World War Z by Max Brooks

I then told him about the outbreak and listened as he made some joke about the hygiene habits of hillbillies. I tried to chuckle along but continued that I thought the incident might be significant. Almost reluctantly he asked me what the symptoms were. I told him everything: the bites, the fever, the boy, the arm...his face suddenly stiffened. His smile died.

He asked me to show him the infected. I went back into the meeting hall and waved the phone's camera over each of the patients. He asked me to move the camera closer to some of the wounds themselves. I did so and when I brought the screen back to my face, I saw that his video image had been cut.

"Stay where you are," he said, just a distant, removed voice now. "Take the names of all who have had contact with the infected. Restrain those already infected. If any have passed into coma, vacate the room and secure the exit."

-World War Z 

I think we can all agree that being the doctor asked to treat Patient Zero in a zombie apocalypse would have to rank pretty high in terms of bad situations to find oneself in. Of course, dealing with Patient One Hundred wouldn't be any picnic either. Or Patient One Thousand. Or Patient Oh-My-God-I've-Lost-Count-Because-There-Are-So-Many-Damned-Zombies. A zombie apocalypse, in general, just does not seem like a pleasant place to be.

So why is it so entertaining to watch and read about one? I quite enjoyed Zombieland, am a regular viewer of The Walking Dead, and now World War Z. It's no news flash that zombies are enjoying a cultural moment right now, like vampires before them, and pirates before that, &c, &c. I'm sure a sociologist could wax philosophical about how our interest in zombies reflects our fears about society at the moment--but I'm not a sociologist. I do know zombies are pretty scary, though.

World War Z is imagined as a collection of interviews conducted seven years after a zombie apocalypse. The interviews trace the spread of the contagion, the way rumors flew and people scrambled to react; the actual battles waged against Zach (as zombies are called by the military) and the struggle to survive on a daily basis; and glimpses of the slow recovery. Along the way, we meet people from around the world, from all walks of life (though it is skewed toward military personnel), giving a broad view of the conflict.

It was a pretty interesting read, although (unsurprisingly, given the title) it was a little military-heavy for my taste. I think I would have preferred a book that focused more on regular people, with fewer paragraphs describing anti-zombie weaponry. For arms buffs, I'm sure that was fun, but I tended to zone out at times when confronted with the denser military sections. 

I also would have enjoyed if Brooks had chosen to follow more individual stories throughout the duration of the war. I think it would have been interesting to see how people, as individuals, were affected by various stages of the war, rather than getting more of a societal view. Brooks does revisit a few of his characters at the end of the story, but people mostly pop up to share their perspectives on specific parts of the war and then disappear.

I know that a movie adaptation is underway, and I will be curious to see how much of the story makes it to the screen. It seems like there is potential for a pretty intense film, though I'm curious to see how any worthy zombie picture can possibly be rated PG-13. 

Up next: The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.

-Mockingjay 

I knew I was going to read Mockingjay fast. It's no surprise, really, given how quickly I read the other two books in the trilogy. But really I knew I couldn't linger over Mockingjay because it's the last part of a dystopian story, and past experience has taught that Suzanne Collins doesn't pull punches. I knew Bad Things were going to happen.

And they do, of course. Terrible, unbearable things, because that's what happens when you're at war. And Katniss Everdeen, newly whisked away to the underground bunkers of District 13, has undoubtedly found herself in the middle of one. The Hunger Games are over, and yet they continue, as Katniss realizes: it's just that now they're all players. Everyone from her sister, finding her place as a much-needed healer, to Gale, who's becoming slightly too good at planning death. From Haymitch, who Katniss can't help but reluctantly trust, to President Coin, newly introduced as the calculating leader of 13. There they all are in 13, ready to rally behind Katniss, the face of the rebellion. Their mockingjay.

It's not easy for Katniss to step up and do what the others ask of her. There's already been so much devastation, and Katniss is left reeling. Mentally disoriented, as the plastic bracelet on her wrist says. She'd rather curl up in an out-of-the-way supply closet than get made up for propaganda videos. But she can't hide away forever. Plus there's Peeta to consider.

I don't think I realized until this book just how much I liked Peeta. Poor Peeta, left behind in the Arena when Katniss was rescued by District 13. Left to the devices of President Snow. Poor, poor Peeta. Katniss can't just hide away and hope for the best when it comes to him. Their relationship has never been easy, often simply because Katniss is just not good with people, but Mockingjay complicates things even further. I found it one of the most compelling parts of the book, and, without revealing too much, I must say whichever actor ends up playing Peeta in the upcoming films certainly has his work cut out for him.

 So yes, it was a hard book, but it wrapped up the trilogy very well. I'm glad I got over my initial reservations about reading The Hunger Games, as the stories have provided me with both entertainment and the opportunity for some reflection. I'm very eager to see what will come of the films, as there is an opportunity to make some excellent ones here. Casting, of course, is crucial, especially for Katniss, who remains the best young heroine I know of in contemporary literature at the moment. I'm getting a kick out of reading speculation on the subject, and I'm hoping for good things. It would be a shame to do disservice to these books.

Up next: I've definitely been too long without a non-fiction book. Just started Ghost Hunters, by Deborah Blum, about the rise of the Spiritualism movement in the 19th century.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

If it were up to me, I would try to forget the Hunger Games entirely. Never speak of them. Pretend they were nothing but a bad dream. But the Victory Tour makes that impossible. Strategically placed almost midway between the annual Games, it is the Capitol's way of keeping the horror fresh and immediate. Not only are we in the districts forced to remember the iron grip of the Capitol's power each year, we are forced to celebrate it. And this year, I am one of the stars of the show. I will have to travel from district to district, to stand before the cheering crowds who secretly loathe me, to look down into the faces of the families whose children I have killed...

-Catching Fire

Remembering how well The Hunger Games served me on my trip over the Thanksgiving holiday, I was delighted when  Catching Fire came off the library's hold list just in time for my most recent travels. And the book lived up to my expectations perfectly--to the extent that I raced through the whole thing in just a few hours.

When we left Katniss Everdeen at the end of The Hunger Games, things were really going as well as she could have imagined. Placed in a terrible situation, Katniss outmaneuvered the Gamemakers and saved both herself and fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. She had no idea what ramifications her victory would have.

On the eve of her Victory Tour (as described above), Katniss learns that unrest has been brewing in some districts of Panem. The decidedly evil President Snow is furious with Katniss, as her act of defiance in the arena is perceived as the root cause of the recent troubles.  He threatens her in no uncertain terms: if she doesn't stay in line on the Victory Tour, she's putting her life and the lives of her family and friends at risk. It's a sobering reminder for Katniss of how, even as a victor, she will never be able to put the Games behind her.

In Catching Fire, Katniss not only grapples with how to survive in the increasingly draconian District 12; she also struggles with her relationships with Peeta and Gale and starts to understand just how necessary the rebellion she inadvertently touched off may be. There's also the Quarter Quell, about which I won't say a word. Part of the reason Suzanne Collins's writing is so engaging is that she is able to surprise the reader. There are definitely times when the reader is ahead of Katniss, of course--even after President Snow's visit, she is slow to realize just how much impact she had during the Hunger Games, for instance. Katniss is an amazing heroine, though--brave and resourceful, not to mention still quite adept with a bow and arrow. She's not always so quick to understand people, but it would be pretty boring if she could do everything. Besides, she's a teenage girl growing up in a world in which she has been left ignorant of what we would consider common knowledge (she's vaguely familiar with the concept of a jungle, for instance). I'll cut her some slack.

Catching Fire ends on a helluva cliffhanger, so I am eager to read the third book of the trilogy, Mockingjay.  I've become invested in so many of the characters--besides Peeta and Kaniss, of course, I'm intrigued to see what lies in store for the complex Haymitch, kindly Madge, and even new characters like Finnick. If Collins can keep up the same level of quality she's maintained throughout the first two books (fingers crossed!), it's bound to be quite a ride.

Up next: I've been looking all over my house for Dracula, as I recently watched the 1992 film adaptation and wanted to see just how far astray it wandered. If it's nowhere to be found, I have a book of Wallander short stories that wants reading, for sure.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Taking the kids from our districts, forcing them to kill one another while we watch — this is the Capitol's way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy. How little chance we would stand of surviving another rebellion. Whatever words they use, the real message is clear. "Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there's nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen."

To make it humiliating as well as torturous, the Capitol requires us to treat the Hunger Games as a festivity, a sporting event pitting every district against the others. The last tribute alive receives a life of ease back home, and their district will be showered with prizes, largely consisting of food. All year, the Capitol will show the winning district gifts of grain and oil and even delicacies like sugar while the rest of us battle starvation.

"It is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks," intones the mayor.

-The Hunger Games

First, a programming note: I hadn't intended to step away from this blog for so long. I gave up on the collection of mystery short stories because they proved to be too hard-boiled for my taste. The next book I picked up, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, also proved to be slow going. While batting out on the reading front, I was also working on my own NaNoWriMo project, which meant my free time was devoted to writing, not reading. All in all, not a combination that encourages posts here.

Luckily, I had The Hunger Games in tow as I traveled last week.For the first time in weeks, I had a page-turner in front of me instead of a slow slog. It was a breath of fresh air.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is set some time in the future, when the country has been divided into twelve districts (there were thirteen—see the excerpt), under the totalitarian rule of the Capitol. The exact circumstances that took North America to Panem, as it is now known, are unclear, though both natural disasters and war are mentioned. We see Panem through the eyes of Katniss Everdeen, a sixteen-year-old girl living in District 12. Katniss has seen enough poverty and despair to be wary of the government, though she is too smart to say anything aloud. In District 12, you never know who might be listening.

Katniss, an able huntress, has provided for her family since the death of her father in a mining accident some years earlier. Technically hunting is illegal, but even officials are willing to turn a blind eye to the activities of Katniss and her partner Gale in exchange for some much-needed meat. Daily living is a struggle, but Katniss is a survivor.

Then comes the annual drawing for the Hunger Games. Each district picks two representatives between the ages of 12 and 18. These 24 tributes will be brought together to the Capitol in order to fight to the death. Katniss braces herself to hear her name, but she never expected the name that is actually called: Primrose Everdeen, her younger sister.

Katniss volunteers to take her sister's place and soon she, along with fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark, are whisked away to the Capitol. What they encounter there is a strange mix of vulgar overindulgence (the rich foods, the elaborate costumes) and what soon becomes a bitter fight for survival. Along the way, Katniss tries to make sense of the people around her. Aside from Peeta, whose motivations Katniss cannot fathom, there's her drunken mentor Haymitch, the only living Hunger Games winner from District 12; her perceptive costumer, Cinna; and the many other tributes, including the sprightly Rue and the bellicose Cato.

Honestly, when I first heard about The Hunger Games, I didn't think it was for me. The "fight to the death" angle seemed much too bleak for me to get any enjoyment from it. However, I kept hearing good things, and I'm so glad I read it. Katniss is about the best heroine for an adventure story you can imagine, and Suzanne Collins keeps things going at a brisk pace. I could have easily finished the book in one day, but I didn't want to be stranded without any reading material. I just put sequel Catching Fire on hold at the library. I anticipate it's going to be a long wait, but I'm very excited to keep reading about this world.

Up next: Good question! I have a few magazines laying around. Maybe Tales of the City?