Book Report 6: Battle Royale
This is another book I had read many years ago, about 15 years ago? There's also a Japanese movie and Manga about it. I remember the movie being good, but not that great. The manga was amazing. I wanted to re-read this book again after all these years and my friend Kevin mailed it to me for my birthday. It arrived the night before my birthday, so it was a pleasant surprise.
It's a long book, about 700 pages, and I was able to finish it in about a week.
It's great rereading something and being able to reflect on it differently as an adult.
The story is quiet dark, to put it lightly. 42 Japanese 9th graders are put on an island by a fascist government, with the goal to only have one person standing. You get to read about the various emotions everyone is going through, from those who want to attack the government, those who want to escape, those who want to hide, those who become hopeless, those who become overcome with fear, and those who are unusually calm and actively play this 'game.
The book does a great job at expressing and elaborating on the various emotions that the characters go through, and making you feel those emotions. It makes you feel that, no matter all the troubles you have in your life, whether it's your work, love life, situation, etc. you don't have it anywhere nearly as bad as these students have, being forced on an island to fight and kill other 9th grades who were their friends/lovers/classmates just the day before.
As I don't want to spoil the book, I won't go into specific details.
However, while I highly recommend the book, you need to be prepared to also experience deep emotions yourself while reading. Anger, worry, maybe hate, definitely a bit (at least) sick to your stomach (as the author is quite detailed about the gruesome nature and consequences of some of the deaths). Why do I recommend it?
The author is fantastic at captivating the reader, making you want to flip the page to find out more. Who will live? who will make a stupid mistake? What emotions will the next chapter make me feel? Is there a way out of this crazy game, or will they all die? will one survive? if so who?
The detailed character development makes me think of Game of Thrones, where you get attached to a character, and then the character is killed off.
I am now wondering if I should reread the manga again, though I know the story of the book is definitely more intense and enjoyable. I do plan to re-watch the movie later though, that's for sure!
The book does a fantastic job at helping you use your imagination and to learn how to better visual events. It also helps you manage your emotions better, as you go through so many various emotions through each chapters; it is quite captivating to say the least.
One important factor the book touches on quite extensively, and the author explains more thoroughly in the afterword, is about trust. Who can you really trust? Anyone? No one? How will people react in times of crisis and stress? Can they be trusted normally, but not through a crisis?
While there is a lot of betray in the book that makes you doubt in trust all together, the conclusion of the book (I won't ruin it!) occurs because of those who kept their trust and didn't let it disappear (though it did falter at times, in the end they kept it strong). To me, this shows that, while we cannot blindly trust everyone, not having trust is the end all of be all, and being able to build a trusting relationship is the key to a happy, successful, and fulfilling future. Trust is indeed important and necessary for human survival.
In conclusion, I highly recommend this book, if you're ready for your emotions to be tested. You will appreciate your life more, what you have, your situation, and everything around you extensively more after you read this book and realize you don't live in that world.