The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

Most of you must be familiar with the name of this book by now, this being one of the most awaited movies of the year. I’ll be watching the movie soon but before that, here is my view on the book.

” The Hunger Games” is the first part of a young adult series written by Suzanne Collins. The story is set in the future in a place called Panem, what was once North America. After an unexplained war/rebellion the country is now in ruins and divided into districts, all under the control of The Capitol. As punishment for the rebellion, The Hunger Games are hosted every year where a boy and a girl from each district are chosen as ‘tributes’ to compete and to fight the other tributes. The last one alive is the winner.

The story is told from the perspective of 16 year old Katniss Everdeen. Katniss belongs to District 12, one of the poorer districts where the main occupation is coal mining. After her father, a coal miner, passes away she has to take on the responsibility of looking after her family. She makes sure that her family has food to eat by hunting outside the limits of the district with her best friend Gale. When her sister is selected as a tribute for the Hunger Games she volunteers to go in place of her sister. The other tribute from her district is a boy named Peeta Mellark. The rest of the story follows their days as part of the Hunger Games. The image that the novel creates of the future is very realistic. Instead of using high-tech gadgets,super cars or spaceships, the author has presented a more ‘normal’ view of our future but a dark one as a result of wars. I liked reading the part of the novel about the games. The author has presented it in a manner that is sure to make you keep reading to find out what happens next.

I would love to write more about the story but I don’t want to spoil it for those of you who haven’t read/watched it yet. Even though it’s a Young Adult novel, I’m sure fans of other book- categories will enjoy it. I really enjoyed reading this book and will be starting the next part of the series in the coming month.

 
If you have read the book or watched the movie, please leave your view as a comment. I’d love to hear what you think of it.

The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist written by Paulo Coelho is a story about dreams, omens, adventure and following your destiny. This novel is considered to be one of the best selling novels of all time. I was a bit unsure about reading this at first because I expected this book to have complicated ideas and thoughts which the author alone can understand. I’m happy to say  I was wrong. The book is so much better than I expected it to be. The story is more like a fable. The ideas are simple and you don’t have to search for what the author intends to say. Its something you can read with a relaxed mind and finish with a good feeling.

The novel follows the life of a Shepard boy named Santiago from Andalusia, who sets out in pursuit of his destiny. After having a recurring dream the boy decides to visit a gypsy woman who tells him that the meaning of the dream is that he will find a treasure in the Pyramids of Egypt. On the suggestion of an old king he decides to sell his sheep and use the money to go to Egypt. He faces obstacles  but finds the strength to follow his chosen path. He learns to find meaning in everyday happenings which other people treat as coincidences. On the way Santiago meets another man on his way to learn the science of Alchemy and learns from him about the everything in this world is connected. The rest of the story follows his journey where he meets new people, falls in love and learns to understand the world through new eyes.

The novel speaks about having the courage to take the risk to achieve what you want and not to give up even when  the the way looks hard. The motto of the novel can be explained in the words used by the Alchemist “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” The authour talks about how to achieve success in life through this work of  fiction, so it’s not in any way a boring self-help book that never helps.

Its evident from the number of copies sold that it’s a wonderful book. I believe that a “classic novel “is one that can reach out to its readers with a beautiful message and continue to do so year after year. That is exactly the reason for which I choose this book as my “20^th Century Classic” for the ‘Back to Classics Challenge’.

I highly recommend that you give this book a try. I’m sure you will like it.

Back After A Break!!!

Hello Everybody!!!

How have you all been?? Its been a really long time since I posted anything. I’ve really missed the blogosphere and the friends I’ve made. And I’m really sorry I couldn’t read your posts.  I attempted to post once or twice but for some reason they just remained as drafts. Today I made myself sit down and write this post, tweak it till it sounds okay and post it.

Last two months have been pretty hectic. It took some time for me to prepare a sort of schedule for things.Things are looking better, now that i have found a rhythm to life( i think that’s the word).

My internship is going great but I still have a lot to learn. I’ve made some good friends in my office who make the 9 hour work day much more easier to go through.
(P.S , My boss still hasn’t turned into a demon.) So all-in-all, everything is pretty good on the work front.

I was supposed to write a review on “Cather in the Rye” ages ago but it will have to wait a bit more. I will post the reviews of books that I read in the last two months after a while. The list also includes “The Hunger Games” , ” The Gods of Asphalt” , “Hell’s Corner”.

I just finished reading “ The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho which I choose as part of the reading list for my ‘ Back to The Classics Challenge – 2012’. I guess I’ll (re)start my blog with that review, which i’ll be posting in a day or two.

See you soon!