“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is a prequel novel written in a time before the events of “The Hunger Games.” It was released in late May of 2020 and garnered the attention of many new fans as well as long time fans of the series. The book was graciously received by all of those who read it. Suzanne Collins thought this story was necessary to add into the grand scheme of her series, following the motto of, “The show’s not over until the mockingjay sings.”
And surely, Collins orchestrates a lovely, heartbreaking tale set in the distant past of the Hunger Games universe. However, unlike the original trilogy, this is not a story of rebellion. The Ballad is about an upbringing, rather than an uprising. There is a different time period, characters from the past and present, and the origin story of the deadly and questionable Hunger Games.
The Hunger Games were created as a punishment for the districts that was so extreme that they would never forget the strength of the Capital. Every year, twenty-four tributes would be reaped, two from each of the twelve districts. This is a brutal event where they are all thrown into an arena together and forced to fight to the end. However, after ten years, the tradition of the games was dying out, and people were not watching. Some even found it distasteful.
This book picks up after the events of the first district uprising against the Capital. A terrible war left the whole nation scarred and worn. Even the rich upper class of the Capital citizens had turned to desperate measures to survive. After years of trying to rebuild, the Capital is finally in a good enough place to start prospering once again.
Our main protagonist–and antagonist–is a young and poor Coriolanus Snow, the villain from the original trilogy. He has grown up through the atrocities of the war on the Capital side. The Ballad implements early on his morals and world views, and what motivates his actions. Snow manipulates and lies his way through the system and will only continue to grow worse in the name of trying to salvage his family name.
Outside characters include his kind-hearted best friend, or the utterly insane professor in charge of the Hunger Games, or even a humble district girl that he is chosen to mentor. All of these very fluid and dynamic characters come together to shape his story, as he unhealthily competes with his other classmates that he attends university with.
Throughout the process, Snow’s desperation turns complicated when he can no longer be entirely selfish and finds himself falling in love. This is one of his main hindrances and changes the course of his story. After transforming the Games forever with his ideas of entertainment and prolonging, he now finds himself in a spot of success. He also deals with failure as he is facing repercussions for his actions that he took to get to that point.
This twists into a story focused on love and deceit, seeing as he chases the girl he loves back home, prepared to abandon his life in the Capital. When his plans to be free are interrupted by mistrust, his own consequences come back to bite him, and he ends the book with his motives aligned. His priorities become straightened and his descent into madness and obsession with control over the districts of Panem with an iron first.
The Ballad’s successes were so massive that it paved the way for a film adaptation that was released on November 17th, 2023. The movie was beautifully written and shot and captured the true essence of “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” The message of the book was portrayed even more clearly, and according to the audiences’ scores, the film was received fantastically. This movie is seen as a massive achievement and is beloved by fans of “The Hunger Games.”
