What I'm reading

I have started Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy. After enjoying the first 2 books, I couldn't wait longer to read this last one.  Here's the blurb:

Can Katniss Everdeen win the final fight against the Capitol? Against all odds, she's survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she is still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no-one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12...

Mummydaddy - by Jeremy Howe

As I expected, this book is a moving account of the author and his daughters' life after the sudden loss of his wife and their mother. I wondered whether there would be parallels with my own experiences, but, realistically what he experienced was much worse - his loss was sudden and he was left with two young children and very precarious finances.

The story is written in quite an emotionally intelligent way, which made it easy [for me] to empathize with the author most of the time. I will admit to being irritated by some of his practical shortcomings in the domestic sphere, but I know that, really, we each have our own strengths and weaknesses. I was pleased that the story had a beginning , a middle and an end. It really covers the first few years after Lizzie's death, then, and the end, it fast-forwards to the present day so we are not left wondering how it all turned out.

What I'm reading

I have started Mummydaddy by Jeremy Howe. Time for non-fiction and autobiography is always a favourite. This one is a little "close to home", but looks interesting.

Catching Fire - by Suzanne Collins

This book carries on very naturally from where the first one left off. Katniss finds herself in a difficult situation, as, although she is being nominally rewarded for winning the Games, she is also strongly out of favour with the Capitol for outwitting them. The story moves on at a very good pace and, like with the first volume, I did not really feel that it was a long book and kept turning the pages.

I wonder whether the world described in these books is intended to be a metaphor for the situation in the world today, where the US is nominally "in charge" and other countries, though not directly oppressed by the US, are dependent upon them as a market for their goods. Or is it simply an extrapolation of other totalitarian regimes such as the Nazis and USSR? There are certainly shades of 1984.

Although, for me, the outcome of this story was not predictable [it was somewhat in the first book], my one criticism is that the ending is wrapped up rather hastily. It is a tidy ending, with some good surprises, but it is covered in just a few pages. I am resisting the urge to read volume 3 straight away ...