Thursday, August 18, 2011

Why "The Hunger Games" Trilogy Is Excellent

... It made me cry. So very few things make me cry. Out of all the books I've ever read, the only other ones that have brought tears to my eyes have been "Bridge to Terabithia", despite already knowing the ending, "Stranger in a Strange Land", and (cough) "The Lord of the Rings," although I'm not quite sure why for that last one.

To give some perspective: Other things that have made me cry include the beginning of the movie Up, but not the ending of Grave of the Fireflies. Meat Loaf's song "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer than They Are" is banned in my household because it makes me break down EVERY TIME, but I can hear "Seven Spanish Angels" (Willie Nelson and Ray Charles) and "The Little Girl" (John Michael Montgomery) without batting an eye.

And then of course there are plenty of non-comedic things that are excellent but don't make me break down into tears. You probably already know that the Thomas Covenant series is one of my all time favorites,* but that never elicits any tears. Neither did "A Boy Called It" despite it being a true story about horrendous abuse. I still hold these books in high esteem, but there's something special about the ones that actually make you sniffle (...or sob). So, what makes something a tear-jerker? What's the difference between a novel that has sad, dramatic scenes and one that actually makes your bottom lip tremble?

And why am I SUCH a girl? (Just kidding!)

*If you don't already know this, then you haven't been listening to Pendragon Variety (.com)

No comments:

Post a Comment