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Nat Davis

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Nat is Currently Reading

Nat Davis is currently reading

The Namesake

by Jhumpa Lahiri

bookshelves: currently-reading

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(page 141 of 304)
— Aug 09, 2020 10:42PM

Aug 09, 2020 10:43PM

Nat Davis is currently reading

Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II's Most Audacious General

by Bill O'Reilly (Goodreads Author)

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(page 55 of 365)
— Aug 09, 2020 10:42PM

Aug 09, 2020 10:42PM

Nat Davis is currently reading

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games, #0)

by Suzanne Collins

bookshelves: currently-reading, dystopian

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Nat Davis said: " "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" seeks to tell the story of Coriolanus Snow as a young man, years before his brutal role in the Hunger Games Trilogy. In this story, we see him struggling in a postwar Capitol era, with both his once-prominent fami "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" seeks to tell the story of Coriolanus Snow as a young man, years before his brutal role in the Hunger Games Trilogy. In this story, we see him struggling in a postwar Capitol era, with both his once-prominent family and Panem itself struggling to rise from the ashes. As part of the postwar treaty, the Hunger Games have already been instituted, though they are not yet the grand, staged events we see later with Katniss. Through the eyes of Coriolanus, we get some glimpse into how and why the Hunger Games started, and how they developed into the full productions they would later become. We also see a glimpse into his internal struggles, through his attempts to keep his family afloat, his romance with Lucy, and the consequences of his own ambition. Through it all, he holds tightly to his family's motto: "Snow lands on top."

Honestly? I didn't like it. Snow is arrogant and entitled, and half of his struggles aren't actually struggles, just him not feeling the wealth and honor "due" to him and his station. He comes from old money, and his family raised him in the family pride. He carries all the arrogance that breeding can bestow, boosted by disdain for, well, basically anyone, because his family is the Mostest Importantest Ever. Districts are particularly low on the totem pole, and he buys into the Capitol propoganda 100%, right down to "the districts deserve all their struggles, whether poverty or the Hunger Games, because they dared rebel against the kind and good and great Capitol of Panem."

Even his romance with the Hunger Games tribute he's assigned to mentor reflects this. He attempts to toe the line between accepting her as she is, but also makes an entire storyline about how she's "not really" District and so she's okay, all the while ignoring and dismissing her sympathies with the District struggles, as well as that of her own family.

The ending was kind of sour to me, too. It's one that sets him on the path to becoming what we see later in the Trilogy, but it's also open-ended and leaves some questions unanswered. The questions are intentional, and ties into some important factors alluded to earlier in the story, so I can accept the artistic license and the way it was done - it just didn't really improve the book at all for me.

In short, I didn't care for it. The writing style was still good, and I liked it as far as that goes. I just didn't care for the storyline, mostly because I don't really want to read stories about pompous fools who think they're better than anyone - especially when a lot of it is too much a reflection of today's world, and without redeeming qualities of a happy ending or a bad guy who "sees the light" and turns around for good, or even at least the interesting factor of a guy who starts out decent and goes down the wrong path. ...more "

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(page 157 of 541)
— Aug 09, 2020 10:42PM

Sep 23, 2020 03:27PM · see review

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