Reviews with content warning for Cannibalism - Das Lied von Vogel und Schlange

Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

Das Lied von Vogel und Schlange by Suzanne Collins

530 reviews

thebaconbaron's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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okaychanly's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I understand why Suzanne Collins chose to write a prequel, as President Snow in the original THG trilogy was an intriguing, complex villain. There were some parts that I had to push through, and then suddenly in the third act, things felt really rushed. And when you’re reading from the mind of young Coriolanus Snow, it’s obvious that this is a guy you should not root for, no matter how hard post-war life has treated him. Moreover, the way he lays “claim” to Lucy Grey and tries to take control of everything and everyone around him is disgusting to watch. That being said, this book still compelled me (watching Snow’s descent into madness) and I wanted to know how things would turn out, plus it had a good amount of Easter eggs and info alluding to the main series.

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chavonnwshen's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What a haunting book!

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christygsp's review against another edition

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3.5

I liked this better than The Hunger Games. There was less kids killing kids focus, and more preparation and strategy into what even made the games come about and how it would be reflected eventually when the timing of HG happens. Yes, we still had the games, yes kids still killed each other, but it wasn’t first person POV, and the distance was good for me in this.
I normally don’t care about having a “sympathetic” origin villain story (let villains just be bad can we?) but this one was really quite good. It had enough sociopathic insights for us to not really connect to Snow as a good guy who just turned on the system, but someone who really had it inside him all along. He was selfish and leaned towards more brutal mindsets before the events of the book, so it wasn’t a huge shock when he all of a sudden becomes the bad guy of HG that we know.
Too much cannibalism mentioned for me in the first half, and some of the death explanations were pretty intense but not too bad overall.

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kathi_90's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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mmefish's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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onefineelephant's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

9/10. I really enjoyed this book. Coriolanus is a very complicated character and an unreliable narrator which makes him so intriguing. However, I was worried that he was going to come across as the hero of this story (considering how awful he is from the original trilogy) but thankfully his paranoia and selfishness permeate every page. Essentially, he is the main character but he is still a villain or at the very least problematic. It is fascinating seeing things from his point of view and even understanding his actions while also recognizing that he could have acted more humane. Coriolanus is more humanized because of this book since we get to see his hardships and emotions, but his putrid personality still affects everything he touches. Additionally, I love the Covey and addition of songs with their meaningful lyrics embedded in the story. It helped that I could listen to the movie's soundtrack, though, to actually grasp the songs' tunes. I knew how this book would go because I saw the movie first but I enjoyed the book so much more because I could actually understand his motivations and thought processes. Suzanne Collins does a great job of portraying him while also writing him in a way that clearly does not excuse his behavior. As always, I am in love with her writing and will always praise her work.

SPOILERS:

As I said, I watched the movie before reading the book so I knew the events of the book. While watching the movie, I wondered if Coriolanus actually loved Lucy Gray like he said or if he felt attracted to her but was manipulating her for his own benefit. I guess both could be true, but the book makes it clear that he does actually love her even though his own paranoia, selfishness, and manipulation spoil even the most pure thing in his life. The concepts of trust and love come up in this book quite a lot, especially at the end, and I think it is fascinating to examine what those concepts look and feel like. Coriolanus claims to love and trust Lucy Gray (even to himself) but ultimately proves that while he may love her, he is incapable of truly trusting anyone. I think the only person Coriolanus ever truly trusted was Tigris and we know that he ended up having a falling-out with her later in life. Considering his actions throughout the book (causing Sejanus's death, murdering people, becoming a Peacekeeper/cop, horrendously improving the Hunger Games, turning on Lucy Gray), I take deep satisfaction that he grows up to be miserable and alone. Snow may land on top, but tyrants always fall eventually.

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