Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Today I finished the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy.  The best word I can use to describe it is 'horrifying'.  This one, for me, was real in a way the other two never were.  Constant battle. Dead bodies. Nightmares. Pain. Torture. The beautiful turned enemy, the good hijacked to the purposes of the Enemy until no one knows what is real and what is not real.  For me it was like reading a nightmare - everything seemed to make sense, and then suddenly it didn't, nothing made sense, and you hoped with the rest of the players in the book that you and they would wake up to everything restored and a happy ending at last.  Except...no ending could be 'happy' when there is so much that has been lost.

This book more than any of the others says, the Hunger Games are not games. They are evil, ruthless, devised by those who have lost their humanity and wish only for a revenge that never satisfies, and then turn that into entertainment for all to celebrate, in a macabre way.  It was twice as horrifying when you look back into history and realise that much of her 'fiction' was drawn from the brutal games of the capitol that was Rome.  'Panem et Circenses' - "Bread and Circuses".  "In return for full bellies and entertainment, his people had given up their political responsibilities and therefore their power", says a Head Gamemaker in the book. And Katniss herself identifies the greatest danger when she comes to after a fierce battle and asks, "Was there fighting after I was shot?"  Her friend answers, "Not much. The workers...turned on the Capitol soldiers. The rebels just sat by and watched. Actually, the whole country just sat by and watched."  "Well," says Katniss, "that's what they do best." 

I think this is where the nightmare began to feel very, very real.  For the most part, we as a society find it far easier just to sit by and watch.  Complain about the current politics or politicians or potential leaders, and rally support on Facebook or Twitter...but don't bother to vote, because it won't make a difference anyway.  Gather round a screen for Britain's Got Talent or American Idol or Big Brother and get caught up in the lives of people you don't even know or understand.  Seek our own, and be content on full bellies and entertainment. 

Yes, I'd recommend the book, and the series - but it's not just a good read that you put down and then sigh and smile and go on with your life, glad that you have food and a warm home and your family nearby.  At least, I hope that's not what it is.  I hope it's hard, and a bit shocking, and brutally horrible. Spellbinding, yes, but not an easy read.  Nothing this heartbreaking and nightmarish should be.