Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
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Book Reviews of Battle Royale
Book Review: Dear lord...that's me!
Summary: 5 Stars
You're probably wondering who I'm talking about. I'm talking about Shogo. His mind is mine.If you are a high school student who is not afraid of brutal honesty when it comes to death and human nature, you owe it to yourself to read this book. One of these poor, doomed kids is you. You will see your own death. It's a sobering experince, that really gets you thinking. Read it, now.
Now, like I said, you'd better be ready for some brutal honesty. This shows in the writing style, which is clinical at times, and very human at others. The most infamous example of this would undoubtedly be the 'X STUDENTS REMAINING' at each scene change. This chilling tally even undergoes a transformation. Oh, yeah, and be prepared for accurate descriptions of death. This is not 'Hollywood-style' death, this is 'real-world' death. In other words, messy, and very messy. The biggest example of this is probably the fight between the nunchuk-equipped boy and the icepick-armed girl. Read it and I assure you, you'll know what I mean. Another example of this brutal honesty. The 'instructor'. This man is a cold, heartless bastard who truly enjoys his work. You -will- want him dead within five-minutes of meeting him, tops, for a slow reader. The goverment is of the type that you know is wrong, but you can't do a dammed thing about.
But there is a flip side to this honesty. Because the game is also about trust. You never quite know what a person is thinking, outside of a few characters, unless they're to die soon. And die they will. You are likely to cry for a couple of characters, and just as likely to cheer as other characters meet their messy ends.
Now, the back cover of the english edition calls this "a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century". Close, but not quite. If I was to use a number of different things to sum this up they would be: Lord of the Flies, 1984, snuff films, and Survivor, with a bundle of weapons and a ton of sadism. But this doesn't even come close. If you just read the book and can't find a connection to the characters (older readers, I'm talking to you), you will find this book to be much like the Program itself: violent, twisted, and ultimately, to quote Shogo: "Pointless". But if you see yourself in even one of these characters, you will have one very important question answered for you: "What will I do to survive?" In Lord of the Flies, a power struggle, along with the absence of authority, doomed the island society to a catastrophic breakdown. In Battle Royale, however, there is no peaceful way out. Authority is forcing you to kill. And no matter how much you believe in the fundamental goodness of humanity, you can't stop the truth portrayed in this book.
Battle Royale is a wake-up call to the New Age, and a hard lesson that really needs to be learned.
Oh, and in case you're wondering what my answer to that charming little question is, it's kill. Me over you.
Book Review: They should lock the author away in a nut house!
Summary: 5 Stars
Battle Royale is quite possibly the best book i've ever read. At least, in the action genre. But there is SO much more than action. The book, as you should by now know, is about an unfortunate group of Japanese students in which are taken to a deserted island,as a device of the corrupt government, and FORCED TO KILL ONE ANOTHER. (The corrupt government is a fictional one, and we are led to assume that the Japan we are experiencing is in an alternative world.)
*SLIGHT SPOILERS
There are around forty students, half male, hale female. Each one is armed with random weapons and let go at timed intervels. Each one is given a bag in which they find a map, bread, and water, and a weapon. The weapons are randomized as to add variety to the "game".The weapons range from knives to binoculars, forks, bulletproof vests, grenades and ect... Thats JUST the melee. In firearms you get anywhere from a Colt Python revolver to a Beretta, a UZI S.M.G to a Spas Shotgun. To say the least, these arent your normal school accouterments, and things WILL get messy.
Now, what ive described may seem like a total bloodfest, but you get more than that. You get to see each individual characters involvement in the "game", and most of their eventual demise. You get to see the psychological health of each teenager, each one knowing that only one survivor is possible. Some fight against the government, some willingly kill classmates, some hide dormant and formulate plans. Some form bonds and some trust no one. At least a quarter of the students go insane before they die...
Aside from violence due to suicide, strangulation, stab-bitation and more, there are... the collars...
Each student has a collar around their necks, which moniters location, life-signs ect... If they tamper with it... yep, it explodes. If they try and swim from the island, aside from the four battle ships waiting, the collars will explode. If they assualt the building in which the directors of the "game" stay at, the collars explode. If they are caught in a "forbidden zone", the collars explode.
Thats right, the forbidden zones. At specific intervals, students are let known of dead students, students remaining, and forbidden zones. Every hour a new coordinate on the grid-map that each student carries is marked, and students are to leave the area before said time. Or else... yep, the collar explodes.
Enough spoilers, however! To end my review, I will say that the translation of the book is wonderful, the writing too. There is enough violence in here to be offensive to some, but if you really cared you'd have stopped ready a while ago. The story is SOLID, the characters beleivable, although, to me, the ending wasnt in tune with the insanity which we had read for 600 hundred pages or so.
FIVE STARS OUT OF FIVE
BUY THE BOOK! INSANITY GALLORE!
Book Review: The big picture is now complete.
Summary: 5 Stars
I had originally seen the movie "Battle Royale," and heard that it was an adaptation of a novel. After a quick internet search, I came across "Battle Royale" by Koushun Takami. The movie was very interesting, so I felt that reading the novel might help me get more out of the overall experience. So after buying the book and finishing it, I'd say its definitely a buy.
My reasons for getting the book are not the same as other people's reasons, though. Many people often feel that movie adaptations are often not as good as the book, but in this case the movie "Battle Royale" was almost exactly true to the story and really brought these interesting characters to life on the big screen. Saying this, I feel that the plot can be picked up just as easily from the movie than the book.
But the novel can explain a lot more than the movie can. One of the reasons why I'd recommend the novel is because it allows you to get into the character's heads and see what they're thinking. The movie only had so much time to tell the story, so many characters who actually had significant roles were often glanced over to keep the movie going. The book allows you to see these extra things. My other reason for buying the novel is because it does a better job of explaining events than the movie. Things such as how certain students came to find eachother, how they aquired certain weapons, and how they learned the skills they knew.
Now, I cannot think of any novel that doesn't have its flaws, and "Battle Royale" is no exception. The worst thing about this novel is both a compliment and a complaint. And this flaw is the attention to detail. As much as I enjoyed the storylines of supporting characters getting fleshed out, there were many instances where a character would get multiple pages of back story that had no relevance to the plot, only to be killed after a few lines of dialogue between him and the killer. Where these unneccessary exchanges occur could be used to give MORE detail to the overall storyline of Japan as an isolationist nation along with China forming "Greater East Asia," and their feelings towards the "American Imperialists" of the West. I feel that this concept itself deserves its own novel, yet we never see this plot take off from the ground, aside from remarks from the characters showing animosity towards the government.
All in all, "Battle Royale" is a must own for anyone's book collection. It answers any questions one may have for those who have seen the movie, and creates its own new experience for those who haven't. The book explains almost too much at some points, and not enough at others, but this doesn't take away from the concept.
For its innovation; 5/5
Book Review: Battle Royale's Inner Battle
Summary: 5 Stars
Your fifteen years old and your life status at this point seems pretty ok, in fact, things seem just as good as ever. Your government runs this program- The Program, that is- third year junior high grades [9th grade in america], are selected by lottery, on an annual basis to participate in this program. If selected, you and your class get to go to some island or isolated area and play a game of survival... to the extreme. Last one standing, most literally. Given one weapon, a liter of water and some lousy bread, you are sent off one by one into the area; Your instructions? Kill your friends and don't be killed. If you want to ever go home again, you must be the last one alive.
If you are looking for something different then the traditional run-of-the-mill writing, then this book may just suit you well. As the book says- its almost like a 21st century version of Lord of the Flies. Its a gripping tale of fourty two students who are selected to participate in The Program, much to their horror. The book travels along with Shuya and Noriko- how they meet an unexpected ally, Shogo, and they try to beat the odds and get out of the game. Things arent as easy as they seem though, because everyone else has this same idea in mind.
Before their eyes they see their classmates killed off as some participate in this 'game' and some try not to. It's a tale that reckons with a human's inner battle; the want and will to do right, to do good, and how easily it can be manipulated if an instance of fear for life is brought in. It shows how no loyalty, regardless of how deep, can last; no friendship, regardless of how strong, can truly stand; and how love, being the strongest, is the only factor that can perhaps overtake the surging need to live.
If you can deal with idea of students fighting for their lives, and if you can deal with the death scenes, you may find this book fall among your favorites. I highly recommend this book. Yes, there are some rather graphic scenes of death [yet, not overdone as to be disgusting or disorderly], but the themes portrayed through the writing are so well written in and held up that its completely worth reading. Not only this, but the writing style is unique. Passages are well written to a point where the effect on the reader is quite strong.
Well written: 9/10
Sex: 0/10 [none]
Violence: 20/10
Unexpected Twists: 10/10
When something as great in value as your life is on the line- good intentions sometimes take an unexpected turn.
Hope this helped. Happy reading!
Book Review: AWES0ME B000K !!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I LOVE THIS B00K.
Okay, so I watched the movie before reading the book so it was a little awkward since I already knew what was going to happen. But yes, the book is 20,000 times better than the movie!! The background stories to each character actually make you start to care for them.
Althought its like 600 pages, its worth it!!! I read it all in 3 days :D When you first start it, you just cant stop.
Battle Royale is basically about sometime in the future where in Japan, students are rebellious and stuff because the economy is failing. Forty students are kidnapped and placed on an island where they must participate in the Program known as BR. They must where these collars that have a bomb in them and they have 3 days to kill each other. If its the 3rd day and there's more than one survivor, then they will all die.
Now that you know what it's about, I have to tell you, this book is just so awesome!!! It's a real page turner for sure!!
Then some parts made me laugh like some dialogue but then some parts really make you cry! And feel depressed. Especially when the character in the novel is thinking back on how their life was prior the present. It's so thought provoking. Then when they think about what's happening to them, It makes you feel hopeless like you were in their situation. Thats how good this book is.
I think this book really makes you think about your life and how you should always be living life to the fullest because you never know when everything can just be taken away from you!!! I learned that from this book.
See usually I never read books. I was like bleh reading um ya. But BATTLE ROYALE really captured my attention!! So just read it.
Um, The ending is pretty sad too. Well sort of happy. Actually, everything is sad! When a book can make you feel emotions, that means its really good. That's why i love this book!!
Yeah i remember this one part where one of my favorite characters died. It made me so depressed and I even started crying during the part when he dies!!! My mom was like wtf. But yea, see how strong this book is!!
I've said it before, & i'll say it again [cuz i can] this book is awesome, a page turner, and really makes you feel emotions like you're in the Program.
I definitely recommend you to buy this book & watch the movie!!! Tell your friends too!! Watch it kae.!! Be like nike, just do it!!! Heheheh um ya.