The Hunger Games
discussion
What did you think of suzanne collins writing style???
date
newest »

message 51:
by
Leah
(new)
-
rated it 5 stars
Feb 07, 2013 12:49PM

reply
|
flag

I'd never read first person/present tense before Hunger Games, so the first few pages stuck out in that regard, but by pg 5, the story had sucked me in so much I stopped noticing the style it was written in. The high concept plot is what has made it a multi-million selling trilogy/movies, but this author and the trilogy deserve to be lauded for so much more than just the fantastic concept.
After devouring the trilogy, and loving every bit of it, I studied the way Collins handles the scenes that are largely made up of Katniss alone in the forest. As a writer myself, I know how challenging that can be, but Collins made it seem effortless. Those scenes hold a reader's interest in a remarkable way in spite of being pages of exposition. That is no easy trick.
I will read anything Collins writes. I sure hope she comes out with a new book soon, but from what I can see on the 'net, she's riding the wave of money from the HG series for now.
I saw the movie prior to reading the book, which was a mistake, as there is too much detail missing to really understand what's going on.



I normally gravitate to books written in third-person, past tense, so it took a few pages for my head to adjust. After that I didn't notice person/tense, I was far too caught up in the story.
The negative opinions of Collins' frontloaded and active writing style always surprise me. Writing in a clean, frontloaded style is much, much harder than it looks. It's all about the flow of the sentences, and succinct conveyance of information and action.
I've just finished a second read of the trilogy, and found it every bit as fascinating as the first time. I had trouble putting the books down even though I knew what was going to happen.
On the first reading of the trilogy, the third book didn't appeal as much to me as the first two. But, surprisingly, this second reading has caused me to enjoy and appreciate the third book a great deal more--the story and the writing craft.
All I can say is, I wish Collins had a larger oeuvre of work, because I'd read every book. I will certainly read anything she produces in the future.

I also fell in love with the use of present tense. First book I've ever read using that. There are some books that use present tense but just don't get it right. Suzanne Collins nailed it ^-^
all discussions on this book
|
post a new topic