The Hunger Games

Hunger Games, Book One

By: Suzanne Collins

Narrated by: Tatiana Maslany

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Emmy Award-winning actress Tatiana Maslany narrates a brand-new special edition recording of the first audiobook in the worldwide best-selling trilogy from Suzanne Collins!

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by 12 outlying districts. The Capitol keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to death before - and survival, for her, is second nature. Still, if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

This special edition audiobook includes a bonus track Q&A with Tatiana Maslany!

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2008 Suzanne Collins (P)2018 Scholastic Inc.

Now THIS is what Katniss is supposed to sound like

The Hunger Games trilogy has been important to me ever since the first movie came out. I loved the symbolism, the storytelling, the protagonist, and the metaphor for war. I love that the mental health impacts of oppression, traumatic loss, parental mental illness, and war are represented in a way that neither glosses over psychological and functional imparements nor turns mental illness into a plot device. I love the gender role flipping. And I love that such a hard story is written in a way that is compelling, exciting, brutal, and digestible for young and old alike.

But when I bought the audiobook on sale a little while back, I was deeply disappointed. In this medium, the narrator can make or break the story, and the narrator they chose for the trilogy was all wrong for a trilogy that immerses readers so deeply inside of Katniss’s mind. Tatiana Maslany, however, is splendid. I know it was her first time narrating, and voice acting is so different from screen acting, but other than being a bit too breathy at times, I loved every minute. It was like rediscovering the joy of the Hunger Games all over again. I’m ten years older, but this story never gets old for me. It’s so important. I hope they bring Tatiana back to narrate the rest of the trilogy (hint hint).

I also enjoyed the extras. One was a short interview with Tatiana, included after the final chapter, in which she answers questions about what the Hunger Games has meant to her and her experience narrating the first book. The other extra is a PDF downloadable from your library here on Audible’s website, which includes the transcripts of two interviews—one with Suzanne Collins done to celebrate ten years, and the second a forum with Suzanne and Walter Dean Meyers about the importance of writing war stories suitable for children and youth. The extras may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I loved them.

Thank you to everyone who made this special edition happen. And, um... about the next two books... pretty pretty please?

Makes me love the story again!

This recording made me fall in love with the story all over again. Captivating book, but the narration this time around is spot on. Tatiana does an amazing job. I hope the other books in the series will be done with her as well. Reminded me why I love this series.

Incredible

I just finished the audiobook and I am having a hard time thinking how I am going to review this book. You see I read this series way back in paperback style and I fell in love with these characters. With their strength and fortitude, the fact that they are so young and have to fight to the death and yet they are not surprised because this has been in their life for as far as they could ever remember.

Listening is a whole new experience Tatiana Maslany does an incredible job getting you to visually see what she is reading. Does it help that I have watched these movies over and over again sure but there are parts that are not in the movies and you can see them with just as much visual insight because of the way Tatiana preforms.

I forgot just how in the mind of Katniss we really are in the books it’s interesting and kept me enthralled, but also just having finished the newest addition to this series. I am also seeing how Snow would look at what Katniss does in the arena and how it would threaten what he has built. How easy it was for him to see his district 12 female in place of Katniss. Interesting and one I am glad I got a chance to listen to before diving into this one.

So much better!

Thank you for re-recording this with a better reader/performer! I love this book but the previous recording was hard to listen to. This is so much better. This Katniss sounds like the stressed, conflicted, angry and anxious teen she is supposed to be. I really hope there are plans to re-record the other two books!

great narrator BUT...

like all the other reviewers said, great narration. Only thing I'd say is that she has an annoying tendency to pronounce "against" as "A-Gaynst". I've never heard anyone pronounce it that way and it strikes me as odd, and takes me out of the story. Other than that, great narration and great story, and I hope she does the rest of the series.

This IS the definitive audio version of this book

I’ll start by acknowledging yes she does start with a very breathy sighing way of talking. But I becomes less pronounced as the book goes on. She sounds 100% the way Katniss should. I hope they do the rest of the series with her. And not the VERY young sounding girl they had originally.

Finally, the THG Audiobook we DESERVE!

I had to listen to the THG audiobooks when the books first came out because I had access to those and not the physical copies. I was waiting on a friend to let me borrow them, but I couldn't stop listening. However, the narrator made me picture Katniss as an older woman as well as other characters, and I still remember to this day the way she said "want a sugar cube?" in an extremely un-sexy deep southern accented voice, and shudder.

Fast forward to now, as I am listening to my favorite actress narrating the book. It's such a relief and 1000x better. I've loved Tatiana since Orphan Black, and was excited to finally listen to a GOOD version of the audiobook. I hope they release the rest!

On the precipice of greatness

Kind of strange to write a review for such a prolific title but... here goes. This book (haven’t finished the series yet) felt like it was always teetering on the precipice of 5 stars but backed away.

It is a great premise and the shining points are the realistic portrayal of the book’s dark and twisted world, the insidious effects of being coerced into supporting one’s own enslavement, and some extremely strong emotional moments of sadness and inspiration.

I think the biggest issue I have with the book is it being limited to only one perspective. I found myself constantly wishing that I could witness the reactions and thoughts of others, of the audience watching the brutal drama of The Games play out. How do different people and different groups respond to the events? What’s the larger effect on society of the very events and emotions playing out on their screens? We were entirely severed from the outside world during the games and very little feedback was garnered afterward.

It would be difficult, even cumbersome to show reactions in all 12 districts and the capitol, of course, but I think even one perspective on the outside would have added an extremely valuable element to the story, whose absence was palpable and frequently felt. I think Haymich would have been the best choice. His perspective would have offered insight into the long-term psychological impact of these traumas, his conflicting emotions around training others to suffer as he did, the inter-generational connection and special bond of survivors of The Games, the reactions of himself and those around him in the Capitol during The Games, his subtle efforts to protect his charges, both in The Games and outside of it...

His story would have been every bit as riveting as Catniss’ and would have made the book leagues better. Huge missed opportunity, IMO.

There were other gripes too: it’s not believable to me that the Tributes, particularly Cat and Pita, wouldn’t ally with their district’s other member from the start. The coincidental timing of the most tragic death was astronomically unlikely. The ending felt very lackluster and didn’t leave any momentum or intrigue for a sequel... But the single perspective was definitely the main issue.

That said, it’s still a very good book and worth a listen. No complaints on the narration.

Edit: Having now finished the series, the 2nd book is okay but mostly repetitive, the 3rd I would highly recommend skipping, unless you’re really into nihilism and depression. There’s not a lot of closure to be had either.

Wonderful

Narration, spot on; plot, exceptional; world building, excellent; character development, impressive. I've heard a lot of mixed opinions about this book. I thought it was incredible, flawless really. It drew me in and portrayed the story in much richer and more gripping detail than the movie. I always read the books AFTER I watch the movie version if possible because the book is always better. In this case, they are very close to equal, but the book still wins in the end. I highly recommend this audiobook. I finished it in 2 days because I just couldn't walk away from it. Absolutely stunning.

Great story, good narration

I bought the special edition because the narrator was somewhat better than the other version. The movies follow this book pretty well, only leaving out a few characters. I look forward to the narrators comments at the end, but that was a total waste. She sounded like a child giggling and making no sense. Even worse was the slurping noises as she talked, it sounded like she was chomping on a wad of gum. Very disappointing to listen to the book, and get absolutely nothing from the 'special feature.'