Katniss Everdeen – The Reluctant Rebel

“Nobody decent ever wins the games.”

Katniss Everdeen is the main protagonist of the Hunger Games trilogy, but she doesn’t really see herself as a hero. She’s a rebel, if a reluctant one. She claims she never wanted to be the symbol of a revolution. She goes on quite a journey, and her experiences change her dramatically.

It’s very clear that she started out wanting to protect her sister, then Peeta, then her family and Gale. Eventually she realised that she was being used, exploited and manipulated for someone else’s benefit. The Mockingjay symbol, the idea of the Mockingjay is not who she really is, just who Panem thinks she is.

A Little Bit of a Rebel

Katniss was forced to grow up fast, thrown into an adult role before she reached her teens. Her father died in a coal mine explosion when she was eleven and her mother fell into a deep depression. This meant Katniss had to take charge to feed herself and her family. Eventually she used the skills her father had begun to teach her to find food. Peeta helped by giving her bread, giving her hope and a reminder that she could do something about her situation.

It was illegal to cross the fence, leave the boundaries of District Twelve, hunt game, make and use weapons of any kind and to sell on the black market in the Hob. Of course, she got away with it because a lot of the Peacekeepers and the merchants bought from her. Even the Mayor bought strawberries she collected.

She met Gale in the woods and the eventually traded skills, he taught her about snares and traps while she taught him how to use a bow. They became friends and agreed to take care of the other’s family should one of them be reaped. They shared their hauls and profits equally.

While in the woods, they would talk. Gale was always the more vocal in his dislike for the Capitol and the system keeping them poor. Katniss was wary of saying too much, but it’s clear she somewhat agrees with him. She was worried what would happen to Prim if something happened to her.

She avoided open rebellion but she was more than happy to break the local laws and venture beyond the fence. She was happy to trade in the black market. She knew the consequences, should one of the Peacekeepers take offence or something. But equally, she knew that this was necessary for her family to survive.

I Volunteer!

Katniss is so sure that Prim won’t be reaped in the 74^th Hunger Games, as she only has one entry. Yet it happens, and she barely hesitates to volunteer in Prim’s place. She will fight to protect her loved ones, risk her life to save Prim. It’s a strong motivation and it informs most of her major decisions throughout the story.

During her private evaluations, she is angered by the Gamemakers overlooking her. Her first arrow misses because she’s unused to the bow provided, but afterwards she nails every shot. But the Gamemakers are bored and ignore her efforts.

So she boldly draws attention to herself by shooting the apple out of the roast pig’s mouth, pinning it to the wall and shocking the Gamemakers. This proves she is a contender for the games, capable enough to potentially win.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

I also like the symbolism here. The Capitol people feast lavishly, even using an emetic so they throw up and can go on eating. While the people in the districts are starving, with malnutrition extremely commonplace. So she takes food out of the mouth of a pig. It’s very interesting, and definitely foreshadows the rebellion that happens later.

“I’m more than just a piece in their Games.”

The night before the arena, Peeta says this and Katniss gets angry. She can’t afford to think like that, she can only focus on trying to survive and get back home. She’s in survival mode, as she has been her entire life.

Katniss spends a lot of time trying to figure out Peeta’s angle, assuming everything he says and does is purely sstrategy. Her reaction to him confessing his crush on her on live TV is the same, she is angry. She doesn’t trust him. She doesn’t know what to make of him. Yet, when the first deaths are shown after the bloodbath, she is relieved and conflicted when she realises he’s alive.

The Mockingjay’s First Alliance

Katniss conflates Rue with Prim in a big way. She sees her little sister in Rue, thinking how unfair it is that such a sweet young girl is going into this fight to the death. She ends up forming an alliance with Rue and a plan to destroy the Career Pack’s supplies. This is the second time the Mockingjay motif shows up. First is the pin, given to her by the Mayor’s daughter (in the book) or Greasy Sae (in the film). Rue teaches Katniss how to use a short melody to signal via the Mockingjay birds.

When Rue is fatally injured by Marvel (District One) she kills him immediately without a thought, acting on instinct. She comforts Rue as she dies, then memorialises her with flowers and the farewell gesture used at funerals in Twelve. This three fingered salute later becomes a symbol of defiance. Again, Katniss was only thinking of the little girl, an adopted sister, that she watched die. She wasn’t defying the Capitol, she was mourning the loss of her ally.

Nightlock

After Cato dies to the mutts, the Gamemakers revoke the rule change allowing for two victors from the same district. Katniss is immediately defensive but Peeta refuses to attack her. She then decides if both of them can’t live, then they shouldn’t get a Victor at all. They agree to eat the nightlock berries, a double suicide pact.

They have no choice but to declare them both Victors, but Snow sees this as an act of rebellion. It is, but Katniss isn’t thinking about overthrowing the President and the Capitol. She’s thinking about survival and saving Peeta. She has feelings for Peeta, even though she doesn’t understand exactly what they are.

“Convince me.”

“It must be a fragile system if it can be brought down by just a few berries.”

Snow visits Katniss before their Victory Tour. He is worried about uprisings in the districts and tells her that she must convince all of Panem that she is just so in love that she’s ready to die. To convince Snow himself that her love is real and that’s the only reason she did what she did.

In District Eleven, giving the eulogy for Rue and Peeta’s promise to donate winnings to their families. An elderly man whistles the signal and raises the three fingered salute, and is quickly executed for it, much to Katniss’ horror. As they go through the districts, it’s clear that they’re not slowing down the rebellion.

Even though Peeta proposes, at the party Snow confirms that she has failed to pacify the districts. She and Peeta are both horrified when they learn about the drink that makes you sick so you can eat everything you want. The stark difference between the Capitol and the Districts, that people are suffering and starving while the Capitol residents are indulgent and eating to excess. The unfairness of the system is so clear.

New Head Peacekeeper

When Thread arrives as the new Head Peacekeeper in Twelve, and he is flogging Gale in the square, Katniss intervenes. She throws herself into the situation, risking herself for someone she cares about. She sees that things are changing, the Capitol are pushing back to subdue the districts. She’s still not thinking about any grand cause or revolution, just her loved ones.

Bonnie and Twill

This part only happens in the books. After the Victory Tour, Katniss ends up in the woods and meets two women who are fugitives from District Eight. They tell Katniss that they believe District 13 isn’t as destroyed as people think, and they are going there. They are confident because the footage shown every year is the same, confirmed by a Mockingjay wing in the corner. The Mockingjay is back to foreshadow and represent Katniss’ role in the rebellion.

Katniss teaches them survival skills and returns home, finding the fence electrified and Peacekeepers waiting to question her family when she fails to return home. They are surprised to see her but Peeta and Haymitch help her with a cover. So they’re now bothering to enforce the law about leaving the district territory. Because it gives them an excuse to target Katniss and her family.

The Quarter Quell

The movies basically confirm that the plan for the 75^th Hunger Games was deliberately changed to target her. Because she is the only living female Victor in Twelve, so if they reap from the living Victors, she’s guaranteed to go into the arena again and nobody can volunteer for her. Understandably she’s enraged and distraught about this. She is determined to save Peeta if she can, convincing Haymitch to volunteer for him.

During the run up to the Games, a lot happens that makes the rebellion a bit more overt. From Katniss’ display of Seneca Crane’s death, to the wedding gown transforming into a Mockingjay, to Peeta’s lie about her pregnancy. All of the tributes are angry and express this during their interviews, but nothing stops the games.

In the arena, she finds herself with a range of allies: Finnick, Mags, Johanna, Wiress and Beetee. All of them were in on the plan to get Katniss out of the arena. During the games, Katniss definitely seems to be falling for Peeta and is determined to make sure he survives. She still doesn’t know that she’s the symbol of the rebellion.

Once she recovers, she prepares to kill Peeta to stop him being tortured, before learning the truth. They want her as the Mockingjay, the face of the revolution to overthrow the Capitol. She learns that District Twelve has been destroyed and all survivors are in Thirteen. This is the point where she decides she’s on-board with the rebellion.

Demands

“My sister gets to keep her cat.”

Katniss agrees to be the Mockingjay but she makes a list of demands from Coin. Immunity for the other Victors, that Prim can keep the cat and most importantly, that Katniss herself gets to be the one to kill President Snow. Coin agrees to this.

Except she twists it on Katniss. If Katniss doesn’t fulfill her obligations as the Mockingjay, she and her loved ones will be killed. Coin doesn’t mention this until her public announcement, so Katniss can’t question it or avoid it. The first hint that Coin is not to be trusted.

Propos

“That is how you end a revolution.”

The plan is to have Katniss film ‘propos’ or propaganda clips for the rebels. Beetee can commandeer the airwaves to push these videos out. It’s clear she won’t be effective when scripted on a stage. The reasons people respect Katniss, love her and want to follow her, are because of her courage, her empathy and her desire to defend those she cares for.

She can’t fake her emotions, her outrage, her courage. She can’t convincingly read a script, which should have been obvious from her Victory Tour. It has to be real, raw and in her own words for it to be effective. Unfortunately, as we see in Distright Eight, that often means someone has to die for Katniss to ‘perform’.

Storming the Capitol

Katniss is supposed to stay back in a ‘safe’ neighbourhood to film more propos of her ‘fighting’ but the traps laid by the Gamemakers puts the team in real danger. She loses several people, inlcuding Boggs and Finnick but she does manage to help Peeta begin to overcome his brainwashing.

Unfortunately, once again Katniss is spurred to act when she loses someone she cares about. The bomb trap with the Capitol children, where a second explosion is triggered once people rush in to help. Primrose Everdeen is one of the medics who run in to help, and she dies.

Snow and Coin

After the battle is over, Katniss visits Snow before his execution. He tells her that the bomb trap was not his doing, it was the Rebels. She doesn’t quite believe him but it’s enough to plant the seed of doubt in her mind. She knows that the trap was suggested by Gale, and even if he wasn’t directly responsible, she knows she will never see her old friend the same way. That romance option is over, because he might have been responsible for her sister’s death.

Coin brings the surviving Victors together to propose a final symbolic Hunger Games using the Capitol’s children. Peeta argues against it, as does Annie and Beetee. Annie is sure Finnick would have also voted no. Johanna and Enobaria say yes, followed by Katniss. This leaves Haymitch with the deciding vote. Haymitch seems to know what Katniss is thinking and takes her side, or the side of the ‘Mockingjay’. He understands her pretty well by this point.

When the time comes for Snow’s execution, Katniss realises the truth behind everything. She changes her aim at the last minute, killing Coin instead. Snow ends up dead among the crowd. She tries to take her nightlock pill but is stopped. She realises that both of these leaders were just using her, using her emotions, her fears and her need to protect people.

They exploited her, manipulated her and used her as a pawn. She suspects that Coin put Prim in the firing line on purpose, that maybe Coin sees Katniss as a threat. If Katniss doesn’t bow to her, like she refused to do so to Snow, then she’s a threat to the new regime as much as the old.

Happily? Ever After

Katniss doesn’t end up with a heroes welcome, going home to District Twelve to thunderous applause with a massive gold statue of her built in the Capitol. Because she’s not a hero, she’s the protagonist. Coin wanted to control her, and didn’t like not being able to control Katniss.

So Katniss goes home with Haymitch and falls into a deep depression. She refuses company and it takes a long time for her to come out of it. She knows that there’s no future with Gale now, but there could be a future with Peeta. She realises this when he returns to Twelve and starts planting primroses around her house.

They work on healing together, able to understand each other due to their shared experiences and PTSD. Because it is PTSD. Haymitch has it too, heavily self-medicated. Basically all of the Victors have PTSD, because it looks different in different people. They are haunted by the past, but a real love develops between them.

Katniss said that she never wanted to be in the Games, to be a symbol, to be the Mockingjay. She wanted to save her sister, protect her family. She didn’t really want to be a rebel, but she also did. She knew that the oppression from the Capitol was unjust, unfair and cruel. The bread and circuses was a distraction, keeping the poor in their place.

Any tyrannical regime that keeps pushing people down will eventually crumble. A line will be crossed and people will finally decide that enough is enough. She resented being used, being manipulated and being something she’s not. She realised that with Coin, it was jumping from the frying pan into the fire. The only people she feels can truly understand her now are Peeta and Haymitch.

She manages to live the rest of her life in relative peace. They put together a book about everything that happened, all the people that were lost. Eventually they have children, and prepare to tell them about their past when the time is right. It’s not perfect, it’s not a happily ever after, it’s an ending.

Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Emi the Cat Lady 💜

The Hunger Games Analysis: Bread and Circuses

 Bread and Circuses

The Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins are dystopian YA novels set in a post-nuclear North America. Part of the land has been submerged by rising sea levels and what is left is called Panem. There is a large metropolis, the Capitol, and thirteen districts. Each district has a specific industry to supply the Capitol with resources.

The society is very much modelled on Ancient Rome and was a totalitarian dictatorship. This means that the citizens are expected to be completely subservient to the state and the government has complete control over their lives. I thought this topic would be especially relevant now, because the new book Sunrise on the Reaping came out recently, and for no other reason. Of course. Ahem.

There is massive inequality within Panem, where people in the poorest districts are left to starve to death and struggle to survive while the Capitol indulge in gourmet foods and ostentatious fashions. Eventually civil war broke out, spearheaded by District 13, who were the main military industrial complex at the time.

The conflict lasted three years before it was ended when the Capitol bombed 13. A secret peace agreement with 13 was made, due to the district acquiring some of the Capitol’s nuclear arsenal, and they disappeared, pretending they didn’t exist and were allowed to remain independent.

The remaining 12 districts were subdued by the Treaty of Treason. The names of these things are very deliberate. This treaty established the Hunger Games, an annual event to remind the citizens of their failed rebellion and continually punish the Districts for their insurrection.

“Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there’s nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen.” – Chapter 1 of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

The above quote is Katniss’ interpretation of the history explained at every Reaping, when the children are chosen for the Hunger Games. Aggressive law enforcement with executions and public floggings were common place. Civil rights were restricted and travel or communication between the districts was banned.

Panem et Circenses

This literally means ‘bread and circuses’ in Latin and is where the name came from. The phrase means using entertainment and food to distract people from other, more important matters or to cover up what the government is really doing.

Each of the twelve districts had to send one boy and one girl aged 12-18 to go into an arena and fight to the death. The Games only end when there is a single survivor, the Victor. The Victor would be showered with money, food, a luxury house and gifts, and their district would get extra food for a year.

The Bread

This does literally mean food in this case. The Reaping was a lottery where each eligible child’s name would be placed on a slip of paper and one chosen at random by hand. Each child’s name went in once for every year they are eligible – so at 12 it would be once, 13 it would be twice, 14 it would be three times and so on. So they’re more likely to be picked as they get older.

Given the poverty that is so prevalent in the districts, especially the ones further away from the Capitol like 11 and 12, it was possible to claim extra food. Children could claim ‘tesserae’ for each member of their family: a years supply of grain and oil. Each tesserae claimed would add their name into the Reaping pool again.

These extra entries are cumulative over the years until the child is reaped and either dies or becomes a victor, or until they reach 18 and are no longer eligible for the games. So by the 74^th Games, Katniss has her name in there 20 times, while Gale, who has more siblings, has his name in there 42 times!

So it means that kids are putting themselves at greater risk just for the sake of keeping their families safe and fed for the year. So the poorest families have the higher chances of losing a child to the games since the odds are not in their favour. It is preying on their desperation because the slim hope that their child might win, thus netting them the benefits of being a Victor, is enough to be worth the risk.

I hope we all understand how horrific this is. For people who’ve seen the movies but not read the books, this isn’t well explained. Eligible children can volunteer in someone else's place but this is rare outside the ‘career districts.’ Districts 1, 2 and 4 are more affluent and shown preferential treatment by the Capitol and see participation in the games as an honour. While training for the Games isn’t technically allowed, these districts do it and are allowed to do it, so they do tend to produce more Victors than the poorer districts like 11 and 12. Of course being better fed and generally healthier would also aid their survivability.

The Circus

The Hunger Games is a huge national event with a lot of pomp and circumstance. The Tributes are fed well on the train, with rich and fancy foods they aren’t used to. Katniss finds her stomach unsettled because of the rich food.

They go through intense cosmetic preparation and are dressed up in extravagant costumes and outfits for the Tribute parade. They even use horse-drawn chariots to show them off and help attract sponsors. Highlighting the connection with Ancient Rome.

The tributes get three days of training before an individual assessment by the game makers to be rated for their skills. This impacts sponsorship too, as well as the odds offered on each tribute’s chances of winning. Because of course the Capitol residents can bet on the outcome of the games. It’s only money, right?

So the tributes get a taste of the luxurious and extravagant lifestyle enjoyed by the Capitol’s citizens. Their bizarre fashions set them so far apart from the districts, to the point where from Katniss’ point of view, they’re like aliens. A different species entirely.

The tributes are interviewed on TV and again there’s a lot of ceremony around it all. They want to appeal to sponsors, because a rich sponsor can send gifts to their chosen tribute in the arena. They could send food, water, medicine or even a weapon, such as the burn ointment sent to Katniss after the fireballs.

The game makers control the arena and can manipulate it in basically any way they like. Such as the fireballs, adding creatures or setting up a feast at the Cornucopia to force the tributes together to instigate a fight. It’s all recorded and broadcast like reality TV and everyone is expected to watch it. Every evening the death toll is broadcast, both on TV to the citizens and within the arena for the Tributes.

It’s very much like the gladiatorial combat of Ancient Rome, which was entertainment for people. Glorifying the violence and making it a big deal so nobody stops to consider the ethics of forcing children to fight to the death in punishment for what their ancestors did.

Every 25 years they have a Quarter Quell, which is a special edition (like having celebrities on a reality show like Big Brother) and has new, unique rules to set it apart. ‘Quell’ is a deliberate and specific word as it means ending a rebellion by force.

What is this story warning us about?

This dystopia is highlighting the issues with such extreme wealth disparity and keeping the poor under control by ensuring they can never elevate their socioeconomic status. Unless they are prepared to risk their life for it and kill for it. The Victor is showered in riches to remind the people of the Capitol’s ‘generosity and forgiveness’ which is a bold lie.

Even then, Victors are set apart from their communities with the Victor’s Village, much larger and nicer houses, extra money and food. So they’re no longer struggling like the rest of their neighbours and friends. There’s little care for any mental health issues suffered by the Victors. Most of them show signs of PTSD, unsurprisingly. Katniss has nightmares and flashbacks, Haymitch is an alcoholic (self medication) and there are other addicts among the tributes from Catching Fire.

The Capitol citizens are living a luxury lifestyle where they want for nothing. Peeta and Katniss see how far this goes at the feast at Snow’s Mansion during their Victory Tour. They are offered a drink that induces vomiting so that they can eat more and taste everything. While people in District 12 are literally starving to death.

The people in the districts are supposed to accept what the Capitol gives them and be thankful. They are supposed to be grateful for the pittance they are afforded, and told it’s their own fault and it’s for their own good. No complaints, no questions. Anything that seems rebellious is squashed harshly by the Capitol.

The word choices are very deliberate and imply this too. 'Tribute’ means a gift to show gratitude, respect or admiration. Historically it was also used to describe a levy, tax or tariff for protection. Two children are sacrificed as gratitude for the Capitol allowing them to exist. That they should be thankful for being allowed to live, continually punished for a rebellion that most people alive did not have any part in. You’ll take what you get and be happy about it.

This story, like many dystopian stories, is warning us of what happens when people are pushed to their limits and become desperate. Katniss wanted to save her sister, at the start. But she eventually realised that she had to save more than just one person from this corrupt, unfair system. That people who are desperate enough for survival will eventually be pushed to revolt and change things. That they’ll be willing to risk their lives and sacrifice everything to stop the abuse of power. Dictators and tyrants will always end up falling to revolution, just like we’ve seen throughout history. Some food for thought, no?

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Emi the Cat Lady 💜

His Dark Materials Analysis: An End to Death and Destiny

 His Dark Materials: Putting an End to Death

Death is inevitable for all of us. Most of us fear death and do everything we can to evade its arrival. People also wonder where we go after we die. Beliefs on this subject vary massively depending on culture and religious beliefs among other things.

In His Dark Materials, the witches have a prophecy about Lyra playing the role of Eve and ‘falling’. As discussed, this means her growing up, leaving behind her childhood and her innocence and attracting dust. The prophecy states that she will bring about the ‘end of destiny’ and must do so of her own accord without knowing in advance what she must do.

Death

Death is the end of life, whether it happens due to injury, illness or just old age. We will all have to face death at some point. We are mortal. It’s a fact of life, and it will happen. It’s normal to fear it, and to feel angry or upset when a loved one dies. Especially if it is sudden and unexpected.

So what happens when we die? Physically it is very clear. The heart stops beating, breathing stops, brain activity shuts down and the body’s physiological systems stop functioning. Eventually the body will decompose. This sounds harsh but it’s the natural order of things, and this process provides nutrients in the soil to feed plants. The circle of life, as told by Mufasa in the Lion King.

The metaphysical sense is different. Whether you call it the mind, the soul, the spirit or something else, the essence that makes up an individual person. What happens to that part of us after death? Does our essence go somewhere, and does it depend on how you behaved in life?

Heaven/Nirvana/Peace

Many religions speak of or promise a peaceful afterlife where you are happy and comforted. This may be something you have to earn by behaving in line with the teachings of your deities. You’ll be familiar with the concept of ‘heaven’ or ‘paradise’ from the Abrahamic religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism. Eastern religions like Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism speak of Nirvana – a place of rest and peace earned through good karma.

Hell/Punishment

Some religions also speak of a place of eternal punishment for sinners or those who go against God. This is particularly notable in Christianity and Islam. Judaism has Sheol which is a place of darkness but not necessarily of torment.

In the eastern religions of Busshism, Jainism and Hinduism, there is a place called Naraka which is a temporary place where you suffer and earn good karma, or are purified. Sikhism has no belief in any kind of hell.

Purgatory

Fairly unique to the Roman Catholic sect of Christianity, purgatory is a temporary place of purification before you can be admitted to heaven.

Other Options

Some people believe that when we die, nothing happens and we are simply gone. Or that ghosts stick around, intangible and perhaps looking for unfinished business.

The Witches

In Lyra’s world, the witches have their own Goddess of Death, Yambe-Akka. She welcomes dying witches with open arms and a smile, a peaceful and welcoming event for them.

Fear of Mortality

People fear death, for themselves and their loved ones. We fear the unknown because we cannot possibly confirm for certain what happens after death. It’s natural to have this fear. Things are less scary when we understand them, and death is something we don’t understand.

I think of Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 5, when Buffy’s mother dies. It’s a heart-breaking point of the series and the way each of the characters reacts to the news is different. But it is Anya’s reaction that I find particularly gut-wrenching.

She doesn’t understand why it happened. She lived for over a thousand years as an immortal vengeance demon, and didn’t much care for the lives and deaths of humans. Now human again, Anya has to face up to the reality of mortality. That someone she knows and cares about is dead and there’s nothing to be done to bring her back.

The Land of the Dead

In The Amber Spyglass, Lyra and Will travel to the land of the dead. They leave their demons behind when on the ferry. They discover that the afterlife is nothing but a quiet empty place full of ghosts. The ghosts slowly lose their memories and fall into despair, with the harpies taunting them by reminding them of every little thing they did wrong in their lifetime.

The harpies were charged with watching over the land of the dead by the Authority, and to feed on the misery of their charges. It’s a bleak, sad, empty place where everyone is treated the same. The boatman especially highlights this, pointing out he’s had rich people try to bribe him, people try to threaten him. Everyone ends up going to the same place regardless of who they were in life.

There is no judgement, no heaven, no hell. Whatever sins or righteous deeds you did in life, no matter how much penance you do, you still end up in this place which is nothing. You are forced to accept you are dead and now you have nothing left.

In order to cross the water to the land of the dead, Lyra must meet her Death. A being created for every person at their birth. Your Death follows you throughout your life, ducking out of sight for most people but never leaving your side.

There is at least one world where people know about their Deaths and see them, finding their presence comforting and reassuring. When your time is up, your Death takes you by the hand and leads you to the ferry.

Lyra and Will seek their loved ones and plan to escape the land of the dead. They also look for closure from the people they have lost, to assuage their guilt and say a final goodbye. How many of us wish we could have this chance to talk to a loved one, just one more time, after they have passed away?

The Harpies

The harpies were tasked with watching over the ghosts and keeping them miserable. Lyra begins to tell a story, with her usual lies, and the harpies know she is lying and attack her. Later, she tells another story, this time a true one and the harpies listened and were nourished by it.

They agree to lead Lyra and Will to a place high enough for them to cut through into another world using the Subtle Knife. In exchange for true stories, the harpies agree to lead the dead to this window. They make exceptions for very young people who did not live long enough to have stories.

This is the ‘end of destiny’ prophesised. An end to death. The ghosts are able to re-join the universe, their atoms becoming part of everything. A peaceful ending, returning to the world and remaining part of it forever instead of misery and eternal emptiness.

When they learn the windows must be closed, they decide to keep living full lives to create enough Dust to allow the window for the dead to remain open forever. To ensure that death remains a peaceful and joyful thing instead of something to fear. The ghosts splitting apart as they re-join the world is described like bubbles of happiness.

What does it all mean?

The lesson to be learned here is to live our lives and treasure our experiences and relationships over superficial and material gains. To live more for the now and ensure we have good, true stories to tell at the end of our lives.

Our deaths may come at any time, sudden and unexpected or after a long battle with cancer. We cannot evade death forever, but perhaps we can believe in a peaceful end and embrace it as we did life. We’ll never truly know what happens after we die, but perhaps we need not fear it so much.

This part of the story does also highlight a lot of the hypocrisy of organised religion that is a major theme of the books. People are not judged for their sins and virtues and separated into the good and the evil. Everyone ends up in the same place.

Father Gomez will have ended up here, after being killed by an angel. So all of his pre-emptive penance would be for nothing as he would not be judged by anyone. And if he spent his entire life doing nothing but penance for a future sin, he probably doesn’t have a great story to tell the harpies.

So what do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts about this. As mentioned, I am an atheist, and I’m not sure what I believe awaits us after we die. But I always embrace the idea that your own faith and beliefs are important to you and you have the right to express them.

Thanks for reading!

Emi the Cat Lady 💜

His Dark Materials Trilogy: In-Depth Theme Analysis

 Welcome to my new series for the month of March. I'm digging deep into my favourite story of all time, the His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman. This consists of The Northern Lights (The Golden Compass in the USA), The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. I have not yet read the Book of Dust trilogy, but it will be on my TBR. 

Today I'm covering Lyra's story arc. She's the main protagonist of the series and a fascinating character. The journey she takes in the story is all about her coming of age. Her transition from childhood towards adulthood and the lessons she learns along the way. 

Childhood - Jordan College

Lyra's character is well established early on and we know she is curious and clever, independent and confident but stubborn and rebellious as well. She is a natural leader, and resents being told what to do. 

She will break the rules when she disagrees with them or if her curiosity gets the better of her. She's an explorer as well, and knows the college and the city of Oxford very well. 

Attempted Poisoning of Lord Asriel

Witnessing the Master poisoning the Tokay shows Lyra that adults are capable of doing seriously bad things. Even adults she trusts and respects, and this throws her off. She does the right thing by letting Asriel know about it, saving his life. She also learns of Dust for the first time and has a strong desire to understand it better. 

Mrs Coulter and the Alethiometer

The Master gives Lyra the alethiometer and urges her to keep it a secret from Mrs Coulter but doesn't explain why. She is unsure of who to trust but is star-struck by Mrs Coulter. Lyra had been largely raised by scholars and had never met anyone quite like Marissa Coulter. 

Mrs Coulter shows Lyra a drastically different kind of life with high fashion, socialising and even manipulation of others. It all seems very grand and exciting at first, but Lyra soon grows bored of it.

Pantalaimon has his doubts about the promises to take Lyra North. In this series, daemons are manifestations of the soul, so his doubts indicates Lyra's sub-conscious sensing that things are not quite what they seem. They argue about a shoulder-bag prior to a party at the apartment and this proves to Lyra that Mrs Coulter cannot be trusted. This is confirmed again when they learn of her involvement with the Gobblers. 

The North

When Lyra travels north, she makes a lot of interesting choices. She defies the Gyptians who have taken over responsibility for her in order to advocate for Iorek Byrnison. She talked him down and sought justice for him, while defying the adults. This turns out to be the right thing to do though. 

After this, she learns of an odd occurrence in a nearby village and this time Lord Faa trusts her knowledge from the alethiometer and allows her to go with Iorek. There she discovers what is happening to the children taken. She finds Tony Makarios without his daemon, and despite her deep horror and fear of him, she shows him kindness and compassion. She demonstrates her bravery here as well. 

Bolvangar

She demonstrates her mother's ability to lie and deceive people very well to ensure the people don't realise who she is. She finds Roger and Tony Costa and learns more about what's been happening. During a fire drill she meets Kaisa, the daemon of a witch, Serafina Pekkala and they free the cut daemons to find their humans. Lyra notices the staff of the centre are unused to managing groups of children and spots an opportunity she can use. 

She concocts a plan to escape from Bolvangar to reach the approaching Gyptians, but Mrs Coulter arrives and rescues Lyra from the process of intercision. Mrs Coulter lies to Lyra, telling her the procedure is important for growing up and is a good thing. Yet Lyra questions why Mrs Coulter would save her from it if it was such a good thing. She knows Mrs Coulter can never be trusted, and manages to enact her escape plan. 

Svalbard

Reaching Svalbard and the kingdom of the bears, Lyra demonstrates her own mastery of manipulation on Iofur Raknison and allows Iorek to succeed in killing him and becoming King of the bears. She goes to Lord Asriel and inadvertently betrays Roger, resulting in his death. 

Lyra has learned of her parentage and sees them together but rejects them both. She is angry about their lies and betrayals and the horrible things they have done to innocent children. She makes a choice, setting out into the new world to find the truth. 

At this point she discusses Dust with Pantalaimon and they agree that if all of these dangerous adults think it is a bad thing, it must be a good thing. Dust represents consciousness: our awareness, knowledge, creativity and free will. So in the metaphor, Lyra is right that it is a good thing. 

The Subtle Knife

We begin the second book learning about the secondary protagonist of the trilogy: Will Parry. He is evading men who are looking for his father and caring for his mother. He discovers a window into Cittagaze and ends up meeting Lyra there. 

Lyra asks the alethiometer if he is a friend or an enemy and it tells her she is a murderer. Lyra believes that this makes him a safe person to travel with. She travels to Will's Oxford and meets Mary Malone, discussing Dust with her and urging her to learn how to communicate with it using her equipment and the I Ching. 

They discover the Spectres of Cittagaze and learn what they do. They feed on the daemon, or soul, and destroy dust and the ability to create dust. Only adults can see them. This represents the loss of innocence of adulthood and the loss of awareness and consciousness, which the Spectres take away from a person. They don't kill you, they just take away your soul and ability to think and act freely. 

Land of the Dead

After Will rescues Lyra from her mother who kept her in induced sleep, they travel to the Land of the Dead. They learn that after death, there is nothing but bleak emptiness and fear. She faces her own Death, her own mortality and betrays her daemon in order to make up for the mistakes she made.

She makes this sacrifice in order to atone for Roger's death. She wants to apologies for what she did. They discover that the harpies enjoy hearing true stories of a life lived well, and find a way to let the dead leave the bleak land and return to the world. They dissolve but then become part of everything once again. 

They agree with the harpies that those who die will be led to the window in exchange for a true, good story. This fulfils the prophecy that Lyra will put an end to death. Death is no longer a dark, empty place to fear, but a good ending once one's life is over, returning to the world and becoming part of all life. 

Love and Loss

While searching for their daemons, and after talking to Mary, Lyra and Will realise they are in love. We'll discuss Mary's involvement more later. Finally they share their first kiss and touch each other's daemons, a line crossed when two people love and commit to each other. At this point, the daemons settle into their final forms. 

The daemons changing form represent the moldability of children. In essence, they have not yet been shaped by experience into the person they are going to be. When the daemon settles, the form reflects the person and represents their personality and nature. This is growing up, and learning who you are. We are all shaped by our experiences and that is part of growth.

Unfortunately, they learn that the windows all must be closed as Dust is being lost through them. They have also learned that they cannot live a full life in any world but their own. They make the hard decision to live apart and sacrifice their personal happiness for the good of all of the worlds. They agree to make enough Dust to compensate for keeping the window from the Land of the Dead open. 

This represents maturity and unselfishness as Lyra has learned from her experiences and knows she cannot be selfish and self-serving when it means other people will suffer. She and Will both bravely accept the heartbreak of being apart so that all they have achieved will not be in vain. 

Adulthood

Adulthood means taking responsibility, learning from our experiences and gaining wisdom and insight. It represents a loss of innocence and gullibility - we learn that we cannot blindly trust everyone we know or meet. 

However, it does not mean we need to lose our curiosity, creativity and compassion. Gaining wisdom, expressing ourselves and embracing life is all part of being an adult and living our lives to the fullest. 

Thanks for reading! I will post a new essay on a different aspect of the trilogy every Wednesday this month so I hope you will come back for the next one!

Emi the Cat Lady 💜

Book Review: The Magic Cottage by James Herbert

 

The Magic Cottage: James Herbert

I reread this book again recently after reading it years ago. I enjoyed it the second time around even though I still had a vague memory of what happens. The story focuses on a young couple who both work as artists. Midge is a painter and illustrator while Mike is a musician.

They choose to buy a new home and move away from the city of London for a peaceful space they can work in. They end up buying a cottage called Gramarye, which has an unusual design and looks like it came straight out of a fairy tale. They move in and to start with everything seems great.

Then things start to happen, subtle things at first but escalating as the story continues. I won’t avoid spoilers but there are a few fun twists and turns and some genuinely spooky and uncomfortable imagery. The main characters are interesting and well written, flawed and complementary.

It’s not an overt horror story to my mind, but very much leans into its supernatural elements and highlights how easily humans can rationalise things. Even in the face of overt unexplainable things. The power of belief and the importance of choices and free will.

It’s a good read, nicely spooky and creepy. I’d give it 4 stars and would recommend it to anyone who like horror and supernatural stories. I think the foreshadowing of certain things could have been a little bit more subtle.

Emi The Cat Lady 💜

Book Review: By The Orchid And The Owl by Mariah Montoya

 

By The Orchid and the Owl: Mariah Montoya

 

I really enjoyed this book. By the Orchid and the Owl is an academic fantasy where young adults are sent to an institute and gifted some kind of magic which they must learn to wield. The main character Rayna meets an older student, Coen Steeler and she uncovers some dark and dangerous secrets.

I really enjoyed the setting, it sounded interesting but leaves an air of mystery and the unknown beyond the limits of the protections around the setting. I find the magic system very interesting and it’s well explained without too much info-dumping.

The world-building is great, and so are the characters. They are all very fleshed out and well developed. Rayna is great, Coen is attractive but a little frustrating at times. The other characters are also great and while there are the typical academia archetypes, they’re written so well that they don’t feel too much like cliché tropes.

One thing that I felt a little weird about was the switch in Quinn. An old friend of Rayna’s for so long but she suddenly turned on her with little explanation? I feel like there could have been a little bit more foreshadowing that the friendship wasn’t entirely what Rayna thought it was. That Quinn would suddenly walk away from both her closest friend and boyfriend, it was a bit odd.

That said, I love the little mouse friend and her relationship with Jagaros. There were a couple of points where the book lost me in the plot but on the whole I think the storyline is solid and I am intrigued to read the next book in the series and follow Rayna’s story. I give this book 5 stars because I had a great time with it.

Emi the Cat Lady 💜

Review: Nobody True by James Herbert

Nobody True – James Herbert

I read this book again over the festive period. It was a book I had loved before, and I thought of it again a few months ago and could not find it. Until I noticed it on my parent’s bookshelf! So I read it again and I have to say it was an experience.

Nobody True tells the story of a man who worked as a graphic designer and co-founded a marketing company. He also has the ability to have OBEs, out-of-body experiences which he can control. After an argument with his business partner while working on a new pitch for a client, he had one of these OBEs. Only to return to his body to discover he’s been horribly murdered.

Set adrift, not a person anymore and not a ghost either, James True must solve his own murder to stop it from happening again. A tale of betrayal, murder and consequences that takes many twists and turns.

I enjoyed the book as much on a second reading as I did the first time. The main character is flawed but generally a good person and it’s interesting to follow his thought process as he deals with his situation.

The story really highlights how little we actually know about people. Even people that are close to us can have secrets. It also shows how twisted someone can become after a lifetime of rejection.

There are some extremely tense and uncomfortable moments, and some revolting things happen as well. The book does go to some dark places, but it takes you on quite a rollercoaster of emotions alongside the main character.

James Herbert is a skilled author capable of making you feel really tense and scared, throwing horrible things at you and making you uncomfortable. Which is why you would be reading a horror novel, right? This isn’t my favourite of his books but it is a story that had a profound impact on me. It really makes you think about how you treat people and react to things.

5 stars from me and definitely worth a read if you like this kind of genre. You’ll enjoy it and unravel the mystery. Even on a second reading, when I know what happens and the plot twists, you see how hints were scattered throughout the whole novel.

Book Review: When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A Parker

 When The Moon Hatched by Sarah A Parker

 

This book is a fantasy romance, and book one of a duology. It follows two main characters, one an assassin and the other a King and dragon rider. The story follows them as they uncover the truth and create upheaval in their world.

It’s okay to read and the world building is very detailed. Maybe a little too detailed. I found myself very confused a few times, as things were stated but not explained in the story. I found that the ebook version has a detailed glossary at the end, which explained a lot of it but I feel like it could have been included more in the book itself.

The main character Raeve could be quite frustrating at times as well, she had a tendency to really get in her own way a lot. Some of the wording of things felt really jarring, using ‘male’ and ‘female’ instead of man and woman felt clinical. Other word choices felt like they were chosen just to sound ‘different’ and ‘unique’.

There’s a little spice, which is fine. Spice isn’t a deal-breaker for me, but it was pretty well written. I’m not sure whether I will read the next book, I’m intrigued enough to want to know how the plot will end. However, great worldbuilding doesn’t mean much if it’s not included in the prose, and I think working in some of those details would make it easier to understand.

 The massive infodump is an issue for me, it’s not something I like to see. You shouldn’t need to include a massive glossary and explanation of the world building at the beginning of the book, which is what the print version is like. And it’s worse because it is hidden at the end of the ebook version. I don’t think it’s included at all in the audiobook. The worldbuilding should be revealed in the story, and not having that is an accessibility issue.

An average read for me, I don’t know if it’s entirely my cup of tea. The reviews are quite polarised, but there were a few issues for me that made me cringe or pulled me out of the narrative. Three stars from me, because the world building is interesting even if it’s not well explained through the text.

Emi the Cat Lady 😽

Book Review: The Mortal Blade by Christopher Mitchell

 The Mortal Blade by Christopher Mitchell

This is the first book in a series of fantasy novels about a City under eternal siege. The main characters are involved in the military and their efforts to keep the city safe from the Greenhides who constantly press towards it. There are dragons, powerful gods and a bunch of twists and turns.

I enjoyed this book. I felt it was a bit slow to get started, but once I got into it, I wanted to keep reading. I liked Maddie, her growth over the course of the book and her relationship with those she works with is great.

Corthie Holdfast was a new Champion brought to help on the front lines, and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about him. He’s interesting, and he has a real ‘fish out of water’ feel as he gets used to his new home and role. He grew on me, though.

I did find his sudden use of Scottish vernacular a bit jarring. For a fantasy setting, it was quite a shock to suddenly read the term ‘bawbags’ in the dialogue. But I think that also highlights that Corthie is very different from the people of the City.

Altogether an entertaining read and I will likely end up reading more in the series in the future. The world building is good and I think the characters are interesting. I do feel like the ending was a little unsatisfying as nothing had really been achieved and there was a real cliffhanger. But we’ll see. Four stars from me. 

Emi the Cat Lady 😽

Book Review: Dark Is The Grave by TG Reid

Dark Is The Grave by TG Reid

This is a Scottish crime thriller set in Central Scotland. DCI Bone has been off work after a horrible encounter with a serial killer. He is brought back to work when a copycat killer strikes, and he has to face what happened to him.

I enjoyed this book, it was an interesting read and the mystery was built up very well. The twist was good, although I managed to figure it out before it happened. DCI Bone is very much what I’d expect a grizzled Scottish detective to be like.

It has a lot of the tropes you’d expect, but I like the main character a lot. I was absolutely compelled to keep reading to find out the truth alongside him. There was a bit of vernacular but it wasn’t excessive to me, making it still quite accessible for those who aren’t from Scotland.

All around a good read and an interesting story, exploring the effect of PTSD on people like the police with all the awful things they witness and get involved with. As well as how it can impact the people we love, and take its toll on relationships. Four stars from me.

Emi the Cat Lady 😽

Book Review: Until The World Ends by Jolene Gettler

 Until The World Ends by Jolene Gettler

I adored this book. The author has been a mutual on TikTok for a while, and the more I heard about this book, the more excited I was to read it. I’m not usually one for romance, or rom-com, but this one was different. I loved everything about it from the characters to the setting.

As a long-time fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I really enjoyed the way the people were just resigned to things like vampires, tentacle monsters and f*cking Larry! That everyone carried a bag of monster fighting kit with them wherever they went, including gas masks, UV flashlights and holy water.

The office romance was fun, believable and hilarious at times. The characters were delightfully flawed and their interactions with each other were highly entertaining. Cute, funny and a bit dark, which is absolutely my jam. I’m someone with a dark and irreverent sense of humour, so it resonated well with me.

I read this book during a stressful period, when I was packing to move and dealing with all sorts of annoying health stuff, and it was exactly what I needed in that time. I’d been reading and writing a lot of heavy emotional stuff and was looking for something a bit lighter and more fun. Until The World Ends was just what I needed.

The audiobook has just come out, so whatever way you prefer to read awesome books, you now can. I cannot recommend this book enough. It’s worth your time. Here's the Amazon link (not affiliated!).

Emi the Cat Lady 😽

Review: The House of the Witch by Clare Marchant

 

The House of The Witch by Clare Marchant

I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. The story follows a woman who rents a cottage in rural Norfolk, and a young woman in 1646. Adrianna discovers a journal and uncovers the story of Ursula, who worked as a midwife and healer and chose to remain single for life. However, 1646 was not a good time for single women, as the mere rumour of witchcraft can spell death.

The story is expertly woven, switching smoothly between 2024 and 1646 while unravelling a compelling narrative with a satisfying conclusion. It is clear that a lot of research was done into the witch-hunts and what happened during that time period. The way entire communities and friends would turn on someone, once they’d been accused. The horrific torture these women were subjected to in order to force a confession.

It’s delightfully spooky, with some really uncomfortable moments that really make you hate the villain of the story. From the start, this book draws you in and you need to know what happens next. I love the way it ends, but I'll keep this spoiler free. It's very emotional yet satisfying. 

Sometimes time switching can be jarring, but in this book, it feels natural, and it allows us to discover the story along with both Adrianna and Ursula. Absolutely spectacular and I would highly recommend this book. It gets 5 stars, and well deserved. 

If you want to check it out, here's the link. Please note this review is not sponsored, I'm simply sharing my review after reading it. 

Emi the Cat Lady 😽