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A review by singlier
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 4/5 🥀s
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (TBSS) follows the rise of the major antagonist of the original trilogy, President Snow. In the ten years since the Dark Days, the Snow family has fallen to ruin, clinging to the pristige of a pre-war life without the money to show for it. He performs a false life for his classmates at the academy, carefully reserved in his manner, observations, and opinion. When he is unexpectedly given the task to mentor a tribute for the upcoming Hunger Games, a young traveling musician named Lucy Gray, he takes it as his chance to finally make a name for himself and restore the Snow family's former glory. A long the way, he learns about life in the districts, falls in love with his tribute, and rebukes the ways of the Capitol in order to ensure her survival, and in turn, his glory.
This isn't to say this is Snow's redemption arc, nor is he some tragic villain with an equally tragic backstory. Through and through, Snow is a Capitol child, who constantly chooses the rights, power, and control over the districts over humanity. Even as he attempts to humanize the tributes of the games, providing them food and speaking out against their treatments, it is always done with the knowledge it ultimately benefits him and how he is perceived. Snow is never the good guy, and I applaud Collins in her steadfast push that we remember that. The few moments we see his goodwill, we can also see the disdain he has for those he has he does not believe deserve humanity.
Most of my feelings for this book can be summed up as such: I wish this had been another trilogy. I say this, even though this book is 500 pages, because I needed more time to get to know and care about the characters.
The book's pacing is FAST and there are so many characters, I gave up trying to keep them all straight. I wish each section had about 100 more pages to really give the characters a chance to breathe. In terms of pacing, it feels like Collins took the adage "every sentence must move the plot forward" and implemented it here.
The book also struggles with telling, and not showing. We hear a lot of Snow's perspective on the war and the ways life is different, but the times I was most engaged was when Snow recounted a horrible memory, such as when recounting the story of cannibalism from his neighbors, carving a piece of their maid's recently dead leg to eat. Giving Collins more pages to explore more of Snow's past would help me feel more connected to him, instead of merely wishing for his downfall.
Overall, if you are a major fan of the lore, history, and world building of the Hunger Games, you will probably like this book. But if you are expecting a heartfelt, action-packed story akin to the original trilogy, that is not what this story is. The action is in wordplay and ideology shifts, and the desperate viewing of Snow as he continues to cling to his ideals.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (TBSS) follows the rise of the major antagonist of the original trilogy, President Snow. In the ten years since the Dark Days, the Snow family has fallen to ruin, clinging to the pristige of a pre-war life without the money to show for it. He performs a false life for his classmates at the academy, carefully reserved in his manner, observations, and opinion. When he is unexpectedly given the task to mentor a tribute for the upcoming Hunger Games, a young traveling musician named Lucy Gray, he takes it as his chance to finally make a name for himself and restore the Snow family's former glory. A long the way, he learns about life in the districts, falls in love with his tribute, and rebukes the ways of the Capitol in order to ensure her survival, and in turn, his glory.
This isn't to say this is Snow's redemption arc, nor is he some tragic villain with an equally tragic backstory. Through and through, Snow is a Capitol child, who constantly chooses the rights, power, and control over the districts over humanity. Even as he attempts to humanize the tributes of the games, providing them food and speaking out against their treatments, it is always done with the knowledge it ultimately benefits him and how he is perceived. Snow is never the good guy, and I applaud Collins in her steadfast push that we remember that. The few moments we see his goodwill, we can also see the disdain he has for those he has he does not believe deserve humanity.
Most of my feelings for this book can be summed up as such: I wish this had been another trilogy. I say this, even though this book is 500 pages, because I needed more time to get to know and care about the characters.
The book's pacing is FAST and there are so many characters, I gave up trying to keep them all straight. I wish each section had about 100 more pages to really give the characters a chance to breathe. In terms of pacing, it feels like Collins took the adage "every sentence must move the plot forward" and implemented it here.
The book also struggles with telling, and not showing. We hear a lot of Snow's perspective on the war and the ways life is different, but the times I was most engaged was when Snow recounted a horrible memory, such as
Overall, if you are a major fan of the lore, history, and world building of the Hunger Games, you will probably like this book. But if you are expecting a heartfelt, action-packed story akin to the original trilogy, that is not what this story is. The action is in wordplay and ideology shifts, and the desperate viewing of Snow as he continues to cling to his ideals.