her friends. She doesn't really even understand what the uprising is about in any good way. Her friends, Gale and Peeta, have a better understanding of it than she does. I'm a little disgusted with her! I don't want my hero's to be confused - I want them to know the right path and to take it with purpose. I hope, if I ever am called upon to be a hero, that I will do it with rightness and purpose.

Second, you're not too far into the book and you realize it's a story that could have been crafted from a video game. The people that design the games are given the title of Gamemaker. The games are controlled by the gamemakers and might include catastrophes of nature, circumstances that force the children into combat with each other, and the gifts of sponsors that might heal wounds, provide food or water, or provide shelter to give their chosen candidate an advantage over another. Society (excluding the families of the children who participate) is eager to watch blood shed and cheer their chosen candidate on. The candidates may form an alliance with each other while it is convenient, only to kill in the end, as there can be only one survivor.

I know that kids are playing video games like this today. Many of them are ugly games, that in my view are not good past times for kids or really even adults. For a person who is competitive, and who likes challenges, a video game requires a person to use skillful thinking and planning to achieve victory. But why are so many of them killing games? I know my kids would not agree with me, but I do think we become desensitized to the violence, particularly as video games can be so realistic nowadays. They would also say they know the difference between what is real and what is not real (this is actually a line that is used in the last book for a character that can no longer make that distinction), but how long before some cross the line?

If you have read a book like Lord of the Rings, the Narnia series, or even something like Redwall, you are familiar with the good vs evil plot. With the aforementioned books, the bright thread of hope was woven through the story line. In "Hunger Games", I feel there was only despair. Even the "good guys" resorted to evil in the end. There wasn't a clear distinction between right and wrong, and ruined, forlorn lives were not resurrected. I myself, did not feel the ending was a hopeful one, I felt it was mostly sad.

Even more disturbing to me, I came away feeling like we are not too far off from being a Hunger Games society. We may not be participating in these actual games, but we are participating in games with people's lives, whether it's in our politics, our ignorance or willingness to overlook poverty and the havoc it can cause, or our monetary systems. . . are we (am I) participating in endeavors that will keep people everywhere from hope and despair, or am I just watching the news and saying, oh, that's too bad? Worse, are we just indifferent because it has become the norm.

So, "Hunger Games" lovers, I did not like this book, and would not recommend it. If your children want to read it, please do read it first.

Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss

I love this book! I am fortunate to have a copyrighted 1880 hardcover copy that includes a sketch of the author that my mom bought somewhere for 75 cents.

This is a sweet old fashioned story of a young girl, Katy, and her struggles to accept God's love. The circumstances of her life are told in journal format, and her story charmed me.

For me, this book is real - I resonate with her feelings of wanting to be a God honoring person, and my own selfish desires. I struggle with letting go of what I want and leaning into the life that God wants just like Katy. It is clear, as the book continues, that God uses Katy's struggles to mold her into a God honoring, unselfish woman. As she works through life's disappointments, or perhaps I should say just life in general, she becomes a person who can accept with peace the circumstances of her life. Someday, I hope to get to this place myself.

It was through this book that I learned about "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas a Kempis.

You know, it is not often that I read a book about being a good person, and the fact that it doesn't just happen naturally. It is a struggle to let go of selfishness and take hold of self-lessness. It really cannot happen without, as Katy would say, "flying to God" to tell Him about it and accepting His help. A life for God really does go against what the world is about--self gratification.

Although the book is old-fashioned by the world's standards, it is still so real. I don't know about you, but every day I can get sucked more and more into the world and farther and farther away from God. There is a sweetness in flying to Him, and a strength that comes from spending time with Him. Someone, somewhere, recently said that this world is not our home, but we have a way to visit our home, and it is through prayer. This book is a picture of what it means to journey into being at home with God.

The Tiger's Wife

The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tea Obreht writes a very strange story. I started this book months ago and put it down as I couldn't get involved. However, in light of the fact I had nothing to read, and that it was lent to me, and I really need to return it, thought I'd give it another go. If you don't like stories within stories, you may not like this book. In some ways, it reminds me of "Life of Pi", which was also very strange (in my opinion).

This story reads like a dream to me. You know how you can have dreams and they can seem so real, but are yet surreal, and seem so fantastic, and don't always make a lot of sense? That's what this book feels like to me. As I moved forward in the story I became more intrigued about the title and the story within the story. I don't feel like I have a complete understanding of the end, but, like a strange dream that sticks with you, the story is sticking with me. I want to come to terms with it. For this reason, it seems like a good book club pick to me--perhaps if I can talk about it with another reader or group,it will become clearer.

This is a rather nebulous review, so I'll just close with the fact that once again I am reminded of my naivety and innocence as far as my place in this world. What fortunate people we are to live in a country in which we don't live in the chaos and uncertainty of a war torn nation or to come to grips with the facts that the boundaries of our homelands can change as a result of wars and/or treaties. Although our men and women serve, we, in America, have relative security and peace. We can choose not to get involved in the difficulties of getting medicine, food, water even, because we have been blessed to be born here.

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Human Extremes

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Human beings can fall on such extreme ends of the spectrum--cruel and ruthluss, grace-filled and forgiving. You get to experience both in "Unbroken".

I am always amazed, when I read true life stories, how ignorant I am of historical events. I am also amazed at how evil human beings can be.

"Unbroken" started kind of slow for me, but a few chapters in I became intrigued and involved with the story of Louis Zamporini and his experiences as a POW interred in a Japanese camp. I'm intrigued by several things. One, it is so difficult for me to comprehend how people derive pleasure from hurting and demoralizing other people. In so many ways, my brain just cannot grasp this. What sort of sickness drives a person to demand that person eat excretement, or beat a person for really no reason at all.

In fiction from the old days, people were sometimes referred to as souls. I like that. It implies to me, that you see not just a person's body, but their heart, their person. It says, you are a person, you are worthwhile, you are so much more than just a race, or a body. You're real, you have value. I don't know that we see each other like that anymore, and Rudy's experience, as well as the other POW experiences, attest to the fact that they are really, even less than invisible to their captors. In some way, their captors see them as deserving of mistreatment. Truly, I find this so hard to fathom.

And then the "souls", the people whom they are abusing, they have a quality that is also difficult to comprehend. They survive. They have hope. They remain human. Would I be able to hold on to these qualities in similar situations, or would I give in to hopelessness and despair? Would I give up?

Louis's story has a happy ending. He survives. He has angry and bitter years, but, through God's grace, he forgives, he is absolved of the demons of anger, and lives his life. Just that simple statement should be enough to astound us. He's a testament to God's power to change lives. His story humbles me in my small struggles to live a life of grace.

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Your Heart: The Well-Spring of Life.

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reading is such a great escape from life. While waiting for a book on hold from the library I reread this book by Charles Martin. I really need to try some of his other works as I really love this book.

When Crickets Cry could be categorized as Christian fiction, but, for the most part I think the story would appeal to all. A gifted heart surgeon has run away from his practice due to a tragedy in his life. He runs into an endearing little girl, Annie, who is in need of a new heart. Through a series of circumstances his personal tragedy and her story begin to overlap. It seems only he can heal her heart, and only she can heal his. I liked how the author blended the scientific knowledge of the heart, with the emotional aspect of the heart. I remember I had tears at the end of the story the first time I read it. It fit the bill for this Sunday afternoon.

One of my favorite things in this story is how the main character, Reese, throws in quotes throughout his conversations with Annie. One such quote by Augustine:

"You stir man to take pleasure in praising You because You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You."

I had to look up this quote: "What the hand dare sieze the fire, and what should and what art, could twist the sinews of the heart? And when thy hart began to beat, what dread hand, and what dread feet? When the starts threw down their spears and water'd heaven with their tears, did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lame make thee? (William Blake: The Tiger--a poem I know, but had forgotten)

An example of some of the author's prose that resonated with me:

"There's a gold mine in salvageable wood draped in kudzu, pine needles and acorns is someone is willing to peel back the vines and plane the wood. It's a slow process, and you're bound to uncover a few snakes, but maybe lie is like that--you never know when something that's been hidden is going to rise up and bite you, or glow with a golden hue."

Even though this was a re-read, it still captured my heart and imagination.

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An Engaging, but Different, Southern Novel

On Agate Hill by Lee Smith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm not entirely sure how to describe this book. I can tell you it kept me engaged all the way through. I think it may be one of the strangest books I've ever read.

We have the main character, Molly Petree who has lost everyone she loves - we follow her from her youth to adulthood. She is stubborn, angry, determined, solitary--she calls herself a ghost girl. For much of her young life she pretty much decides what she is going to do it, and then does it. Her running commentary on the other characters in the story gives us a picture of the circumstances that surround her. Molly ignores the adults who try to "gentle" her and pretty much runs wild. She likes it that way.

Then we have the mysterious Mr. Black, who seems ominous right the start and "rescues" her. Mr. Black sends her to school. The head mistress hates her and doesn't want her there, but Molly's benefactor (Mr. Black) donates enough money to keep the school going, so Molly stays. On the surface, Molly does get "tamed" but an unfortunate circumstance forces her to leave. She leaves with her friend Agnes to go teach school in the mountains where she is loved, and falls in love--something she swore she would never do.

The characters in the story are interesting. The setting (Asheville, NC) descriptions fit for the community the author describes. Southern novels just seem to have a different quality about them. Southern women and the communities they come from are always a little bit unbelievable, but the southern woman always survives. I like that about them.

This book has been on my book list for quite some time - I will be checking out more works by this author.

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Intrigued to Read More Hemingway . . .

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really liked this novel about Hemingway's first wife Hadley Richardson. This is one of those books that has me intrigued to figure out what's true and not true. Although the book is primarily about Hadley, the bigness of how Hemingway, and his counterparts lived their lives comes through loud and clear. I'm also struck again by how often gifted writers and artists seem to be such tortured souls. Does their talent eat them up inside so that they can't be separate from it. It seems like the talent becomes almost obsessive, leaving no room for balance in personal lives. If the novel is correct, Hadley certainly became totally caught up in Hemingway's life, losing her sense of self in him. It's terribly sad in many ways.

I loved that the book referenced the Nick Adams stories, which was a book club read. It always adds an extra piece of enjoyment for me when a book mentions books that I have read. I am looking forward to picking up Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast" which is his take on the Paris years for reference.

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