Scan barcode
A review by leweylibrary
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I've noticed some friends who have read this didn't rate it super high and I simply cannot understand why because I enjoyed the heck out of it.
President Snow is such a great villain, and I love peeking behind the curtain of such a figure to see what made them the way that they are. Snow is a great morally gray main character, and I love that you get to see these snippets of who he'll become, like how much he hates everything about the mockingjays or the origin of his rose aroma. His having a romance just further adds to the oddness of his character--I know he has a family obviously, but it's hard to picture him loving anyone knowing what he becomes. It's like there's a kernel of good in him somewhere, it just gets overwhelmed and overruled by so many other not so great factors. There's still some questions I have about him that remain unanswered, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.
I could probably go on for a lot longer about everything that's interesting about him and his character, like his friendships and his cousin and grandmother, his intelligence, his pride, his secrets, but I want to say more about the other things I loved about this book. We finally got to see a bit more about what this big war that started it all was like for the people living through it, especially somewhere like the Capitol that's it's hard to imagine anyone suffering too much based on the portrayal of this place in the other books.
It's also incredibly interesting to see the evolution of the Games. Katniss' Games are 74 and 75. That's 64+ years after Snow's time as a mentor. It's wild that in that time, a lot of it because of Snow's ideas and influence, the Games becomes a glittering spectacle that is still just as brutal and violent and horrifying but with this sheen of drama that makes it feel more acceptable and fun. It's also fascinating how Snow learns the importance of caring for and humanizing the tributes so that people can then ultimately dehumanize them for the Games. It's a delicate balance and clearly one that Snow will find to quite some success for many, many years. But the irony is that he goes too far, the tributes are too well humanized in Catching Fire and Mockingjay, ultimately leading to his downfall. I also thought it was great getting to see more of the mentor's perspectives, even if these Games are very different from the ones Katniss endured.
This book lends itself to such an interesting rumination on war, peace, control, social contracts, government, memory, law, and order as well as what it really means to be human. ARE humans horrible at their core, or is everyone essentially good, it's just circumstance that turns them bad? Is everyone equally capable of both?
Lastly, how freaking great is Lucy Grey?? I love so much how her songs are ones Katniss sings, clearly showing that she was not gone and forgotten like Snow may have hoped in the end. How absolutely delicious is it to think about Snow hearing Katniss, a resourceful and loving girl from District 12, singing those songs in the Games and in the propos, all with a freaking Mockingjay pin as her symbol?? Gah no wonder he hated Katniss so much 😂
All of this to say that I seriously do not understand anyone who rates this lower than 4 stars minimum. Were we even reading the same book??
Added after re-read:
With the movie set to come out in less than a week, I started my reread of this book and was really excited to delve back into this book and look at it in a whole new light. While I started the book before the movie came out, I finished it after having seen the movie which definitely impacted my reread in a lot of really interesting ways. I felt like the Coriolanus of the movie was much too sympathetic of a character, and my fiance and I ruminated a lot on why that could be. But we basically concluded it was that his missing inner dialogue combined with the fewer opportunities that the movie gave to see just how vile of a character he could be. That made us feel this way.
So when I was doing this reread, I really noticed so many more of the places where Coriolanus is just a walking red flag. One of the biggest is the many, MANY times he refers to Lucy Gray as HIS and HIS property. It was so much more than just jealousy, he really did want to control her. And that need and desire for control fits in so well with the entire "three C's" that he debated with Dr. Gaul during the games and then he ruminated on afterwards: chaos, control, contract. It was really interesting seeing the moment that he didn't necessarily shift but rather solidified his position that the capital is necessary to maintain control and prevent future wars but mostly to retain power.
There were just so many moments in his thoughts that we see as a reader that showed that perspective and how messed up it was, like him constantly referring to the bad in people and how they really at their core are just animals, violent animals. There was also his thoughts about Sejanus that really showed his true colors and how willing he was to use him and manipulate him for his own gain or to prevent his own demise.
I also appreciate Lucy Gray's ending so much more because of this reread. I love that it ends with her. Maybe being a bird maybe being a ghost and continuing to live on too haunt Snow. Maybe her spirit does go on to live through Katniss all those years later? There's so many open-ended possibilities for that ending, and I love that. I loved all of the bird references in general and found them such a poetic and fitting connection to the original books of the trilogy. That's another big thing that's really missing from the movie of this book, his absolute fear of The mockingjays and what they represent. Also just his fear of death itself and then how callous he becomes towards it by the end of the book.
There really are just so many great things to dig your teeth into with this book, and I stand by my original review in saying that I really don't understand how anybody could rate this book any lower than a four at the absolute lowest. It's such a good book and it makes me want so much more content from the Hunger Games world.
Quotes:
* = Added during reread
President Snow is such a great villain, and I love peeking behind the curtain of such a figure to see what made them the way that they are. Snow is a great morally gray main character, and I love that you get to see these snippets of who he'll become, like how much he hates everything about the mockingjays or the origin of his rose aroma. His having a romance just further adds to the oddness of his character--I know he has a family obviously, but it's hard to picture him loving anyone knowing what he becomes. It's like there's a kernel of good in him somewhere, it just gets overwhelmed and overruled by so many other not so great factors. There's still some questions I have about him that remain unanswered, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.
I could probably go on for a lot longer about everything that's interesting about him and his character, like his friendships and his cousin and grandmother, his intelligence, his pride, his secrets, but I want to say more about the other things I loved about this book. We finally got to see a bit more about what this big war that started it all was like for the people living through it, especially somewhere like the Capitol that's it's hard to imagine anyone suffering too much based on the portrayal of this place in the other books.
It's also incredibly interesting to see the evolution of the Games. Katniss' Games are 74 and 75. That's 64+ years after Snow's time as a mentor. It's wild that in that time, a lot of it because of Snow's ideas and influence, the Games becomes a glittering spectacle that is still just as brutal and violent and horrifying but with this sheen of drama that makes it feel more acceptable and fun. It's also fascinating how Snow learns the importance of caring for and humanizing the tributes so that people can then ultimately dehumanize them for the Games. It's a delicate balance and clearly one that Snow will find to quite some success for many, many years. But the irony is that he goes too far, the tributes are too well humanized in Catching Fire and Mockingjay, ultimately leading to his downfall. I also thought it was great getting to see more of the mentor's perspectives, even if these Games are very different from the ones Katniss endured.
This book lends itself to such an interesting rumination on war, peace, control, social contracts, government, memory, law, and order as well as what it really means to be human. ARE humans horrible at their core, or is everyone essentially good, it's just circumstance that turns them bad? Is everyone equally capable of both?
Lastly, how freaking great is Lucy Grey?? I love so much how her songs are ones Katniss sings, clearly showing that she was not gone and forgotten like Snow may have hoped in the end. How absolutely delicious is it to think about Snow hearing Katniss, a resourceful and loving girl from District 12, singing those songs in the Games and in the propos, all with a freaking Mockingjay pin as her symbol?? Gah no wonder he hated Katniss so much 😂
All of this to say that I seriously do not understand anyone who rates this lower than 4 stars minimum. Were we even reading the same book??
Added after re-read:
With the movie set to come out in less than a week, I started my reread of this book and was really excited to delve back into this book and look at it in a whole new light. While I started the book before the movie came out, I finished it after having seen the movie which definitely impacted my reread in a lot of really interesting ways. I felt like the Coriolanus of the movie was much too sympathetic of a character, and my fiance and I ruminated a lot on why that could be. But we basically concluded it was that his missing inner dialogue combined with the fewer opportunities that the movie gave to see just how vile of a character he could be. That made us feel this way.
So when I was doing this reread, I really noticed so many more of the places where Coriolanus is just a walking red flag. One of the biggest is the many, MANY times he refers to Lucy Gray as HIS and HIS property. It was so much more than just jealousy, he really did want to control her. And that need and desire for control fits in so well with the entire "three C's" that he debated with Dr. Gaul during the games and then he ruminated on afterwards: chaos, control, contract. It was really interesting seeing the moment that he didn't necessarily shift but rather solidified his position that the capital is necessary to maintain control and prevent future wars but mostly to retain power.
There were just so many moments in his thoughts that we see as a reader that showed that perspective and how messed up it was, like him constantly referring to the bad in people and how they really at their core are just animals, violent animals. There was also his thoughts about Sejanus that really showed his true colors and how willing he was to use him and manipulate him for his own gain or to prevent his own demise.
I also appreciate Lucy Gray's ending so much more because of this reread. I love that it ends with her. Maybe being a bird maybe being a ghost and continuing to live on too haunt Snow. Maybe her spirit does go on to live through Katniss all those years later? There's so many open-ended possibilities for that ending, and I love that. I loved all of the bird references in general and found them such a poetic and fitting connection to the original books of the trilogy. That's another big thing that's really missing from the movie of this book, his absolute fear of The mockingjays and what they represent. Also just his fear of death itself and then how callous he becomes towards it by the end of the book.
There really are just so many great things to dig your teeth into with this book, and I stand by my original review in saying that I really don't understand how anybody could rate this book any lower than a four at the absolute lowest. It's such a good book and it makes me want so much more content from the Hunger Games world.
Quotes:
* = Added during reread
- *A tendency toward obsession was hardwired into his brain and would likely be his undoing if he couldn't learn to outsmart it. (7)
- *"It's just the kind of story that catches fire" [on the rebels bombing the arena] 149)
- *"...No right to take away their life and freedom. These are things everyone is born with, and they're not yours for the taking. Winning a war doesn't give you that right. Having more weapons doesn't give you that right. Being from the Capitol doesn't give you that right. Nothing does." (160)
- *He was just like the subjects of her other experiments, students or tributes, of no more consequence than the Avoxes in the cages. Powerless to object. (229)
- "What happened in that arena? That's humanity undressed. The tributes. And you, too. How quickly civilization disappears. All your fine manners, education, family background, everything you pride yourself on, stripped away in the blink of an eye, revealing everything you actually are. A boy with a club who beats another boy to death. That's mankind in its natural state."
The idea, laid out as such, shocked him, but he attempted to laugh. "Are we really as bad as all that?"
"I would say yes, absolutely. But it's a matter of personal opinion...What do you think?"
"I think I wouldn't have beaten anyone to death if you hadn't stuck me in that arena!" he retorted.
"You can blame it on the circumstances, the environment, but you made the choices you made, no one else. It's a lot to take in all at once, but it's essential that you make an effort to answer that question. Who are human beings? Because who we are determines the type of governing we need. Later on, I hope you can reflect and be honest with yourself about what you learned tonight." (243) - *What awaited him farther down that slope if he was unable to stop his descent? What else might he be capable of? Well that was it. It stopped now. If he didn't have honor, he had nothing. No more deception. No more shady strategies. No more rationalization. From now on he'd live honestly, and if he ended up as a beggar, at least he would be a decent one. (285)
- *For all he knew, they'd wake up in the Citadel lab in a few days, wondering what that atrocious ten-year nightmare in District 12 had been. Maybe they'd be happier in a controlled environment, where so many threats had been removed. (419)
- *(Lucy Gray) "I hate to think of them caged up, when they've had a taste of freedom..." (421)
- *"Sounds like torture, having someone controlling your voice like that." Her hand reached up to touch her throat.
Coriolanus thought that a bit dramatic but tried to sound comforting. "I don't think there's a human equivalent."
"Really? Do you always feel free to speak your mind, Coriolanus Snow?"...The truth was most of what the Capitol did, he supported, and the rest rarely concerned him. But if it came to it, he'd speak out. Wouldn't he? Against the Capitol? Like Sejanus had? Even if it meant repercussions? He didn't know, but he felt on the defensive. (421) - The strain of being a full-fledged adult every day had grown tiresome. (433)
- *"...But I do think people are forgetting the war too fast. What we did to each other. What we're capable of. Districts and Capitol both. I know the capital must seem hardline out here, but we're just trying to keep things under control. Otherwise, there'd be chaos and people running around killing each other, like in the arena...Unless there's law, and someone enforcing it, I think we might as well be animals," he said with more assurance. "Like it or not, the Capitol is the only thing keeping anyone safe." (434)
- *This elimination of the Capitol birds from the equation deeply disturbed him. Here they were, multiplying like rabbits, completely untracked. Unauthorized. Co-opting Capitol technology. He didn't like it one bit. (439)
- *That chink in the Capitol armor. The whole idea of the rebels having secret access to the base. It frightened and infuriated him. This breaking of the contract. This invitation to chaos and all that could follow. Didn't these people understand that the whole system would collapse without the Capitol's control? That they all might as well run away to the north and live like animals, because that's what they'd be reduced to? (452-453)
- *He started gasping for air in terror, as if the rope already choked the life from his body. He did not want to die! Especially not in that field, with those mutant birds echoing his last utterance. Who knew what crazy thing you'd say in a moment like that? And him dead and the bir s screaming it out until the mockingjays turned it into some macabre song! (473)
- *They would hang him, but she would be there, knowing he was still a genuinely good person. Not a monster who'd cheated or betrayed his friend, but someone who'd really tried to be noble in impossible circumstances. Someone who had risked everything to save her in the Games. Someone who'd risked it all again to save her from Mayfair. The hero of her life. (480).
- *"...Last bight the commander told me not to sing 'The Hanging Tree' anymore. Too dark, he said. Too rebellious, more like it. I promised he'd never hear it from my lips again...Well Maude Ivory likes it. She says it has real authority."
" Like my voice. When I saying the anthem in the Capitol," Coriolanus remembered. (491) - She could fly around District 12 all she liked, but she and her mockingjays could never harm him again. (516)
- *He'd continue the Games, of course, when he ruled Panem. People would call him a tyrant, ironfisted and cruel. But at least he would ensure survival for survival's sake, giving them a chance to evolve. What else could humanity hope for? Really, it should thank him. (516)
- *Although he couldn't help hoping that, as the dean drew his final breath, he'd realize what so many others had realized when they'd challenged him. What all of Panem would know one day. What was inevitable.
Snow lands on top. (517)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism