Collins, Suzanne: Mockingjay

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Mockingjay, the final book in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy, closes the series with a shrug. In a sense, a lot happens in the book: a civilization is overthrown, good people die, bad people die, the romantic triangle of Katniss-Peeta-Gale is finally unraveled. Still, while reading it it feels like nothing much ever happens. Katniss--who, admittedly, has been through a lot (but who in this society hasn't?)--mopes around and spends most of her time being sick or injured or overwhelmed. She takes up the mantle of "Mockingjay," the figurehead of the rebellion, only reluctantly. The war that she has helped foment never feels real: the dramatic action takes place largely off-stage, and it plays out like a video game, with exploding pods and other special effects. Despite the death count, it never feels like anything important is at stake. When Katniss is allowed to become involved in the action, which is rarely, it's as the star of a photo op: yes, she fights against the restrictions imposed on her and finds a way to get her hands bloodied, but still, the nature of her involvement makes it seem less than heroic. There is, in short, never very much tension in the book--and that includes romantic tension. I would probably have enjoyed this one more if my memory of what happened in the first two books (see my reviews: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire) were fresher. As it is, there were people and events referred to that I had no recollection of. This surely added to my general lack of investment in the characters this time around.

Although its conclusion offers hope, Mockingjay is not the most uplifting of reads. One dystopia is nearly replaced with another, and humans are shown to be an inherently defective species. The ending makes sense: it reminds me of the final scene of the Holocaust television miniseries, in which children playing soccer signified (or so I remember the scene, thirty years later) the potential for a better future. And the last few lines of the last chapter of Mockingjay are simply perfect.

Comments

[Brooke]

1.

My friend really liked this book and I'm hoping that she could lend me the book because she can't stop talking about it. Since she's a tearjerker, she said The Mockingjay just drove her to tears.