Battle Royale by Koushun Takami (Book Review)
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This is the fifth (5th) installment of a book review series, based off of the books I was able to read within 2018.
Book discussed: Battle Royale by Koushun Takami.
I have been on somewhat of a book-to-film reading streak. Throughout this series, I’ve consistently chosen books that have movie counterparts, like Ender’s Game and the Star Wars Trilogy. Battle Royale also has a movie adaptation. And some of the next books that I will review in this series falls into that category.
When I read Ender’s Game, I have seen the movie prior to it, and have liked both iterations of the story. In the Star Wars Trilogy, I wasn’t able to read the books first, of course. I had watched the movies several times, therefore I will never know what it would feel like to read the book in such a way that I don’t know what’s coming next.
In Battle Royale, I was able to do just that. I have never seen the movie prior to reading the book. That way, I didn’t know what was going to happen in the plot, nor have any preconceived idea about what was to come once I started reading this book.
It was almost my birthday when I was given this book. I usually buy my books, but in this case, my friend had bought it for me. Though she did let me choose what I was going to get. Battle Royale has been in my list of “to-buys” for quite some time, so I took the chance.
This book is quite a pleasure to read. I loved how it was written. I loved the plot, the characters, the intimate moments between friends, the tension of facing unbridled enemies. Add to that the heart-stopping sensation I felt whenever somebody died.
Most character deaths don’t bother me when it comes to books. But in this story, which is all about killing one another- the deaths actually matter. It stays with you even after you’ve read like three or four chapters later. Because of how good it is written.
The author really knows when to place the emotional queues. And I love this story because of that.
Maybe in the near future, I would read this one again, because there’s really something about the world Takami created, that it’s quite illogical not to revisit it.
Rating System:
Story = 8.8
Writing Style = 9.6
Physical Synesthesia = 7.5
Time it took to finish = more than a month = 7.2
Price = P719.10 = 7.4
