The Hunger Games Trilogy

I finished Mockingjay last night. The three books are actually a single book printed in three volumes. I suppose a 900+ page novel would appear too intimidating for the young adult readership -- unless it was the last book of the Harry Potter series. Any way, if there is anyone left who hasn't read the books I highly recommend consuming them successively for the full effect of the story arc.

My reaction on completing the series was "Wow!" I was also disgusted by the commercial success of the poorly written Twilight novels when compared with The Hunger Games trilogy.

Near the conclusion of Mockingjay, Collins sums up her theme:

...something is significantly wrong with a creature that sacrifices its children's lives to settle its differences.

We're fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction.

Some folks will point to the child warriors of Africa, but I'm not so sure the western nations can be left off the hook. Eighteen is hardly mature -- with a prefrontal lobe that is not fully developed. As for poor memories and and a gift for self-destruction -- the history of our species speaks for itself.

Collins says her inspiration for the books rose from scenes of the war in Iraq and the popularity of "reality" shows. The final scenes of Mockingjay involve street fighting that comes right out of the nightly news feeds from the Middle East. Her descriptions reminded me of newsreel coverage showing American GIs fighting their way into Italian villages. Panem, the remnants of the United States after a vague disaster, hints at 1984, Brave New World, or North Korea. It is is a centralized totalitarian government that controls its citizenry by keeping it underfed and overworked. The techniques for maintaining an ancient empire still work today. Or tomorrow?

Instead of the passive Bella of the Twilight series, Collins' Katniss takes action at a young age to care for her mother and sister after the death of her father. She volunteers to represent her district in the Hunger Games in place of her little sister. Katniss has no taste for the acts she must commit to survive the Games. As the Mockingjay figurehead for the rebellion against The Capitol, Katniss is aware that she is once again being used. She does not relish placing others in danger, deeply feels the loss of friends and fellow rebels, experiences PTSD, and suffers from survivor's guilt. 

I did balk at the "love triangle" of Katniss, Gale, and Peeta. I feared it would be similar to that of the Twilight series with vacuous Bella mooning over controlling Edward. Katniss, in contrast, wasn't pining for anyone. She cared deeply for both youths, but was too busy surviving to waste much time examining potential romantic relationships. Each youth represented an aspect of Katniss:  do whatever is necessary to survive versus maintaining her humanity against all odds. Who would she be by the final pages of the third book?

For the parents concerned about the violence contained in The Hunger Games, be forewarned. Mockingjay is worse. Parents would benefit by reading the books to evaluate their own thoughts about the theme. Collins is making a point, not tossing in action to enliven a dull moment.

The Hunger Games trilogy and Harry Potter series both deal with young people finding their inner strength when faced with extraordinary circumstances in imaginative settings. Maybe not great literature, but done well enough to absorb readers and initiate discussion.

Book Club: "The Speed of Dark"

Our March book was Elizabeth Moon's The Speed of Dark. I'm a fan of Moon's so I looked forward to reading the novel. The Speed of Dark is different from Moon's usual stories but obviously one close to her heart. It centers on Lou Arrendale and his coworkers at a pharmaceutical company -- all of them autistic with a particular skill at pattern recognition. Moon is the mother of an autistic son and as such she provided an unique perspective to the topic.

Set in the near future, the "fictional science" involves the genetic and nanotechnology reversal of autism. Lou and his coworkers were born before the "cure" was available; however, the company that employs them has developed a process that shows promise to correct the condition in adults.

Lou's direct supervisor, Pete Aldrin, is protective of the group but their manager, Gene Crenshaw, resents the "special accommodations" made for Lou and the others. Crenshaw is intent on a speedy climb up the corporate ladder and hopes to make an impression by replacing the autists with a computer program and thereby eliminating the expenses associated with the unit To accomplish his ends, Crenshaw "encourages" Lou and the others to undergo the company's new procedure -- or lose their jobs. Aldrin is upset when he learns of the threat and at first feels helpless, since Crenshaw is his boss, too. However, Aldrin cautiously researches the ramifications of dismissing the unit and learns the company would not only lose the unique skills of the work group, but also federal funding -- not to mention the public relations nightmare it would create.

While Aldrin works behind the scenes on behalf of Lou and his coworkers, the reader follows Lou's daily experiences. He lives alone in an apartment, drives his own car to and from work, and leads a very structured lifestyle. Viewers of Monk will recognize Lou's insistence on order and a strict schedule. Lou shops for groceries on Tuesday, participates in the sport of fencing on Wednesday, does laundry on Friday, goes to the Community Center on Saturday, and attends church on Sunday. He works hard on his interactions with "Normals" as he negotiates his private life.

The majority of the book is written in first person from Lou's POV. This exposes the reader to the thought processes of a high-functioning autist. In his thoughts and speech, Lou does not use contractions which tends to slow the flow of words for the reader. This is an excellent device on Moon's part to infer Lou's mental process.

Lou is fixated on "the speed of dark." He speculates it must be faster than the speed of light, since dark has to go out ahead of light. "Dark" is the metaphor for prejudice, ignorance, the unknown -- everything we associate with it. Lou discusses his quandary about the speed of dark with his fellow autists as well as his fencing friends ("normals"). Crenshaw and one of the fencers represent the prejudice and ignorance associated with darkness. The experimental process that offers a chance at "normalcy" is the unknown.

All of us enjoyed the book. Although it got off to a slow start for some of us, we were soon hooked by our empathy for the characters. We did feel the ending of the book was rushed, and we had mixed feelings about the conclusion.

One of our members works with autistic children and her perspective was valuable to our discussion. Like the characters of the book, we talked about what is "normal" and who defines it. Lou is chastised by some of his friends for his association with "normals" as if he is betraying his fellow autists. This reminded us of the deaf community, some of whom view cochlear implants as a rejection of the deaf culture.

We also talked about what constitutes our individual personalities. One question raised in the book was, if autism was reversed by the experimental process, would the individual retain his/her personality? In the SF world created by Moon, convicted criminals were implanted with a brain chip that inhibited violent tendencies. Sounds good on paper, but we wondered just how ethical it would be in real life. We then pondered what about ourselves we would enhance or correct with a brain chip. Eliminating food cravings was a popular fix with our group.

The Speed of Dark is an excellent book for examining our assumptions about what is normal, who determines what is normal, and how do we treat those who don't quite fit the definition. It also raises the question about "correcting" what is considered outside the norm -- the ever present issue of technology versus ethics. Just because we can -- does it mean we should?

I also think the book would be a good read for young adults. Lou ponders that it isn't wrong to be different. It is sometimes hard, but not wrong. And aren't we all "different" in our own way?

Sunday Stills: Weather or Not

While other regions of the contiguous 48 are experiencing unseasonably warm weather, we in the Pacific Northwest are welcoming Spring with snow. Go figure.

Puppy and me.

To see how others are weathering the first days of Spring, visit Sunday Stills.

Sunday Stills: A Small Part of a Whole

This week participants were instructed to take two photos, one of the "big picture" and the second a part of the whole. I went to this city park with a subject in mind, but ended up with two surprise subjects instead.

Roundabout near park entrance.

Close up of decorative grass trimmed for the winter months.

Play structures at the park.

A part of the "hole."

This was a fun assignment to think of a subject that would be interesting from two perspectives.

See how others met the challenge at Sunday Stills.

NW Author Series: Bill Johnson

A Story is a Promise:  The Essential Elements of Storytelling

Bill Johnson is the office manager and über volunteer for Willamette Writers. He is also a writer, story analyst, and teacher. I've attended Bill's workshops at Willamette Writers annual conference and read his 2000 book on writing, A Story is a Promise: Good Thinks to Know Before You Write that Screenplay, Novel, or Play. So I was looking forward to his presentation for this season's NW Author Series.

It was a lightbulb moment for me. As with riding, the trainer or teacher can repeat an instruction over and over, but until you're ready to grasp and apply it, the information just doesn't sink in. Yesterday, Bill's message (at least the main gist of it) finally sank in for me.

Within the first paragraph of your book and no later than the first page, you must inform the reader what the story is about. The author then fulfills the promise to the reader by telling that story.

Yeah, I know. Duh.

Bill drew a simple illustration to distinguish Story Line from Plot. The Story Line is a straight horizontal line from the beginning to the end of the story. On the left (beginning) is the underlying issue for the main character, on the right is the resolution of that issue. Arcing above the Story Line is the Plot. The Plot Line contains the obstacles the main character must overcome on the way to the story climax and conclusion. For example, the Story Line for the Harry Potter books is Harry's underlying desire to fit in. That is the story that J.K. Rowling promises to tell the reader. The Plot includes Harry's friends and enemies who help and hinder him on the way to his goal.

Bill called it the Dramatic Truth of the main character. The reader can relate the fictional character's underlying need to his or her own real life desires. Whether it is fitting in (Harry Potter), getting unstuck from a past experience (The Kite Runner), overcoming grief (The Lovely Bones), seeking redemption for a father (Star Wars), or desiring a second chance (The Sixth Sense) -- the reader/viewer can identify with these very human desires.

Once the Story Line is established, the role of each secondary and minor character serves to aid or derail the main character's journey. The plot raises the stakes with each obstacle the main character must overcome. Narrative tension is created when the reader internalizes the character's struggles. The reader/viewer experiences a deeper level of feeling with each rising level of obstacle and invests in the outcome of the story.

When introducing the Story Line the author can be blunt (Once upon a time....), but for best results the opening paragraph should raise a question. The reader is intrigued. Just how will the Boy Wizard go about fitting in? By opening with Question ➝ Answer ➝ Question the reader is sucked in. By continuing this format with each chapter the reader remains with the story to the conclusion.

Bill's new book, A Story is a Promise: The Spirit of Storytelling, is a revision of his previous book that adds a section on Deep Characterization. During the workshop Bill helped attendees practice deep character analysis through meditation. We closed our eyes and visualized our main character sitting with us in a room and let that character tell us his or her underlying desire. (Aha! Penarddyn wants freedom from fear! That's the Story Line for Galactic Empress).

Bill suggested that Story resonates with us because it is a release. Stories embody our own conflicting emotions as depicted by the characters. When the story resonates with the reader the final resolution can provide relief. We intrinsically seem to know when the Story Line is missing, even if we don't consciously know why we stopped reading the book or can't recommend a movie.

As a story analyst and editor, Bill sees so many novels that take pages and pages to get to the real story. The author provides detail about the appearance and back story of the characters, the location, etc., but arrives at the Story Line late (or not at all). As Bill says, "The quicker the storyteller communicates the role of characters and a story's events in fulfilling a story's promise, the more quickly an audience will desire to enter a story's world to experience its promise played out to resolution and fulfillment."

Sunday Stills: Textures and Trees

ARGH! I'm catching up with last week's challenge and posting for this week.

Here are my photos of "Texture." This first one is a small section from a fountain that sends water gently cascading downhill and provides a great place for children to splash.

Last week I liked the rough bark of Douglas firs at the same park as the above fountain,  but I didn't have my camera at the time and then we had a wet spell. Today I captured the bark during a break in the rain.

Which transitions to this week's challenge:  "Trees"

The photo above is one of the fir trees at the park.

And here is mud-crusty Phantom in his equally crusty "onesie" turnout sheet with Douglas fir trees in the background.

Visit Sunday Stills to see more winter trees.

Book Club: "The Art of Racing in the Rain"

For our February meeting we discussed Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain. I had no idea what the book was about, but having seen the book cover I assumed it referred to a dog racing across the park during a rainy day. I was glad to learn I wasn't the only one with this misconception.

We all loved the story told from the viewpoint of Enzo, the dog. In the novel Enzo relates the story of his family:  Denny (an aspiring race car driver), Eve (Denny's wife whose parents believe she married beneath her), and Zoe (their daughter). The story is framed by Enzo's end of life remembrances. The title refers to Denny's special skill at driving on a wet track.

Denny, like many of us with dreams, keeps putting his fledgling auto racing career on the back burner when the demands of "real life" interfere. Enzo, with the heightened senses of a dog, knows trouble is ahead for the loving trio. Eve is sick and, despite Enzo's best efforts to alert everyone to how serious her condition is, she dies much too young of cancer.

Denny is devastated, but he has Zoe to raise with Enzo's help. However, Eve's parents begin a campaign to gain custody of Zoe. They have financial advantages that Denny lacks and when he declines their offer the fight gets nasty. Through it all, Enzo is a steadfast supporter of Denny.

The POV narration by Enzo makes the book. Any other character would have made for a dreary accounting of family tragedy and discord. But a dog's honest assessment of events makes the story special.

We gave the author credit for presenting the information the reader needed for the story despite the limited perspective of Enzo. Denny started leaving the television on to entertain Enzo when he was left home alone. In narrating the story Enzo uses the knowledge he accumulated from his TV viewing. He learned to read from watching Sesame Street, and a documentary about the Himalayas convinced him that his next incarnation would be as a man. Enzo's knowledge of the justice system was derived from episodes of crime and legal shows.

Throughout the story, Enzo shares Denny's observations about race car driving -- which of course are metaphors for life. A little heavy handed at times, to my thinking. "That which you manifest is before you" was repeated a couple of times. As Denny explains it, we are the creators of our own destiny. In driving terms, rather than wait for the car to skid during a turn, initiate and control the skid. In an earlier post I discussed what I saw as a correlation between driving a race car and riding a horse over a jump course.

Most of us found the ending a bit contrived. And we wondered about the plausibility of a significant scene that later thwarted Denny during the custody battle for Zoe.

But Enzo was the star of the story and we enjoyed his canine observations. He referred to Eve's parents (Maxwell and Trish) as the Twins -- country club types who dressed alike in polo shirts and khakis. Enzo is convinced that dew claws are the precursors to thumbs and their removal is a human conspiracy to prevent the evolution of dogs into men. His list of favorite actors (in numerical order) and TV education were charming and amusing. Enzo, unlike humans who worry too much about the future in his view, lives in the moment and loyally defends Denny despite his human imperfections.

Believe me, those of us with dogs began looking at them differently while reading the book. Denny's story with its heavy serving of metaphors for life is a typical angst-ridden family drama. It's the POV that sets it apart.

My favorite message from the novel was Denny's statement:  "It's never too late. Things change." Denny's character shows remarkable patience and restraint that pay off in the end, but getting there required the help of friends and Enzo's loyalty. Although the novel lacks the whiz bang action preferred by younger readers (except for a few race scenes) -- I believe it would be a good read for children who feel hopeless and alienated. They are so young they lack the perspective that, given time, things can and do change.
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Our book club is trying a new approach to our reading selections. We have planned them in advance for the next twelve months! Each member suggested titles that we compiled into a list. After our book discussion we went around the table to describe the books and explain why we recommended them. We then voted using the "dot system" (we each got 12 sticky dots to paste on the printed list of books) and arranged the reads with the most votes for the coming months. It looks like we have just about every genre covered, including our first fantasy read for the group.

In March we will be discussing Elizabeth Moon's The Speed of Dark. This is a stand alone novel by Moon who has written several sf/f series.