The Ballad of
Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Review of the novel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
First Published: 19 May 2020
Dedication: For Norton and Jeanne Juster
Cost: £18.99 (UK Hardback 2020)
ISBN: 978-0702-300172 (Hardback Edition – starts on page 3 - 517 pages.)
Having been a great fan of The Hunger Games trilogy, I was keen to read this book. This story is a prequel to The Hunger Games and is set 64 years in the past, where the 10th Hunger Games is about to take place. The problem with reviewing this story is that it will reveal spoilers for readers that have not read The Hunger Games, however, I will try and keep them to a minimum.
This book stands on its own, but I do feel that the author Suzanne
Collins makes the assumption that her reader is aware of some details from the
previous books and as a result, she fails to set the scene for the new reader. I
feel that it is a requirement for the new reader to be made aware of the location
and background plot if they are to get the most of the story, with this in mind
I want to set the scene before I review the novel in its own right.
The story is set in the country of Panem, which is an area smaller than
North America. Panem consists of a capital city, called the Capital, surrounded
by twelve outlying numbered Districts – a thirteenth district having been
destroyed at the end of a civil war.
Panem is an authoritarian society, modelled somewhat on ancient Rome; a
police state in which the Districts are subservient to the Capital. All the
Districts provide resources to the Capital in return for protection by an army
of Capitol’s Peacekeepers. This is the setting, following a civil war waged
against the Capital following an uprising by District 13. To punish the
rebellious districts and discourage future rebellion, the Capital’s government established
an annual pageant and violent contest, known as The Hunger Games.
Collins introduces the reader to the concept of The Hunger Games on page
14:
There would be
twenty-four tributes, one boy and one girl from each of the twelve defeated
districts, drawn by lottery to be thrown into an arena to fight to the death in
The Hunger Games. It was laid out in the Treaty of Treason that had ended the
Dark Days of the District’s rebellion, one of the many punishments borne by
rebels.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
takes up the story as the 10th Hunger Games is about to start. The story is
described in three parts. Part 1 covers the lead up to the games. It begins with
the story of a young boy in the Capital called Coriolanus Snow, who has been
selected to mentor one of the tributes in the games. Although he lives in the
Capital, Snow is a hungry orphan in a family that is barely holding onto its
assets and struggling to live from day to day. Snow lives in an apartment with
his cousin Tigris, and grandmother, where boiled cabbage is a regular meal. The
reward for a student successfully mentoring their tribute to winning the games
is a scholarship at the highly esteemed University, which Snow could not attend
without this award.
As the names are called out, Snow is relieved to hear his name. He will
mentor Lucy Baird Gray, who comes from a Covey, (a type of gypsy family), in
District 12. During this mentoring period, we learn that Coriolanus will do
anything to keep up appearances of being part of a wealthy Capital family. He
looks at his tribune and has concerns about her ability to win in the games;
Lucy Gray is a singer with little fighting ability. However, it is Coriolanus'
own struggles and inept ability to accept his fate that the story concentrates
on throughout the tale.
Although this is the 10th annual games, they have yet to emerge into a sophisticated style that readers of The Hunger Games have discovered.
Here, the twenty-four tributes are literally thrown into an arena, where there
are various weapons, and they must survive on their own wits to make it through
the games.
At this period in time the residents of the Capital
are losing interest in the games and the mentors are asked to suggest any
improvements that might rekindle interest from the audience. Coriolanus puts
forward two suggestions, as part of his written homework, and when they are accepted,
they mark a new direction for the games of the future.
As a lead up to the start of the games, Collins presents the anxiety
experienced by the two sides of the games as she allows the Capital mentors to
get close to the District tributes. Problems arise before the start of the
games when the District tributes desire for food gets out of hand and one of
the young mentors is killed. However, fortune shines on Coriolanus as he is
there at the right moment to what in all appearances, he tries to save the
mentor’s life. We discover that the Capital is quick to take retribution on the
Districts' representatives.
It is decided that both the remaining mentors and the tributes should
visit the games arena and once again things do not go smoothly. Walking around the
arena, bombs from a previous game explode, killing both mentors and the tributes,
but it is Lucy Gray who saves Coriolanus from serious injury at the cost of her
own freedom.
Part Two of the story covers the games themselves. A character already
introduced to the reader is Sejanus, originally from District 2, his father has
been able to pave the way for the family to exist in the Capital, but the young
boy is ill at ease with the way the Capital functions. His father puts up a prize
of a scholarship to the esteemed Capital University for the winning mentor. As
Sejanus befriends Coriolanus, he reveals that his heart will always remain in
District 2 and that his intention is to help the rebels defeat the Capital
wherever possible.
Finally, on page 207 the games begin. Broadcast live on a video feed to all
Panem, everyone can see what plays out in the arena:
The gong sounded at
that moment, and the tributes scattered. Most fled to the gates that led to the
tunnels, several of which had been blown open by the latest bombing. Coriolanus
could see Lucy Gray’s bright dress heading for the far side of the arena, and
his fingers gripped the edge of his seat, willing her forward. Run, he
thought. Run! Get out of there! A handful of the strongest sprinted for
the weapons, but after grabbing a few, Tanner, Coral, and Jessup dispersed.
Only Reaper, armed with a pitchfork and a long knife, seemed ready to engage.
But by the time he was on the offensive, no one remained to fight. He turned to
watch the receding backs of his opponents, threw back his head in frustration,
and climbed into a nearby stand to begin his hunt.
It is Sejanus that causes the next headache for Coriolanus. Eager to
help his own tribute Sejanus enters the arena himself. As the Games Maker
directs the cameras away from Sejanus, they desperately try to reflect on how
they can get him out. They decide to send Coriolanus in and talk to his friend
and coax him out. The relief for Coriolanus of exiting the games in one piece is
short-lived, as the murders and killings continue in the games until a winner
is declared. A most unlikely tribute. However, when the activity of the winner
is reviewed, the Games Maker believes they had outside help, and once again the
authorities are swift to punish those involved.
In Part 3, Coriolanus and Sejanus are sent as trainee Peacemakers to District
12. Although distraught and confused, Coriolanus settles down to life as a Peacemaker,
wondering how he will manage for the next twenty years. He decides to take the
officer’s exam.
Test-taking ranked
among Coriolanus’s greatest talents, and he felt the familiar rush of excitement
as he opened the cover of his booklet. He loved the challenge, and his
obsessive nature meant almost instant absorption into the mental obstacle
course. Three hours later, sweat-soaked, exhausted, and happy, he handed in his
booklet and went to the mess hall for ice. He sat in the strip of shade his
barrack provided, rubbing the cubes over his body and reviewing the questions
in his head. The ache of losing his university career returned briefly, but he
pushed it away with thoughts of becoming a legendary military leader like his
father. Maybe this has been his destiny all along.
At this point, everything appears to be going wrong for Coriolanus, just
when he had in his mind’s eye, planned and prepared himself for his future as
he saw it. Death and killings take place and Coriolanus' world is turned upside
down, and he plans to escape from District 12 and the Capital and take back
control of his life. Collins, however, as all great authors do, presents a
couple of twists as she rounds off the tale of the 10th Hunger Games, and the
part played by Coriolanus Snow. Has the reader prepared themselves for this
closure? I’m sure that the readers of the previous stories making up The Hunger
Games have expected some of the actions that take place, but they are still
surprising, and it leaves the question as to whether there will be further stories
in the series.
At its heart, The Ballard of Songbirds and Snakes is about the
ability of one individual to change the world Panem. Their self-preservation at
the cost of those around them, who he uses to his own advantage. I feel that you
have to ask what Collins wants from her reader; does she want us to align
ourselves with the struggle for Coriolanus or feel shocked by the Capital’s
total disregard for anyone livings in the Districts?
There are two other interesting aspects in the story that have repercussions
on the trilogy of The Hunger Games. Firstly, the importance of music and the
second the sound of the mockingjays. The music is emphasized by the skill and talent
of Lucy Gray, as she sings to the crowds of the Capital elite to gain their
devotion, which brings her much needed food and water while in the games. For
the mockingjay, it is the fact that the Capital’s attempt to change the world
of the Districts using the bird fails and it starts the beginning of the Capital’s
downfall.
This is a book that I really enjoyed, I could not put it down, completing it in two days. My enjoyment came from having read The Hunger Games and I wonder if reading this as an entry into The Hunger Games experience, if I would have found an enjoyment here. I certainly feel that there is a possibility of a follow-up novel, but not one for each year of the games, but rather a further period in the life of Coriolanus Snow.
Rating, 5 stars.
Dr Sheppard
11 October 2020
