July 23, 2012 by Erin

Allusion

I know a lot of us have been pretty upset about the last installment of the Hunger Games trilogy, but here’s a letter from the author that explains a lot. SPOILER ALERT: it gives away almost everything worth knowing about Mockingjay.

Dear Adoring Readers,

First of all, I’d like to thank you for making my Hunger Games trilogy so wildly successful. I never would have dreamed my work would have achieved this level of popularity. Really. It’s kind of funny, actually. Anyway, I just want to say it means a lot, you reading my books and all. Especially when I’m competing with writers like Stephenie Meyer (one of the greats).

So listen, I’ve been getting these letters, and they sound really angry, asking lots of questions I don’t understand. It seems like some people have issues with Mockingjay, which doesn’t make much sense because it’s sold millions of copies and it’s going to be a MOVIE. Not all books are movie material, you know. But I guess some people don’t get that and they were like upset, so my editor helped me address some of their concerns.

First of all, I think you should all know that writing is pretty hard. And the first book was really good, right? That took a lot out of me. And I guess what I’m saying is that I’ve done my fair share of plot development at this point. So if Mockingjay has loose ends or pointless action, I’m not really sure I could’ve done anything about it. I was really tired when I wrote it. Anyway, don’t you as readers know how to fill in gaps? Do I have to do everything for you? It’s FAN-TA-SY. Use your imaginations.

I’m also thrown off by all these complaints about pov. (What is pov anyway?) Well, the pov complainers have a problem with me using Katniss’ voice all the time, and I’m like, duh, who else’s voice would I use? She’s the MAIN CHARACTER. It’s like these people want to know what’s going on in Peeta’s head or something. How am I supposed to know what every character is thinking all the time? Sheesh. Not even Stephenie Meyer can do that.

Katniss is pretty great anyway. She can shoot a bow and arrow. She gets confused and hostile a lot, which maybe isn’t the best thing, but it’s normal. I don’t think we could really expect a poor kid from the sticks to be noble or anything. It was pretty hard for her to volunteer for her sister in the first book, so she doesn’t really need to think about being selfless anymore. She’s under a lot of pressure in Mockingjay, and when I thought of what I would do in her situation, I really thought I would literally go crazy. So it seemed like the best thing for the book would be if Katniss was “mentally disoriented” for most of it. I mean, that’s real life. And, BONUS, if my narrator is nuts, the story doesn’t have to make sense either. Who says I didn’t think this through?

What I’m most confused by are the accusations about the ending. Uh, hello, Katniss and Peeta get married. Isn’t that what everyone wanted? Did you want more kissing or something? (And we all knew that was coming anyway, so I really don’t see why I’d need to give Gale’s story any closure.) Can you imagine if in the end I had told you what happens to Panem after the Capitol falls? BORING. And what do you mean there’s “no real triumph of good”? Listen: President. Snow. Dies.

I hope that helps everyone see why Mockingjay really was about as good as it could’ve been. Maybe not as good as the first two books, but that’s alright. I mean, I like to be realistic. Did I mention it’s going to be a movie? That’s freaking awesome — real or not real? REAL.

Affectionately,

Suzanne Collins

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Note on 7/30/12: When I first posted this, it never even entered my mind that anyone would think Suzanne Collins really wrote this letter. I’m actually still a little confused about that. But, just to be clear: this is satire, folks. I wrote the letter. Guess I’m better than I thought :-) 

May the odds be ever in your favor,

E