Battle Royale by Koushun Takami Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Battle Royale
Book Review: 'Could you kill your best friend?'
Summary: 5 Stars
'Could you kill your best friend?'This was the theme for the first BR. When I say FIRST BR, that is because, for those who enjoyed the first and don't know, there is a second BR coming out. The theme for BR2 is: 'This time its war!'
Now moving to the book. I am the kind of person that naturally likes the novel better than the movie and this book was just that. The movie was good but the book was MUCH MUCH better.
I learned about BR through a friend. We are both in 8th grade and we came attracted to this story because it involved students around our age group. My friend and I fell in love with BR but she loved it by watching the movie, not reading the novel. After the movie, she read the book and realize how much better the novel was. I had the privilege of reading the novel first and expected alot from the movie.
It IS very gorey, scary, maybe even too much for students around our age. But it also had a delicious thrill. I love novels that can scare me, pain my mind with sorrow, and make me cry with bittersweet romance. This novel had all that and more. It's not a mystery that all around the country, people of different age groups all come to respect this one novel. My friends and I think it is worthy of some recognition, thus, we have many sites about BR to share it with the world.
I recommend this book to anyone who delights in a good book and anyone who likes to be swept over by waves of fear, sorrow, relief and love. Many people, including me, have read and enjoyed it. So enjoy it too! ^_^
Book Review: (4.5): Modern Masterpiece
Summary: 4 Stars
I was simply blown away by this book - I had already seen the movie and read the manga, but reading the original book was another experience unto itself. Takami has taken an incredibly creative premise - an alternate future Japan randomly selects middle school classes to battle it out until only one student survives - and somehow manages to balance 40 characters and their individual emotional cores. There is something both mature and oddly touching about the way these middle school kids balance ideas of love and loyalty and friendship while faced with the task of killing each other. The book has many moments of pure sadness and tragedy that both the movie and the manga don't quite match. Many compare this book to the "Lord of the Flies" which is a fair comparison. As long as you're alright reading about violence, this book is a must-read. Comic book fans will rejoice at the pacing and the ability of Takami to make everything so real. Buy this, you won't be disappointed.Book Review: 1 book remaining - GAME OVER
Summary: 4 Stars
This book, has kept me up at night for the past few weeks just so I can read on till I fall asleep, it has given me a well of emotions I didn't even know about. I actually felt scared at some points in this book for the people in it. This is what books are about! the twists in plot are amazing and they will play with all the emotions you have left at the end of reading it, as you start to wonder about what you would do were you stuck on an Island and forced to do these things to others.
The only problem I find with this book is the translations are just that little bit off, it's not horrific but it just interupts the flow of your reading, BUT that still does not take away from the fact that it is a masterpiece
Book Review: 1 of the best books EVER
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is so many things. A normal gory action book to one person, an interesting commentary on man the next. Battle Royale will keep you glued to the pages.Is SERIOUSLY not recomended to the squeamish! It is also an amazing thriller if your just looking for that sort of thing. Can be compared to Lord of the flies and a clockwork orange. BUY ITBook Review: 1984 meets Lord of the Flies... in a slightly awkward translation
Summary: 4 Stars
Before purchasing Battle Royale in English translation, I had watched the movie and translated several chapters from the original Japanese for a language course. In response to other critics who have mentioned the awkward prose (especially in dialogue), I have to agree... BUT please be aware that the fault lies in the translation - the original was more linguistically engaging. Not that my amateurish attempt was any better...! So, while I would give the translation a 3, my overall perspective on the text forces me to concede a higher rating.
Ultimately, the premise of this text makes the annoying translation issues seem minimal. As other reviewers have mentioned, this sci-fi/horror story portrays a nationalistic Japan in some alternate present/future (slightly ambiguous). The isolated government employs fear as a control tactic, but citizens seem ambivalent to the situation. Supposedly for some unexplained "study" (or perhaps just to continue the scare tactics and provide people with a sensational news item), an entire junior high school class (consisting of around 40 students) is periodically selected for the Program. (Insert foreboding music!) The students, who believe they are travelling on a traditional school trip, find themselves collared with explosives, assigned a random weapon (ranging from various guns/weaponry to a seemingly useless compass) and entered in a killing game. To avoid a peaceful resolution, students are separated and informed that if they fail to kill each other, in three days their collars will explode.
With 42 students to work with, the author attempts to portray a variety of responses to this shocking situation. Some of the classmates attempt to band together, others abandon any hint of morality, and a few choose suicide over the prospect of participating in such a game. Though the characters occasionally strike me as oversimplified, the reader must remember that there are 42 students, so not all can be completely analyzed.
Certainly worth a read, and locate the movie if you can... I hate to say it (this is slightly sacrilegious for a reader) but I enjoyed the film more than the English translation.