WARNING: SPOILERS
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ 1/4
A Ballad of
Songbirds and Snakes was by far
my most anticipated release of 2020, if not my most anticipated release of an
estimated upcoming five years. I have been a massive Hunger Games fan
for the longest time. I was fangirling over the movies ever since the first one
came out and I have read and loved each of the three books (yes, even Mockingjay!)
multiple times. To say that I was looking forward to reading this prequel would
have been a massive understatement. Therefore, it really pains me to have to
give this book anything less than four – or even four and a half to five stars –
as my verdict.
Before I get into my
review, I want to state that I did not hate this book, not at all. Was this
book quite boring and slow-paced at most parts? Yes. Do I feel an urge to reread
it again? No. But it was still very intellectually stimulating, both
philosophically and psychologically. Both the history of the evolution of the
Hunger Games, as well as Coriolanus’s backstory were both reasons why I’m very
glad that I read this book. I’m sure that this prequel will definitely enhance
my reading experience whenever I decide to dive back into the Hunger Games universe
and for that I am very grateful.
Snow’s Turn To
Villainry
Something that I am
very glad about is that this book did not make me like nor support Coriolanus
one bit. From a psychological point of view, I can now definitely better understand
his descent into evil. While he was not an extremely horrible and hated
character by me for a big chunk of this book, he was quite arrogant, self-assured
and selfish from the very beginning. His friendships – both to Lucy Gray as
well as to the other mentors – were greatly built upon Coriolanus wanting to
achieve greatness and thus selfish in nature. As an example, while Sejanus might
have adored Snow as a good friend, I don’t think Coriolanus actually ever cared
for him. Snow ends up being utterly manipulative towards his “friend” by the end
of the book and even justifies stabbing him in the back and Sejanus dying for
it by even congratulating himself on keeping Sejanus alive longer than he
deserved to be and calling him sensitive and foolish.
What I really liked
was how the mockingjay was already introduced as a symbol for hope, defiance
and rebellion towards the oppression of the Capitol. Although I still don’t
entirely buy that Snow just ended up hating the birds for absolutely no reason,
I do think that by reading this book, the mockingjay will be seen (by me and other
readers) as an even more powerful symbol within the Hunger Games trilogy.
Although Suzanne
Collins did a great job incorporating smaller symbolic things into Snow’s
journey that show us his turning towards the callous-hearted president that we
know, I don’t think his character was developed entirely realistically. It really
isn’t until the very last pages where we get to see Snow’s inner conflict, his hunger
for control and power within the Districts come out which ultimately turn him
against Lucy Gray. I would have liked to have seen a bit more build-up to this point
throughout the whole book. We definitely do see some signs of his desire for
control earlier on, for example by his hatred of the mockingjays, and his
understanding of war, chaos and his idea of an inherently evil human nature.
Therefore on some levels, I can understand his transformation into being the “villain”.
I unfortunately just don’t think it was developed
realistically nor organically. His evolution should have been more apparent
throughout the earlier chapters. It isn’t until the very last chapters – or even
pages of the book – where the readers can truly feel that his mentality has
shifted into one which will eventually carry him forward into being the evil President
Snow we all know.
Romance
When I began to realize
that this book was setting up a relationship between Lucy Gray and Snow, I had
to cringe bad. Not only do I find that disgusting because of who we know
Snow ends up becoming, but it also sets up a relationship based on a toxic power
dynamic. As the book progresses, it becomes increasingly obvious though that
this relationship isn’t really made of love at all. Although one might at the
beginning fall for the idea that Snow really loves Lucy Gray, I actually don’t
think he ever did. His desire for her is heavily fueled by feeling that he is in
her debt for saving him, for Lucy Gray bringing him victory as a mentor and an
unhealthy dose of jealousy towards her unnamed “ex”. Snow himself even wonders
multiple times in this novel whether his feelings for her are truly based on care
for her or for helping him win as a mentor. I believe the ending of this book
shows us that it’s the latter. He doesn’t care for her singing talent – with the
exception of it being used to his advantage in the Games – and by the end of
the book he only really wants to run away with her because he feels like he has
no other choice. When he is given a choice to redeem himself within the Capitol
society, he readily decides in favor of that. Jealousy and paranoia eventually
overrun his mind and he turns violent against her, proving that this
relationship really wasn’t ever based on anything than personal gain.
The History of
the Games
The best and most interesting part of this book was definitely seeing the evolution of the Hunger Games and the history of how the Games used to be held. In A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the Games are mostly done under the radar, not really cared about by many and not watched by most. The tributes aren’t fed, aren’t taken care of at all. In prior years, the kids were usually just rounded up and dropped into the arena immediately upon arrival. Now, the 10th Games introduces some small minor changes, small seedlings which we eventually see grow into the full-blown Hunger Games we know from the 74th and 75th Games. Mentors, interviews, betting and food sponsorship are all introduced as ways to get the audience to care more for and engage more with the Games and the tributes. Moreover, Dr. Gaul and her class often discuss the philosophical and psychological aspects of why the Games take place, and how to make them more engaging. Certain conversations reveal to us how the Games are to be made into a bigger spectacle such that more empathy is invoked by the audience – something we see prominently in Katniss’s Games. And smaller remarks, such as making the Games mandatory and executing those who don’t comply, sending in more mutts, and showing the scoreboard, might have been said as minor jokes by side characters in this book, but us readers know that eventually those jokes turn into a deadly game the Capitol enjoys to play with the tributes.
The Hanging Tree
and Deep in the Meadow
Another thing which made
me really glad that I read this book was the reveal of the origin of two songs
we hear in The Hunger Games: The Hanging Tree and Deep in the Meadow.
I have to admit that even now after having finished this book, I’m still
entirely shocked to know that both of these songs very strongly involve Snow and
his journey – one which was even directly sung to him by Lucy Gray as a love
song. I’m still not entirely sure whether Snow’s interpretation of The
Hanging Tree is 100% accurate, since he definitely projected his own jealousy
towards Billy Taupe into the song to make it all about him. But either way, it’s
very fascinating to know that these two songs have their origins very closely
entwined with Snow’s own story. And just like the mockingjay, these two songs
now take on greater power when sung in The Hunger Games and truly become
songs which speak out directly against Snow and his evil rule in the Capitol.
Speculations
In my opinion, all signs point so obviously towards Lucy Gray being the grandmother or perhaps some distant blood relative to Katniss Everdeen. Lucy Gray lived in the Seam, directly mentions the plant katniss and is the creator of The Hanging Tree and Deep in the Meadow, two songs which Katniss learns at home and sings to her sister. If Lucy Gray is not a direct descendant to Katniss, I’m fairly certain at least Maude Ivory is (though I tend to think it is Lucy Gray). There’s just no way that any of these signs of the two girls connections is just a coincidence. Moreover, it’s obvious to me that Snow tends to hate Katniss so much because of her resemblance to Lucy Gray in many ways – her free nature, her braided Covey hair and her determination to defy and be acknowledged as a human being worthy of dignity.
Overall, this book was
an okay read. I definitely enjoyed some parts of it, in particular seeing how
the Games change over the course of history, reading about the origin of the
two songs and I particularly loved Lucy Gray and Sejanus as characters. I do
however believe this book would have been better off being written entirely from
Lucy Gray’s POV, or perhaps a dual perspective between hers and Snow’s. I also
believe that Snow’s own corruptive evolution could have been shown a bit earlier
on in the book. However, I’m really glad I picked it up as a longstanding Hunger
Games fan.
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