It comes from “panem et circenses”, the Latin for “bread and games”, the cry of the Roman populace for food and entertainment. “Panem” is the name of the capital city in Hunger Games. The inspiration seems to have been the gladiators’ fights in ancient Rome. I enjoyed the antiutopian setting of a ruthlessly upturned United States in which, the capital demands a tribute from each of the local district to fight to the death in a yearly slaughter. If you are looking for a gripping read, Hunger Games is an easy fix. I finished it the next evening, and naturally started thinking of excuses to start reading the next ones. I started reading when waiting for a relatively unpleasant medical appointment – and it really does take an absorbing book to take your mind off things in such a situation. I was intrigued enough that when a kindle edition came up on special offer, I decided to give it a go. I saw all the movies, and then a few years later I came across Roxane Gay’s article about the Hunger Games. In fact I had little intention of reading the books at all. Hunger Games is one of those few instances where I did not insist on reading the book before I saw the film.
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