THE HUNGER GAMES

Back in college I learned a term: “vicious cycle”. One bad thing leads to another, nobody tries to correct it so the cycle continues. It takes a certain amount of courage and resolve to break a vicious cycle. 

If I could summarize how the whole trilogy of The Hunger Games would go (that was how I spent my Holy Week this year), it is about breaking a vicious cycle. A vicious cycle of political tyranny, pain from losing loved ones, and even breaking the vicious cycle of confusion from one’s conflicting emotions.

This isn’t a full-fledged book review as I am too drained from just reading the heaviness of Mockingjay. So I would just share some quick thoughts that I have per book.

GOING GAGA OVER GAIMAN

I am kind of a graphic novel fan. But I don’t really have the resources to feed this literary hunger…soooo with the advent of the iPad and the wonders of free downloading sites, i was finally able to feed this hunger.

I am now obsessed with the Sandman Chronicles of Neil Gaiman, and I am happy to report that I was able to download around 20 issues of it already (I know that this is piracy, but hey the best things in life SHOULD be free!).

I have just finished the first issue and I am ecstatic on reading the next ones. The universe of Sandman is out of this world and beyond! Remember that post I had about Gaiman’s book American Gods? That is what really triggered this addiction. I know that I’m a bit late in catching the Gaiman flu, but better late than never right?

KNOW THE WAY-GIAN WOOD

After a really, really long time I was finally able to finish reading the first Haruki Murakami novel I have ever held in my hands. Like Naoko’s life I was finally able to finish Norwegian Wood. Yes, Naoko dies.

Norwegian Wood was such a drag to read. It was like a never-ending spiral of depression and confusion. It targeted that constant question within each and every person: where do I go next in my life?

For the lead Toru, it was a crossroads. For the other characters, they chose paths that were definite. Reiko chose to move forward. Naoko chose to stay where she was. Midori chose a new path. Life is an unending journey where we thread different paths, seek different destinations, yet we really don’t know of the right way to take.

Don’t get me wrong. It was a good book. An interesting read. But I hate confused introspections and loose ends. Or maybe I just wanted Toru to finally grasp something definitely. To not be confused for once. But then again, life isn’t really definitive.

I liked Midori’s character. Very direct. She knows what she wants despite being a free spirit. If anything, her character is what I strive to be. To have courage and confidence in the things I want and for the things I value. Yeah.

I will watch the movie though. Just so I could see just how beautiful Naoko is for someone like Toru to be head over heels in love with her. Plus there are bound to be lots of sultry scenes…teehee.