I read Catching Fire the other day

[conuly]

In fact, I suspect it was part of why I had that creepy nightmare. The nightmare had nothing to do with the book, but I still think they were connected.

So now I've read 2/3 of the trilogy, and the third doesn't come out until August. (Unless of course the Strand gets it sooner. This could become quite a dangerous addiction now that I know how to get there.)

And now that I'm done, there are a few questions I, personally, would like to see answered.

1. What is like REALLY life in the capital? Oh, don't tell me "feasts and vomitoriums", we got that. But that's the life of the ultra-elite. How do the people live who become runaways? Or peacekeepers, for that matter? Even their elite are in a constant power blackout and the silliest of them has the self-preservation and sense to stay far, far away from forbidden topics. Why are even they scared? (And how many of the people running to show Katniss their mockingjay jewelry really were trying to say "We're on your side" as opposed to being self-centered twits?)

2. How does their government work, anyway? Yes, we know, it's a tyranny. Duh. But is it an elected tyranny (albeit by a limited number of the population), or an inherited one, or an appointed one...?

3. How evil *is* the president? He made a good line about wanting to keep people alive. What are his overriding concerns? Surely he's not motivated strictly by the lulz. Is it pure power? Or does he really think he's doing the best for the REAL people (the ones in the capital)? Or what? (I don't like purely evil villains. I think it's lazy.)

4. Isn't it awesome that I have the newest Elephant and Piggie book in my hands right now? I Am Going! is better than Pigs Make Me Sneeze!, but not yet as funny as There Is A Bird On Your Head! Yes, this was a tangent, but - Elephant and Piggie!

5. What made District 12 different from the others? At first, Kat thought that the other districts were stricter than hers, but it takes very little time to see that hers had been very laxly run for... years. And yet, comments from her mother indicate that this wasn't always the case. Why did they have a bumper crop of friendly, casually corrupt (in the good way) peacekeepers?

6. Is Haymitch actually as clever as all that? At first, Kat and Peeta reasoned out that he outthought his way to winning. But when we see his film, he did nothing of the sort - he didn't outthink the other players, he ignored them. He tried to outthink the Games, and that dogged perseverance paid off in the end, but only through a fluke. Though that was a nifty bit of foreshadowing....

7. Okay, so President Snow clearly set up the help in Kat's room just to fuck with her and he possibly tampered with the games for the same reason. And he had Cinna beaten and arrested/killed in front of her again, for the same reason. (Although he could just as easily have simply *known* what was coming and decided not to outright kill off her friends and family when waiting would do the job for him.) But why? As far as he knows, she'll be dead before she can do anything. Seriously, why bother?

8. On that same note, Kat also figures she'll be dead before she can blink. She was (mostly needlessly) worried about the other players - she's lucky the prez didn't "trigger an avalanche" and kill her through "uh... bad luck!". And she for sure doesn't know about any organized resistance movement. So while I applaud her efforts to find out more about where any form of rebellion is going on, it seems like a wasted effort. She didn't have any plans for that information, did she? What was she going to do, just sit and stew on it?

9. The government's reaction to the rebellions seems to be a classic case of cutting off your nose to spite your face. So you bomb the factory and kill off all the rebels. You also leave your peacekeepers shivering naked in the cold until you rebuild and get new staff. Stupid! Of course, the whole book is predicated upon the government being stupid. Crushing rebellion by murdering 23 children every year and leaving most of the country in a state of poverty, despair, and oppression may work; but it's easier and less risky to crush rebellion by not giving people something to rebel against. It's not like they don't have the means to make the whole country well-fed and warm... and really, even if the laws are otherwise as oppressive as ever, people will put up with a heck of a lot if their bellies are full. That's called bread and circuses. Instead, they messed up the circuses and forgot the crucial bread. Stupid! STUPID!

Ugh, if/when I have the chance to become a tyrannic despot, remind me of my good advice, would you? Thanks.

10. So, why does Gerald put on a beret to eat a picnic lunch? The bib I understand, but the beret? (Sorry, 'nother tangent there.)

11. Are there any other nations in this world?

12. What, exactly, happened prior to this book to destroy the US and Canada?

13. What sort of education are they getting in the districts, and why? I mean, do those kids really need to go to school that long when most of them are going to get menial jobs anyway and they'll all be oppressed?

Comments

[queenlyzard.livejournal.com]

Interesting questions! So, did you like the book or not?

[conuly]

I like most books I read, which is why I'll read very nearly anything. It's actually a little surprising when I don't like books, and then if I even finish them I'll say so directly as in "THIS BOOK SUCKED!"