Mockingjay

[Ana]

I have not read the books, only watched the movies. I watched Mockingjay last weekend. It was different than what I expected, though at this point I no longer remember what that was eheh. I found it interesting but I am interested in knowing your opinions, especially if you have read the book. Do you find the movie faithful to it?

[Sarah]

OK So I have read these and watched the movies, Though yet to watch the first final part.

It is safe to say that they will not be ones I will be reading again, I think it is possible I have grown tired of the whole dystopia genre. Plus there is the whole Battle Royale argument going on, which whilst I think the general premise came from there that Mockingjay nicely adapted to become PG rated.

I believe they are pretty true to the book and though I cannot say for sure but I think they books seem written solely for the purpose to be made into a movie, They had all the bits of flair and fantasy that look good and the teenage romantic angst, that seems to be popular at the moment.
Regards to the final book I found it annoying and disjointed and was simply reading to find out what happened.

[Ana]

I can completely relate to you saying you are tired of the dystopian genre. I enjoy it a lot but it's like everything has been said and done. I think that the fact that most books are directed at young audiences contributed to me getting fed up with it. I crave for a good, original dystopia, directed at older audiences. Feel free to recommend me one if you know of any!

[Melaslithos]

Well, there's Cat Country, but it's quite special.

It's a satire of late Qing Dynasty in China. I found it very interesting, but maybe also because it really speaks to me. I don't know how people with not much knowledge of Chinese history will react to it.

It's also I think the first Chinese science-fiction book. Or anyway, the only science-fiction book Lao She wrote.

[Sarah]

Melaslithos wrote: "Well, there's Cat Country, but it's quite special.

It's a satire of late Qin Dynasty in China. I found it very interesting, but maybe also because it really speaks to me. I don't k..."

Darn you Melaslithos for making me add to my TBR pile, but in all seriousness, It looks good and devoid of teenage angst which in my eyes is a welcome relief.

[Ana]

Thank you for the recommendation, Melas! I don't know anything about China's history but by reading the synopsis I think I could still enjoy it.

[Melaslithos]

I have been planning on writting a review on this book for ages, but there is so much to say that I just don't know how to start.

Anyway, this review is rather good:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

So as I said, I don't know if people who don't know a thing about China and especially that period will interpret and like it, but who am I to deter you from reading a book?

But I have to warn you, it's much more satire than science-fiction or dystopia, so it might get a bit boring or hard to get for people who don't have the right cultural references.

[Ana]

You're right, it's a very well written review. Shame, I was looking forwar to reading about cats getting high and the other things eheh

[Melaslithos]

You can always try, just don't expect too much of it.

[Ana]

Eheh I think I will pass; it is still on my to-buy list but I probably will never get to it, considering the crazy amount of books I have pending.

[Kandice]

I have now seen Mockingjay the move twice. I read The Hunger Games as an ARC and thought from my very first read that it would have been a much more effective book if Peeta and Katniss had eaten the berries and ended the book that way. I think the publisher told Collins they could sell a series and she rewrote. Having said that, I still read the series and have seen each of the movies at the midnight premiers with my children.

I loved the first movie installment of Mockingjay. I have always felt HG was the strongest of the three novels, with Mockingjay being the weakest, but the movie was better. They added more politics and made the manipulations on both sides more apparent. This is aimed at a YA audience, so I found that an improvement.

[Ana]

That's true, the polics manipulation aspect was quite interesting. But at the same time it put me off a bit, I am not sure what I had expected but so much politics was definitely not it, considering the previous 2 movies. But I guess the book portrays that as well so it makes sense.

[Maggie the Muskoka Library Mouse]

I really had to force myself to get through the book. I found it drowned in all of the political stuff. The movie was very well done, and I much preferred it to the novel. It's very rare I will say that!

[Ana]

Wow that is quite rare. I am not sure I have ever enjoyed a movie more than the book.