It's been a while since I blogged about a book. It's been a while since we've heard from Suzanne Collins. It was worth the wait. In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, she goes back to the very early days of the Hunger Games- the tenth to be exact- during a time of postwar reconstruction for the Capitol. The protagonist is none other than Coriolanus Snow, who is now a student on the verge of graduating and attending university. He hopes he will receive a scholarship for his excellent grades and reputation. The family's status since the outbreak of the war has been tenuous. Losing his parents and their income had left Snow and his cousin Tigris penniless, with only the opulent penthouse left to disguise the losses. Living with their grandmother whose grasp on reality is faltering, all hopes have been pinned on Snow's future to save the family name. That's where the Games come in. The Capitol believes they will not last much longer if they cannot figure out a way to make them more interesting and less dreary. The students have been brought in to mentor the tributes, and Snow believes that winning is his chance to secure the scholarship he needs. Unfortunately, he is assigned a tribute from district 12, the girl no less, whose only talent seems to be singing. But his relationship with Lucy Gray will forever change the course of his life. Obviously, I don't want to spoil anything for HG fans, so I will just leave it there.
What makes this novel a standout is twofold: the complicated nature of Snow as a protagonist and the deeply philosophical analysis of war that he and the gamemakers continue throughout the story. It's rooted in the works of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau and reminded me of another classic science fiction story, Ender's Game. Don't pass this up as an attempt to make a little more money off of the trilogy- it's bound to bring in new fans and will give old ones a new look a the controversial issues the novel was criticized for. It's a daring and well done addition to the series.
