anem doesn’t seem like such a far off dystopia now. It has been 16 years since the original Hunger Games book was published, and I didn’t recognize a “Capitol” in my world, and now I do. It reads differently, not because it doesn’t describe a different world, but because now I live in a different one.
Plutarch Havensbee was played by the talented, late Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the film series. After being clean and sober for 23 years, he again “picked up” while playing this role and, within 6 months, was dead. The introduction of Plutarch in this story, and what he does for young Haymitch, will have you remembering the performance and the mentor. We first met Haymitch as a mentor to Katniss and Peeta, a heavy drinker. Young Haymitch has never had any alcohol. The “fourth wall” being broken here, the layers upon layers of understanding of the breadth of the powerlessness of the working class against the oligarchs is, honestly, mind blowing.
Prequels are hard- the reader knows so much about what is going to happen- and we know so much more about President Snow, Plutarch and Haymitch, than the characters do. So it is notable that this book has as much world building, internal dialogue and intrigue as the first 4 novels. But I have been waiting 16 years for Haymitch’s origin story and I was- IN NO WAY disappointed. I was shocked and intrigued at every single page.
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