The Susan Collins book “The Hunger Games” became a sensation: huge circulations around the world, literary awards and phenomenal success, including its adaptation.
This work has generated a number of literary clones:
- “Divergent” - a trilogy and storybook by Veronica Roth, on which three full-length films were shot;
- “The Maze Runner” - James Dashner’s trilogy; the third film is expected to be released;
- "Delirium" - 3 books by Lauren Oliver, the rights to the adaptation of which were purchased by the studio Fox.
Biography
You might be interested to know that Susan Collins is on the list of “100 Most Influential People in the World”. Still, one must not underestimate the effect that her novels have on teenagers.
But at the very beginning there was not a hint of such a brilliant writing career. Susan Collins was born in 1962 in the family of a military officer, and because of the service of her father, the whole family constantly moved from place to place. They managed to live in several eastern states of the USA and in Europe.
In 1980, the future writer received a diploma from the theater department at the art school. Then she was expected to study at a university (Indiana), where she studied the basics of telecommunications. In 1989, Susan received another education, this time mastering the profession of a writer and playwright at New York University.
In 1991, she began her career as a television screenwriter for children's programs and cartoons. Soon, on the advice of one of her colleagues, namely James Promoyce, Susan began to write real books.
Susan Collins: Books
In 2003, the debut book of the writer "Gregor Aboveground" was released. She laid the foundation for a series of 5 novels about the boy Gregor and the underworld. The writer said that during the creation of this work she was inspired by the adventures of the famous Alice. Even the first chapters of the novels are very similar: with Lewis Carroll, a girl falls into a rabbit hole, and Susan Collins, a boy gets into an unusual underground country through a sewer hatch. In naming her books, the author clearly took an example from Joan Rowling, so subsequent editions had headings: “Gregor and the Prophecy of Thurs”, “Gregor and the Curse of the Warm-blooded”, “Gregor and the Secret Sign”. The last novel in the Gregor and the Claw Code series was released in 2007, but fans still need to continue. Only the first three books have been published in Russia.
In 2008, the first part of the Hunger Games trilogy appeared, and its sequels came out with an interval of one year. In Russia, novels were published twice by the publishing house AST with a different design.
The Hunger Games Trilogy
Now we’ll try to find out why this Susan Collins trilogy is so popular. The Hunger Games, many initially compared with Twilight, that is, with a typical teenage romance with a mandatory love triangle. But how true is this?
There are not so many similarities in books, and they are similar only if you do not go into details. But if you look at each novel, it turns out that they are diametrically opposed. Bella (the heroine of the Twilight series) is a female image that fits the definition of "any." That is, ordinary, pretty, without any special character traits. Instead of Bella, teenage girls see themselves, and the whole story, if you throw away all the vampire things, is based only on the all-consuming love of the two main characters.
In The Hunger Games, the author managed to create a truly strong female image, and the love line does not dominate here. Amid the brutal murders, riots, famine and the uprising that begins, Katniss almost does not think about who she wants to be with, all her thoughts and feelings are occupied by other significant events.
Film
Roman Susan Collins was doomed to film adaptation. Director Gary Ross swallowed the first part of the trilogy in one evening and after a couple of days he agreed with the producers about the project and his participation in it.
And all four full-length films turned out great: Jennifer Lawrence and Wooddy Harrelson ensured the proper level of “starryness” of the cast, an exciting plot completely copies the book, and all the events on the screen literally mesmerize the audience.
Perhaps this is the rare case when the film turned out better than the book. Nevertheless, in the novel, the reader sees everything that happens only through the eyes of Kitness, and in the film version there are scenes without the participation of the main character. This allows the viewer to see and learn more.
The Hunger Games Phenomenon: Why Everyone Should Watch
Actually, it’s not so important whether you look at the movie version or read the novel by Susan Collins. They are interchangeable, but since today more and more cinema lovers are found, we recommend starting with watching a movie. We list its advantages:
- Exciting plot. Post-apocalyptic America (Panem), where a television show is held annually in which teens prey on each other. Of the 24 participants, only one will survive.
- Despite all the harshness, there are no really scary scenes of violence in the tape. Everything is shown taking into account that teenagers will be the main audience.
- Excellent cast, including supporting characters.
- Entertainment: a good picture, special effects, costumes and thousands of little things that delight the eye.
- Satire in the dialogs.
It is not surprising that there is talk of the return of The Hunger Games in the form of a prequel to other heroes. And while Susan Collins has not promised to further develop the series about Panem, there is a chance that she will still change her mind.