Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins)

Catching Fire is the second book in The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. It continues the story of Katniss Everdeen after she wins in the arena as the sequel to the The Hunger Games. I actually managed to finish reading it before the new semester started.

After being crowned the victors of the 74th Hunger Game, Katniss and Peter move in their new houses in Victor's Village. Life goes on but things are never the same for Katniss, Peeta and Gale. Peeta learns bitterly that the affection Katniss displays in the arena is just a show she puts up to survive and win the game while Gale is distancing himself from Katniss. Then there is Victor Tour which causes major anxiety for Katniss before she finds out that she, her family and her loved ones are in big trouble. She is being threatened by President Snow from Capitol for outsmarting Hunger Games and undermining his control when she challenges to change the rule of the game to keep her and Peeta alive (instead of either one of them). It is seen as a form of rebellion and most importantly it incites rebellions in other districts which Katniss finds out later. Hence, a special edition of Quarter Quell which is held on every twenty-fifth anniversary is dictated to reap from the existing pool of victors, which brings Katniss and Peeta, along with the past victors of the game back into the arena. This is served as a reminder that even the strongest (the past victors) among the rebels (people from the districts) cannot overcome the power of the Capitol.

That is the first half of the story. The love-triangle is seriously putting me off, but the huge difference is that I no longer see it merely a story about game like the first book. I mean the theme is still survival, but what strikes me even more is government control which reminds me of the uprisings happen in Eypgt, Libya, Yemen and their other Middle-Eastern counterparts. People who are oppressed for generations see no hope, change and a better future. They are desperate and desperate people will rebel, take to the streets to protest etc once it has reached the tipping point because there isn't much for them to lose anyway. And I guess the most important message that is sent out - never underestimate the power of people.

"Before I go down to face this new life, though, I take some time making myself acknowledge what it will mean. Less than a day ago, I was prepared to head into the wilderness with my loved ones in midwinter, with the very real possibility of the Capitol pursuing us. A precarious venture at best. But now I am committing to something even more risky. Fighting the Capitol assures their swift retaliation. I must accept that at any moment I can be arrested. There will be a knock on the door, like the one last night, a band of Peacekeepers to haul me away. There might be torture. Mutilation. A bullet through my skull in the town square, if I'm fortunate enough to go that quickly. The Capitol has no end of creative ways to kill people. I imagine these things and I'm terrified, but let's face it: They've been lurking in the back of my brain, anyway. I've been a tribute in the Games. Been threatened by the president. Taken a lash across my face. I'm already a target.

Now comes the harder part. I have to face the fact that my family and friends might share this fate. Prim. I need only to think of Prim and all my resolve disintegrates. It's my job to protect her. I pull the blanket up over my head, and my breathing is so rapid I use up all the oxygen and begin to choke for air. I can't let the Capitol hurt Prim.

And then it hits me. They already have. They have killed her father in those wretched mines. They have sat by as she almost starved to death. They have chosen her as a tribute, then made her watch her sister fight to the death in the Games. She has been hurt far worse than I had at the age of twelve. And even that pales in comparison with Rue's life."

Moving to the second half of the story. It is about the game - Quarter Quell such as strategies on tributes Katniss and Peeta should team up with as ally because they are no longer competing with trembling children. Instead, they will be facing competitors who have known each other for years. Katniss and Peeta are actually at a distinct disadvantage as they are the youngest and the most recent winners. And this is the part of the story which I was most fascinated about - Peeta and Katniss learning how their mentor, Haymitch won the last Quarter Quell; Katniss making a pact with the tributes she least expected herself to; the clock theory where each hour begins a new hour, a new Gamemaker weapon and ends with the previous, i.e. blood rain, poisonous fog, monkeys' attack, jabberjay etc. In fact, it took me only a few hours to finish reading the second half as contrast to days spent just to push myself to keep reading the first half of the story. And the story ends with Katniss being saved after the force field is blown and she is later disclosed that District 13 does exist; the wires and force field that Beetee working on are among the weapons to break the remaining players out of the arena with the coorperation with the undercover team; Katniss and Peeta are meant to be a piece in the game, to be used with consent and knowledge etc. Lastly, Katniss also discovers that Peeta is captured by the Capitol, District 12 is gone but luckily her sister and mother are saved.

“We had to save you because you're the mockingjay, Katniss,” says Plutarch. “While you live, the revolution lives.”

The bird, the pin, the song, the berries, the watch, the cracker, the dress that burst into flames. I am the mockingjay.

The one that survived despite the Capitol's plans. The symbol of the rebellion.

I think I will still proceed with the third book of the trilogy - Mockingjay after this even though online reviews say it is the weakest of all.

After Dark (Haruki Murakami)

"Time moves in its own special way in the middle of the night."

What do u do after dark, when the night falls and u know dawn will not be there for hours?

I used to be nocturnal. I enjoyed the quietness, especially at the deeper stage of night when more and more people went to bed and I was still awake. In fact, in my second year of study, I kept the habit of sleeping around 7pm so that I could wake up at 12am to concentrate on whatever tasks I was doing - be it reading or finishing up assignments. When the night was nearly over, I would either grab a quick nap or jog to recharge myself before I started to attend classes with a cup of coffee. All these changed when I got myself a roommate who slept at 10pm.

"The giant digital screens fastened to the sides of buildings fall silent as midnight approaches, but loudspeakers on storefronts keep pumping out exaggerated hip-hop bass lines. A large game centre crammed with young people; wild electronic sounds; a group of college students spilling out from a bar; teenage girls with brilliant bleached hair, healthy legs thrusting out from microminiskirts; dark-suited men racing across diagonal crossings for the last trains to the suburbs. Even at this hour, the karaoke club pitchmen keep shouting for customers. A flashy black station wagon drifts down the street as if taking stock of the district through its blacktinted windows. The car looks like a deep-sea creature with specialised skin and organs. Two young policemen patrol the street with tense expressions, but no one seems to notice them. The district plays by its own rules at a time like this. The season is late autumn. No wind is blowing, but the air carries a chill. The date is just about to change."

Most Asian cities are vibrant and bustling by day and night. The night marks another new beginning, hardly the end of a day. And Murakami has just painted a picture of what it is like as midnight approaches in Tokyo, Japan.

I had meant to read After Dark for quite some time. I was curious with the kind of stories Murakami could weave around with night (and loneliness) as the theme. However, when I finally finished it, I was left puzzled. I must admit, I couldn't seem to find the true meanings of the stories as they were vague and bizarre (especially the part where Eri Asai was imprisoned in the TV set). How does one relate to another is another thing I couldn't comprehend. For example, Shirakawa, other than being the guy who beat up the Chinese prostitute.. the kind of involvement he has with Eri Asai is never clearly conveyed. Maybe the message is there, I just failed to grasp it.

While reading After Dark, I actually listed down every piece of song Murakami mentioned in the book then played them to get a feel of the atmosphere Murakami was trying to create. And one of them is "I can't go for that" by Hall & Oates. Overall, I like Sputnik Sweetheart and Kafka on The Shore better. Having said that, I still like After Dark quite a lot. I love the characters, particularly Mari Asai who is probably representing many young people these day who are aloof, cynical and indulgent in their own way. I know I am one of them. I also like the way he writes - it is always hard to predict how the story will progress (although it remains another question whether u can truly fathom it or not).

My Recent Langkawi + Penang Trip

You would probably go "wtf, this is a book blog, not a travel blog." Lol.

Anyway, just thought that I would post up some pictures captured along the trip while I work on my latest post on Haruki Murakami's After Dark ;)