Kelly's review
Battle Royale
by Koushun Takami
Kelly's review
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
Kelly's review
rating:
The premise to Battle Royale is irresistible: a futuristic Japanese government holds an annual “Program” in which a selected junior high class is taken to an island and the kids must kill each other off until there’s a winner. Each of this year’s 42 students is given a backpack with food, water, and a random weapon (guns for some, a fork for another). And suddenly you can’t *really* trust anyone, not even your closest friends.
The book is wildly entertaining, not only in its intricate plot but the way it manages to make each student distinct. Some of them Takami focuses on for us to get attached to, and still not know what the fate of the characters may be from page to page. It’s the type of book that could have been predictable, yet never was, at least for me. The only negative factor was the frequent hokey dialogue (e.g., “You’re the most stylin’ girl I’ve ever known!”), which could have been due to translation, but at least it gave some comic relief.
The book is wildly entertaining, not only in its intricate plot but the way it manages to make each student distinct. Some of them Takami focuses on for us to get attached to, and still not know what the fate of the characters may be from page to page. It’s the type of book that could have been predictable, yet never was, at least for me. The only negative factor was the frequent hokey dialogue (e.g., “You’re the most stylin’ girl I’ve ever known!”), which could have been due to translation, but at least it gave some comic relief.
