A review by m_rain
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
YIKES. This book is awful... I barely made it a third of the way through and had to stop because of the intense classism, racism, and slavery. The tributes are continually described with animalistic characteristics and openly enslaved. Tributes are kept in a zoo, handcuffed, medically treated by a veterinarian, starved, and completely dehumanized by capital residents.
The book is from the perspective of a soon-to-be dictator and described in way that tries to make him a sympathetic character. Snow, and the majority of the main characters, see the tributes as lesser human beings and he openly manipulates the tribute he is assigned in order to perpetuate his family's social status.
I cannot understand why anyone would 'enjoy' this book... Collins has no excuse to be writing this miserable and graphic story or trying to make us 'feel for' Snow.
The book is from the perspective of a soon-to-be dictator and described in way that tries to make him a sympathetic character. Snow, and the majority of the main characters, see the tributes as lesser human beings and he openly manipulates the tribute he is assigned in order to perpetuate his family's social status.
I cannot understand why anyone would 'enjoy' this book... Collins has no excuse to be writing this miserable and graphic story or trying to make us 'feel for' Snow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death, Slavery, Emotional abuse, and Animal cruelty