i found a lie inside my heart today.
it reeked of cleanliness and perfection.
that i’m better now,
that i’m better than i was.
another lie answered back
i found comfort in the familiarity of its grip
that i’m just as broken as before
and that i’ll always be
all these things i crave
that they’ll never leave

i ache to agree
to choose my pain
but i ache greater to be at peace

all i know of lies
is that they distort the truth
all i know of truth
is that it is you

lost between
i resolve to know nothing
i remember i know nothing
but you

and

i remember where to find you
because i know where i am
we are between my heaven and hell

this?
this.
this is love.

- Lauren @ Deeper Story

Many, many people I know have read these books now so I thought it was about time I jumped on the bandwagon. I managed to read all three (they’re each about 450 pages long) in just five days – I’m not sure if that says more about the books or my vast amount of free time pre-semester – and am torn between loving them and writing them off as more Twlilight-esque drivel. Or maybe that’s the same thing?

*Spoiler Alert*

So the similarities with Twilight are pretty obvious. Teenage female central character who strops a lot. Weird love triangle where female central character can’t decide who she loves. Continuous build up of suspense to be thoroughly disappointed by lack of action (usually as female central character blacks out). I just hope Jennifer Lawrence can pull off moody female protagonist better than Kristen Stewart when the movie comes out in March.

But the books do point to something deeper. Set in a futuristic North America, where the majority of the human race has been wiped out through civil war, those in command in the Capitol keep their subjects in the outlying districts under control by forcing them to sacrifice two of their young people to the deadliest form reality TV has ever taken. The Hunger Games. Twenty-four teenagers must fight to the death for the entertainment of the Capitol citizens and to remind the districts that the Capitol is in control. Eventually, partly due to the actions of the main characters as they fight for their lives in the arena, a rebellion begins as the districts try to overthrow the corrupt regime.

An interesting comment on reality TV and the perverse ends such forms of “entertainment” might one day be used for, has become much more, I think, in light of the Arab Spring this past year. Suzanne Collins presents different reactions to such situations of oppression – do you subvert the system with acts of non-violent rebellion or resort to militarization and force? And does one necessarily lead to the next if there is to be true liberation? She also conveys the corrupting nature of power and the dangers of trying to establish a democracy, especially when a rebellion has a clear leader who wishes to step in to the power seat.

Though the books were clever and entertaining and just the break from reality that I needed before the craziness of semester begins, there were moments of disappointment. Such as the numerous times when the protagonist would black out or be injured just at the climax of an event and we would have to hear about it hurriedly through its retelling by another character. There were also moments, in the last few chapters of the third book in particular, where I actually laughed out loud at the stupidity of the characters or the predictability of the plot.

I’m still really looking forward to the movie though.

Bacon
Mini-sausages
Cheddar cheese
Turkey
Cranberry Jelly
Stuffing
Gammon
Duck
Orange Sauce

AMAZING.

We’ve decided it’s going to be a new tradition and that we’re not going to eat for a number of days, or a few hours at the very least!!

The media keeps describing it as being all about family but they’re skimming over the whole second half which was all about Jesus:

“Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves – from our recklessness or our greed.

God sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive. . .

It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God’s love. . . “

There were more than a few tears in our house. It was a little surreal to hear the monarch be open about her Christian convictions, doing something so counter cultural and difficult for many within the church at times. I had a huge amount of respect for her already but it has just increased a whole lot.

There were more tears later in the day too thanks to Doctor Who and Downton Abbey – hooray for happy endings! And as The Doctor says, happy tears make us human. Like Jesus, at Christmas. Incredible.

And post-Christmas . . .