Status
Available
Call number
Publication
San Francisco : Haikasoru, 2009.
Description
"Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller envisions a nightmare scenario: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan--where it became a runaway best seller--Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world"--
User reviews
LibraryThing member PhoenixTerran
Although I was quite familiar with the basic plot and premise of Battle Royale, I had never read Koushun Takami's original novel, seen the film based on the book, or read the manga adaptation. At least until now. 2009 saw the tenth anniversary of the first iteration of the story as well as the
Every year in the Republic of Greater East Asia, fifty junior high third year classes are selected to participate in The Program--a battle royal style fight to the death. With a perverted sense of equality, each student is given a day pack with basic supplies and a random weapon. The class is taken to an isolated area and warned about forbidden zones. As the game progresses more are added, forcing confrontations between the players as the playable area becomes smaller. If there are no deaths within a twenty-four hour period, the students will all be killed as the explosive tracking collars around their necks are detonated. The goal is simple: become the only survivor. Shiroiwa Junior High School Class 3-B with forty-two students has been chosen. The students, some who have been friends since childhood, are now forced into a situation where they must either kill each other or die. They all question how well they know their fellow classmates, who they can trust and to what extent, who will be willing to play, and when it comes down to it, what are they willing to do to survive.
There are nearly fifty named characters in Battle Royale and Takami made me care about each one of them. I was never confused by who was who and was able to keep track of everyone pretty well, quite an accomplishment on the author's part. However, some of the descriptions associated with a given character were occasionally repetitive or overused. The story primarily follows Shuya Nanahara and Noriko Nakagawa, but every student has at least one moment in the spotlight, however brief. Each chapter ends with a countdown of how many students are remaining. This assisted in building tension, especially when someone has been wounded but the number hasn't decreased, giving hope that they might pull through. I was impressed that Takami was able to mostly avoid relying too heavily on stereotypes. When they were used, it was usually within the context of one character's view of another, which is something I would expect from a bunch of teenagers. Unfortunately, the history and purpose of the program is never concretely explained, although the students do discuss several theories through the course of the book.
Battle Royale is gripping and intense to say the least; once I began reading I didn't want to put it down. Many people probably consider Battle Royale simply exploitative, but I think it is more than that. The book is incredibly layered and can be approached on many different levels--there is more to the story than blood and death, including tremendous psychological elements. Through the thoughts and experiences of its many characters, Battle Royale provides commentary on humanity, society, the game itself, and the personal lives of individuals, each informing the further understanding of the others. However, if you do have a problem with the fictional depiction of teenagers brutally killing their classmates, stay away from Battle Royale because it is incredibly graphic and violent. I was mostly happy with Oniji's translation, but I do think some of the font choices were rather odd. And I really need to brush up on my metric. The 2009 Haikasoru edition is quite nice, and I appreciated the inclusion of the additional material. Battle Royale is most definitely not for everyone but, if you can take it, it's fantastic.
Experiments in Reading
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publication of a new English edition of the novel by Viz Media under their Haikasoru imprint. In addition to a revised and updated translation by Yuji Oniki, the Haikasoru edition also includes a fantastic new cover design, a forward by Max Allan Collins, an interview with Kinji Fukasaku (director of the film Battle Royale), and additional material from the author Koushun Takami. Both the novel and the film, and probably the manga as well, were highly controversial due to the subject matter and graphic violence, but became cult hits. I have been meaning to read Battle Royale since I first learned about it as an undergrad student and now I finally have (and probably will again). I also plan on tracking down the film and manga, too.Every year in the Republic of Greater East Asia, fifty junior high third year classes are selected to participate in The Program--a battle royal style fight to the death. With a perverted sense of equality, each student is given a day pack with basic supplies and a random weapon. The class is taken to an isolated area and warned about forbidden zones. As the game progresses more are added, forcing confrontations between the players as the playable area becomes smaller. If there are no deaths within a twenty-four hour period, the students will all be killed as the explosive tracking collars around their necks are detonated. The goal is simple: become the only survivor. Shiroiwa Junior High School Class 3-B with forty-two students has been chosen. The students, some who have been friends since childhood, are now forced into a situation where they must either kill each other or die. They all question how well they know their fellow classmates, who they can trust and to what extent, who will be willing to play, and when it comes down to it, what are they willing to do to survive.
There are nearly fifty named characters in Battle Royale and Takami made me care about each one of them. I was never confused by who was who and was able to keep track of everyone pretty well, quite an accomplishment on the author's part. However, some of the descriptions associated with a given character were occasionally repetitive or overused. The story primarily follows Shuya Nanahara and Noriko Nakagawa, but every student has at least one moment in the spotlight, however brief. Each chapter ends with a countdown of how many students are remaining. This assisted in building tension, especially when someone has been wounded but the number hasn't decreased, giving hope that they might pull through. I was impressed that Takami was able to mostly avoid relying too heavily on stereotypes. When they were used, it was usually within the context of one character's view of another, which is something I would expect from a bunch of teenagers. Unfortunately, the history and purpose of the program is never concretely explained, although the students do discuss several theories through the course of the book.
Battle Royale is gripping and intense to say the least; once I began reading I didn't want to put it down. Many people probably consider Battle Royale simply exploitative, but I think it is more than that. The book is incredibly layered and can be approached on many different levels--there is more to the story than blood and death, including tremendous psychological elements. Through the thoughts and experiences of its many characters, Battle Royale provides commentary on humanity, society, the game itself, and the personal lives of individuals, each informing the further understanding of the others. However, if you do have a problem with the fictional depiction of teenagers brutally killing their classmates, stay away from Battle Royale because it is incredibly graphic and violent. I was mostly happy with Oniji's translation, but I do think some of the font choices were rather odd. And I really need to brush up on my metric. The 2009 Haikasoru edition is quite nice, and I appreciated the inclusion of the additional material. Battle Royale is most definitely not for everyone but, if you can take it, it's fantastic.
Experiments in Reading
Show Less
LibraryThing member Clurb
Although the premise of this novel is original, and the plot has a few moments of wit and suspense, the translation really ruined the story for me and I clunked and groaned through every page of poor grammar and unrealistic dialogue. Should have stuck to the manga...
LibraryThing member stephxsu
In the Republic of Greater East Asia, a frightening event called the “Program” takes place once a year in order to keep the citizens compliant and distrustful of one another. Third-year junior high classes are randomly selected throughout the nation, relocated to an isolated area, and forced to
This year, it’s 15-year-old Shuya Nanahara’s class that gets chosen and relocated to a small island. Shuya is forced to watch his friends die and his classmates go crazy. But what if there were some way to beat the fascist government’s supposedly infallible system?
BATTLE ROYALE is brutal, both physically and mentally. It tosses you into the middle of a corrupt world and forces you to be witness to an event that’s deadly and well established. Innocent and not-so-innocent teenagers die every few pages in unapologetic prose. No sooner do we come to know a student’s personality and past when he or she is killed, the abruptness of losing someone interesting you’ve just begun to know a definite stomach-turner, a definite shake-up.
If this kind of dystopian literature is your kind of thing, there’s plenty of it to be had. Even if you’ve got a weak stomach for violence, however, BATTLE ROYALE still gives you a lot to think about. Koushun Takami’s writing is nothing striking, and yet there’s something about the plainness of it, the bluntness of the translated version that I read, that gets inside your veins and messes up your organs. It’s the way he gives us a brief character sketch of each of the 42 students—and then takes them away from us in horrifying manners. It’s the way that this book’s world takes the existence of the “Program” as expected, unchangeable. And it’s the way that this book makes you doubt yourself and the characters, not sure whom you should trust, just as the government intends for you to react.
BATTLE ROYALE provides questions to think over, disturbing ideas and images that will keep you up late into the night. If you do not have a weak stomach and have the time to read an intense 600-page work, I suggest picking up BATTLE ROYALE in order to completely annihilate everything you’ve previously thought about the dark side of human nature and our curiosity in violence and death.
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kill one another until just one survivor—the victor—remains.This year, it’s 15-year-old Shuya Nanahara’s class that gets chosen and relocated to a small island. Shuya is forced to watch his friends die and his classmates go crazy. But what if there were some way to beat the fascist government’s supposedly infallible system?
BATTLE ROYALE is brutal, both physically and mentally. It tosses you into the middle of a corrupt world and forces you to be witness to an event that’s deadly and well established. Innocent and not-so-innocent teenagers die every few pages in unapologetic prose. No sooner do we come to know a student’s personality and past when he or she is killed, the abruptness of losing someone interesting you’ve just begun to know a definite stomach-turner, a definite shake-up.
If this kind of dystopian literature is your kind of thing, there’s plenty of it to be had. Even if you’ve got a weak stomach for violence, however, BATTLE ROYALE still gives you a lot to think about. Koushun Takami’s writing is nothing striking, and yet there’s something about the plainness of it, the bluntness of the translated version that I read, that gets inside your veins and messes up your organs. It’s the way he gives us a brief character sketch of each of the 42 students—and then takes them away from us in horrifying manners. It’s the way that this book’s world takes the existence of the “Program” as expected, unchangeable. And it’s the way that this book makes you doubt yourself and the characters, not sure whom you should trust, just as the government intends for you to react.
BATTLE ROYALE provides questions to think over, disturbing ideas and images that will keep you up late into the night. If you do not have a weak stomach and have the time to read an intense 600-page work, I suggest picking up BATTLE ROYALE in order to completely annihilate everything you’ve previously thought about the dark side of human nature and our curiosity in violence and death.
Show Less
LibraryThing member BookAddictDiary
I've been hearing about Battle Royale for a long time. In fact, with the recent upswing in dystopian fiction, Battle Royale seemed to be popping up more and more on my radar screen. Even though the book was never very popular in the U.S., it was a huge hit in Japan, where it came out in the late
Armed with basic knowledge of the plot line of Battle Royale, I read The Hunger Games about a year ago, and, with the first movie in that series getting so much attention lately, I started wondering: just how much alike are The Hunger Games and Battle Royale?
Answer: Very.
Battle Royale takes places in a dystopian world where the government, ruled by a single dictator, teaches people that the only person worth trusting is the government. Every year, they select a class of junior high students to participate in the Program. The Program is simple: the students are dumped on an island and must kill one another. The last one standing wins. The government is even kind enough to arm the students with a variety of weapons (some a little odd) and place tracking collars around their necks that will explode if they go too long without moving, if no one dies in 24 hours, if someone tries to escape, or if someone goes into a forbidden zone.
Told through the viewpoints of a number of the students, Battle Royale is an incredibly violent and disturbing novel that brings out the darker side of humanity -but in a way that's completely fascinating and, at times, unexpected. Some of these characters have serious issues, but it only makes them more real and more sympathetic. And as the conspiracies start to unravel, this action-packed novel comes crashing into an awesome, completely unexpected, but satisfying ending.
Basically, I was completely shocked at just how much alike Battle Royale and The Hunger Games are. The plots/setups are nearly identical, many of the themes are similar, and the endings strangely echo one another. Now, I do have to warn you that Battle Royale is considerably more messed up, adult and graphic than Hunger Games, because it doesn't sugar coat things and tends to be most descriptive when it comes to the violence. But, bottom line, The Hunger Games is a near-exact copy of Battle Royale -think an American Battle Royale-lite.
However, because the novel was translated from Japanese, there are a few points where the translation is a little awkward, or the cultural differences prevent American readers from understanding why certain things are the way they are. I was also surprised to see that much of the writing here was very blunt, simple and straightforward, but the style would randomly change to be more descriptive and flowery, almost like multiple people were translating it.
Despite the somewhat odd translation, Battle Royale is an exciting, action-packed novel with a clear message and a central purpose. Yes, it is violent, but that's part of what gets the point across. I hate to say it, but The Hunger Games basically ripped off this book, took out everything that gave it teeth, and re-packaged it as an American-friendly teen book.
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90s and spawned a manga series and two movies. Originally meant to be shocking and provocative, Battle Royale became a fascinating phenomenon in Japan where it became a modern-day Lord of the Flies tale.Armed with basic knowledge of the plot line of Battle Royale, I read The Hunger Games about a year ago, and, with the first movie in that series getting so much attention lately, I started wondering: just how much alike are The Hunger Games and Battle Royale?
Answer: Very.
Battle Royale takes places in a dystopian world where the government, ruled by a single dictator, teaches people that the only person worth trusting is the government. Every year, they select a class of junior high students to participate in the Program. The Program is simple: the students are dumped on an island and must kill one another. The last one standing wins. The government is even kind enough to arm the students with a variety of weapons (some a little odd) and place tracking collars around their necks that will explode if they go too long without moving, if no one dies in 24 hours, if someone tries to escape, or if someone goes into a forbidden zone.
Told through the viewpoints of a number of the students, Battle Royale is an incredibly violent and disturbing novel that brings out the darker side of humanity -but in a way that's completely fascinating and, at times, unexpected. Some of these characters have serious issues, but it only makes them more real and more sympathetic. And as the conspiracies start to unravel, this action-packed novel comes crashing into an awesome, completely unexpected, but satisfying ending.
Basically, I was completely shocked at just how much alike Battle Royale and The Hunger Games are. The plots/setups are nearly identical, many of the themes are similar, and the endings strangely echo one another. Now, I do have to warn you that Battle Royale is considerably more messed up, adult and graphic than Hunger Games, because it doesn't sugar coat things and tends to be most descriptive when it comes to the violence. But, bottom line, The Hunger Games is a near-exact copy of Battle Royale -think an American Battle Royale-lite.
However, because the novel was translated from Japanese, there are a few points where the translation is a little awkward, or the cultural differences prevent American readers from understanding why certain things are the way they are. I was also surprised to see that much of the writing here was very blunt, simple and straightforward, but the style would randomly change to be more descriptive and flowery, almost like multiple people were translating it.
Despite the somewhat odd translation, Battle Royale is an exciting, action-packed novel with a clear message and a central purpose. Yes, it is violent, but that's part of what gets the point across. I hate to say it, but The Hunger Games basically ripped off this book, took out everything that gave it teeth, and re-packaged it as an American-friendly teen book.
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LibraryThing member auraesque
Excellent fast-paced read. I found myself awake at 2 AM--I couldn't put it down. Despite the large cast it wasn't difficult to keep track of characters and I found myself rooting for several.
LibraryThing member purlewe
This was everything I wanted in a novel.. even if it seemed to be even more gory than I could have even imagined.
And while I see why it is compared to the Hunger Games, it is different in my mind. The mental state of the kids are different. The impact of the gov't in their lives is different. Kids
Short synopsis: story about a group of 15 yr olds who are "chosen at random" to fight to the death on a deserted island. This is sanctioned and condoned by the Japanese gov't. Only one can live.
Longer Synopsis:
So many people compare this to the Hunger Games. This isn't the Hunger Games, altho it has many similar storylines. But really? If you want to compare it to the HG then I feel you are missing so much of a 576 page book.
1. The gov't is totally different. This is Japanese gov't taken to its farthest and most absurd conclusion. You have the Japanese sentiment of saving face and not sticking out so far along to make it against the law to speak out against anything and to be killed (almost) instantly for doing so. The Program is considered an honor. To die for your country by your kinsfolk's hands is honorable.
2. Each prefecture sacrifices one whole class of students (up to 50 students) each yr. In the book they don't tell you how many prefectures there are. So let's go with the current number: 47. So 47 classes die each yr in this story. You (the reader) only get one version of The Program. The choosing of the class is random. It doesn't say how and when it is chosen. The students are not informed until they arrive at their destination that they are in The Program. Their parents or guardians are informed after they are taken. Anyone who disagrees with the gov't for taking their child is killed instantly. So students who grew up together, who know each other very very well are killing each other. It is a frightening prospect.
3. The Program is not televised. That doesn't mean they are not being monitored.. just that the horror of The Program doesn't reach the rest of the country. After The Program ends, a clip of the winner is shown with the statistics. (ie: winner: X. 40 students dead, 10 by guns, 8 by strangulation, 2 by infection, 10 by knife wounds.)
4. Each student is wearing a collar they cannot remove (removal will cause it to explode). The collar monitors heart rate, temperature, location, etc. It also records all conversation. The students are told only that removal will kill them, and that the collar will kill them if they are in a disqualified zone. Once they leave the first location it will be disqualified (so you can't go back and kill the Director or anyone running The Program.)
5. Each student is given a backpack that contains a weapon, a bottle of water, and a hunk of bread. They are also given a map with all of their names on the back of the map. The map has a grid on it that they can use to mark off the disqualifying zones. "Each of you has different abilities, so you will understand that each weapon will give you fair or unfair advantages." Some are guns (single shot all the way up to an uzi), others are knives; some don't get weapons, but protection. One got a fork(!!). In this "Program" they are put on an island that has been deserted just for them.
6. 4 times a day The Director reads off the names of the dead, and the disqualifying zones.
The Program continues until there is only 1 winner left. The computer verifies this and then the game ends.
Some students do not want to participate.. but the problem is trust. Some students DO want to participate.. they have past grievances, or they have imagined some slight, or they are insane. So anytime a student meets another they generally kill each other. One person I read online said that a student dies every 15 pages, and to not worry about remembering each student's name, b'c if they are introduced at the beginning of the chapter, most likely they will be dead in 15 pages.
Trust seemed the biggest over reaching arc in this book. Do you trust your classmates? Do you trust yourself? Can you trust a group of students? or are they a pack hunting others? Trust is so finely woven throughout the book you start thinking about all the people in your own life and whether you trust them enough if things happened and shit got real. I remember hearing Marjane Satrapi talk about civilization. She said "take away your lights and your drinking water and we are all savages." Similar thoughts apply to this book. Remove them from their society, tell them that only one must live; they all become savages.
I won't say this was an easy book to read. I was grossed out beyond measure. I am sure that watching me read this book must have been fun. I should have recorded myself trying to read and close my eyes, or not throw up, or duck a glancing blow from a two-headed axe. But I stuck with it b'c it was a fascinating idea. (thoroughly disgusting and very very gory, but fascinating.)
The end has a plot twist. OK, several plot twists. But they are totally in line with the theories of the book. And you wish there was more. But it is a satisfying ending.
And while I see why it is compared to the Hunger Games, it is different in my mind. The mental state of the kids are different. The impact of the gov't in their lives is different. Kids
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all knowing each other versus being chosen and knowing no one. The culture of Japan is different than the culture of an post-america dystopia. Kids killing kids is the only thing that makes these novels similar. Both books are fantastic, but both books deal with things differently.Short synopsis: story about a group of 15 yr olds who are "chosen at random" to fight to the death on a deserted island. This is sanctioned and condoned by the Japanese gov't. Only one can live.
Longer Synopsis:
So many people compare this to the Hunger Games. This isn't the Hunger Games, altho it has many similar storylines. But really? If you want to compare it to the HG then I feel you are missing so much of a 576 page book.
1. The gov't is totally different. This is Japanese gov't taken to its farthest and most absurd conclusion. You have the Japanese sentiment of saving face and not sticking out so far along to make it against the law to speak out against anything and to be killed (almost) instantly for doing so. The Program is considered an honor. To die for your country by your kinsfolk's hands is honorable.
2. Each prefecture sacrifices one whole class of students (up to 50 students) each yr. In the book they don't tell you how many prefectures there are. So let's go with the current number: 47. So 47 classes die each yr in this story. You (the reader) only get one version of The Program. The choosing of the class is random. It doesn't say how and when it is chosen. The students are not informed until they arrive at their destination that they are in The Program. Their parents or guardians are informed after they are taken. Anyone who disagrees with the gov't for taking their child is killed instantly. So students who grew up together, who know each other very very well are killing each other. It is a frightening prospect.
3. The Program is not televised. That doesn't mean they are not being monitored.. just that the horror of The Program doesn't reach the rest of the country. After The Program ends, a clip of the winner is shown with the statistics. (ie: winner: X. 40 students dead, 10 by guns, 8 by strangulation, 2 by infection, 10 by knife wounds.)
4. Each student is wearing a collar they cannot remove (removal will cause it to explode). The collar monitors heart rate, temperature, location, etc. It also records all conversation. The students are told only that removal will kill them, and that the collar will kill them if they are in a disqualified zone. Once they leave the first location it will be disqualified (so you can't go back and kill the Director or anyone running The Program.)
5. Each student is given a backpack that contains a weapon, a bottle of water, and a hunk of bread. They are also given a map with all of their names on the back of the map. The map has a grid on it that they can use to mark off the disqualifying zones. "Each of you has different abilities, so you will understand that each weapon will give you fair or unfair advantages." Some are guns (single shot all the way up to an uzi), others are knives; some don't get weapons, but protection. One got a fork(!!). In this "Program" they are put on an island that has been deserted just for them.
6. 4 times a day The Director reads off the names of the dead, and the disqualifying zones.
The Program continues until there is only 1 winner left. The computer verifies this and then the game ends.
Some students do not want to participate.. but the problem is trust. Some students DO want to participate.. they have past grievances, or they have imagined some slight, or they are insane. So anytime a student meets another they generally kill each other. One person I read online said that a student dies every 15 pages, and to not worry about remembering each student's name, b'c if they are introduced at the beginning of the chapter, most likely they will be dead in 15 pages.
Trust seemed the biggest over reaching arc in this book. Do you trust your classmates? Do you trust yourself? Can you trust a group of students? or are they a pack hunting others? Trust is so finely woven throughout the book you start thinking about all the people in your own life and whether you trust them enough if things happened and shit got real. I remember hearing Marjane Satrapi talk about civilization. She said "take away your lights and your drinking water and we are all savages." Similar thoughts apply to this book. Remove them from their society, tell them that only one must live; they all become savages.
I won't say this was an easy book to read. I was grossed out beyond measure. I am sure that watching me read this book must have been fun. I should have recorded myself trying to read and close my eyes, or not throw up, or duck a glancing blow from a two-headed axe. But I stuck with it b'c it was a fascinating idea. (thoroughly disgusting and very very gory, but fascinating.)
The end has a plot twist. OK, several plot twists. But they are totally in line with the theories of the book. And you wish there was more. But it is a satisfying ending.
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LibraryThing member jorgearanda
Ugh, what a disappointment. The premise was gross but wacky (a classroom of high school kids are forced to kill each other by a fascist state!?), and it could have worked. But the prose is infantile, the characters are plain, and it's clear from the beginning who'll make it through the end, so
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there's no suspense. It's also 200 pages too long. Show Less
LibraryThing member jseger9000
Battle Royale's premise is as irresistible as its back cover claims. A junior high class is kidnapped and taken to an island where, as part of a brutal authoritarian Program, they will be provided weapons and set loose to kill each other. The last one standing is the 'champion' of The Game. It came
But all that promise is spoiled by clunky writing. I don't know if Mr. Takami is just not much of a writer or if the translation was just too literal (that's my guess), but the writing was bad. Sentences were clumsily constructed or ignored rules of grammar. As brilliant as the concept was, it was tough to get into while reading sentences like: After all they were friends ever since they wet their beds at that Catholic institution with the bombastic name, "the Charity House" - where orphans or other children who, due to "circumstances," were no longer able to be with their parents (p 24) or They both didn't accept your assignment... (p49).
Another bad thing about the writing was the repetition of certain stock phrases. The phrase 'That's right' shows up on every other page. Now, I know you are thinking "What's wrong with 'that's right'"? But it shows up in very inappropriate places in the narration and sometimes breaks the tone or distracts from sheer repetition. There's also 'knit brows'. Every character in the story knits their brows at least six times. There was so much knitting in this book that between them they could have knitted a sweater by story's end.
Though a lot of my problems with the book may be due to a babelfish-like translation, there were some issues that were squarely on the author. One of the students is technically savvy, which is fine until he becomes MacGyver-esque. Another student is supposed to be a year older than the rest (making him fifteen) but he is so world weary and wise that he came off like a forty year old. It didn't help that he was repeatedly described as stubbly, with mannish hands and features. I was just waiting for a plot twist that would reveal that he was an adult posing as a junior high student.
Also, I never felt like there was ever an adequate explanation of how 'The Program' was foisted on the citizenry. We are told that The Program runs every two or three years and that it involves a Game in each of Japan's forty-seven prefectures. An estimated two thousand students are involved of which only forty seven will survive. How was it sold to the public enough to prevent revolution? Even a totalitarian regime would have to provide their public with some kind of reason to ship thousands of children off every couple of years to a game that lead to certain death.
I did like the cynical rationale for what The Program was trying to accomplish, and that it was never concretely provided, just guessed at by the students participating in it. I also liked the way their fascist society was presented to us in bits and pieces via the students recollections. Often the society was shown as being fairly close to the Japan we all know, then their would be a mention of government monitoring the internet or disappearances of citizens or whatever.
Lastly, at six-hundred pages, the book just felt too long. There were too many chapters devoted to the lives of characters who we hadn't heard of before and who were dead by the end of the chapter. Used sparingly, that would have worked, establishing a wider scope rather than just focusing on 'our heroes'. But we learn every detail of every one of the forty two kids involved in the Game, even though there are only five or six who we really follow. It breaks the forward momentum of the story and many of the kids detailed in these one off chapters felt sort of same-y. Even the author agrees with me here (in an interview he gave discussing the manga adaptation). The book could easily have lost two hundred pages and benefited greatly from it.
Battle Royale has a lot of promise. Unfortunately either bad writing or bad translation kills it. I would suggest watching the movie or reading the manga rather than attempting the book. I haven't done either, but they have to be better than slogging through six hundred pages of bad writing.
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riding high with a controversial reputation and a recommendation from Stephen King. Talk about your pulp gold!But all that promise is spoiled by clunky writing. I don't know if Mr. Takami is just not much of a writer or if the translation was just too literal (that's my guess), but the writing was bad. Sentences were clumsily constructed or ignored rules of grammar. As brilliant as the concept was, it was tough to get into while reading sentences like: After all they were friends ever since they wet their beds at that Catholic institution with the bombastic name, "the Charity House" - where orphans or other children who, due to "circumstances," were no longer able to be with their parents (p 24) or They both didn't accept your assignment... (p49).
Another bad thing about the writing was the repetition of certain stock phrases. The phrase 'That's right' shows up on every other page. Now, I know you are thinking "What's wrong with 'that's right'"? But it shows up in very inappropriate places in the narration and sometimes breaks the tone or distracts from sheer repetition. There's also 'knit brows'. Every character in the story knits their brows at least six times. There was so much knitting in this book that between them they could have knitted a sweater by story's end.
Though a lot of my problems with the book may be due to a babelfish-like translation, there were some issues that were squarely on the author. One of the students is technically savvy, which is fine until he becomes MacGyver-esque. Another student is supposed to be a year older than the rest (making him fifteen) but he is so world weary and wise that he came off like a forty year old. It didn't help that he was repeatedly described as stubbly, with mannish hands and features. I was just waiting for a plot twist that would reveal that he was an adult posing as a junior high student.
Also, I never felt like there was ever an adequate explanation of how 'The Program' was foisted on the citizenry. We are told that The Program runs every two or three years and that it involves a Game in each of Japan's forty-seven prefectures. An estimated two thousand students are involved of which only forty seven will survive. How was it sold to the public enough to prevent revolution? Even a totalitarian regime would have to provide their public with some kind of reason to ship thousands of children off every couple of years to a game that lead to certain death.
I did like the cynical rationale for what The Program was trying to accomplish, and that it was never concretely provided, just guessed at by the students participating in it. I also liked the way their fascist society was presented to us in bits and pieces via the students recollections. Often the society was shown as being fairly close to the Japan we all know, then their would be a mention of government monitoring the internet or disappearances of citizens or whatever.
Lastly, at six-hundred pages, the book just felt too long. There were too many chapters devoted to the lives of characters who we hadn't heard of before and who were dead by the end of the chapter. Used sparingly, that would have worked, establishing a wider scope rather than just focusing on 'our heroes'. But we learn every detail of every one of the forty two kids involved in the Game, even though there are only five or six who we really follow. It breaks the forward momentum of the story and many of the kids detailed in these one off chapters felt sort of same-y. Even the author agrees with me here (in an interview he gave discussing the manga adaptation). The book could easily have lost two hundred pages and benefited greatly from it.
Battle Royale has a lot of promise. Unfortunately either bad writing or bad translation kills it. I would suggest watching the movie or reading the manga rather than attempting the book. I haven't done either, but they have to be better than slogging through six hundred pages of bad writing.
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LibraryThing member YorickBrown
It's not often I read a book that's billed as a "high-octane thriller," but when I do, I guess I usually enjoy it. This was no exception - it's a gritty, ultraviolent story of 42 junior-high classmates who are forced by a totalitarian government to fight each other to the death. It could easily
While I was along for the ride, I enjoyed Battle Royale, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations in the end. For one thing, it invited comparisons to Lord of the Flies, but I remember Golding's book as having much more to say about tribalism, mysticism, and brutality, while Takami falls short. The first few deaths did seem to symbolize the vicissitudes of life under a totalitarian regime - the student killed on a whim of a government agent, the couple whose love is so perfect that they commit suicide together rather than risk being murdered apart - but in the end, the story just hammers away on the idea that people will do anything if circumstances are extreme enough. I didn't really need "Sweet Valley Death Match" to tell me that.
My other complaint was that the ending was too easy to figure out. If you take it as a given that the end of the "game" can't go as the government intended, you're only left with so many possibilities. Really, most of the suspense comes from wondering which supporting character will die next, and how.
Most of the deaths are pretty gruesome and graphic. Seems like this guy hated junior high school even more than I did.
Original post on "All The Things I've Lost"
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have turned into a one-dimensional hack-and-slashfest, but the author decided instead to give some little bit of personality to each character. It sort of felt like being in a big public school class - some people only appear briefly and you only know them as "track and field girl," "pop idol-crazy girl," or "baseball jock." The others - the ones you spend more time with - you get to know well, especially who they have a crush on. Yes, in between machine gun rounds, jungle tracking, and survivalist techniques, these 14-year-olds are realistically boy- and girl-crazy.While I was along for the ride, I enjoyed Battle Royale, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations in the end. For one thing, it invited comparisons to Lord of the Flies, but I remember Golding's book as having much more to say about tribalism, mysticism, and brutality, while Takami falls short. The first few deaths did seem to symbolize the vicissitudes of life under a totalitarian regime - the student killed on a whim of a government agent, the couple whose love is so perfect that they commit suicide together rather than risk being murdered apart - but in the end, the story just hammers away on the idea that people will do anything if circumstances are extreme enough. I didn't really need "Sweet Valley Death Match" to tell me that.
My other complaint was that the ending was too easy to figure out. If you take it as a given that the end of the "game" can't go as the government intended, you're only left with so many possibilities. Really, most of the suspense comes from wondering which supporting character will die next, and how.
Most of the deaths are pretty gruesome and graphic. Seems like this guy hated junior high school even more than I did.
Original post on "All The Things I've Lost"
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LibraryThing member morbidromantic
I've been eager to read this book for a while since I own both Battle Royale movies and I read the manga years ago. This book is as troubling as it is insightful-- troubling because it shows you the truth depth of human desperation and troubling because it makes the reader enjoy it. This book isn't
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full of thesaurus words or flowery, flowing descriptions. It's simple and to the point, and every effective. The book shows us how people, normal people, can descend into madness. How many of us would be able to kill someone? I'm sure many people would say, "not I," yet how do we know until we're put in that position? Each character in the book experiences their own personal reaction to fear, violence and the threat of death, which could come at any moment. How each handles this situation is where the insight comes in. We come to see that fear is more complex than the word describes. Some justify killing with logic, however poor, some do it out of instinct, and some do it to protect others. This isn't a book to pass over lightly because of its subject. I know that the thought of middle school students killing each other off on an island is sour, but Battle Royale is an excellent book about human nature and how humans exist in a world out of their control. There is hope, though! The main characters Shuya and Noriko fight a force far larger than themselves, which gives a glimmer of hope in the madness. Granted, there is no peaceful resolution at the end. The world as the characters know it does not crumble or end. It stays strong and in control, but the resistance of a few is only a minor shine to the possible resistance of many. Even in a world of chaos and death, there is loyalty and friendship. Show Less
LibraryThing member shinitaan
¤I saw the film before reading the book. The film was great...The book is greater.
The style of the autor is pleasant and simple to read. There is a kind of cynism is his topic, and a lot of reference (even if i think i don't undertand every)
Some point who was only silent in the film have an
The book is also more violent. We have all of the description of murder, attack and battle.
I think that if you like the film, you would like the book.
The style of the autor is pleasant and simple to read. There is a kind of cynism is his topic, and a lot of reference (even if i think i don't undertand every)
Some point who was only silent in the film have an
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explaination in the book. We have the chance to know the feeling and so on of a lot of characters and some like the great Kiriyama that everybody remembered after seeing the movie. The book is also more violent. We have all of the description of murder, attack and battle.
I think that if you like the film, you would like the book.
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LibraryThing member suriu
Battle Royale is an excellent book that hooks the reader from the beginning and keeps the reader guessing until the end. A class of Japanese Jr high school students are taken to a deserted island by the government where they must choose between killing and being killed by their classmates. Equipped
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with different weapons ranging from pistols to forks, the students must compete and survive in order to go back to their normal lives. I would recommend this book to readers who feel that books take too long to get hooked into. Show Less
LibraryThing member SirStuckey
This book is about how a class of junior high students is taken to a deserted island and forced to kill each other until one person is left alive and proclaimed the winner, a program made by the authoritarian regime of Republic of Greater East Asia.
I loved the movie and didn't even know it was
I found it pretty amazing how the author can take a book with 40+ characters and it never really feels rushed or like it is taking away from the storyline of the main characters. Obviously there are some characters that we don't get much from and there are only 10 or so that have there own story lines that go beyond just the section about their deaths, but I really felt that Takami did a great job in giving us just enough to not feel cheated by any of the "fringe" characters stories.
Be warned this is a pretty gory book, and most of what you will read will be about how certain people are dying. The author doesn't skimp on describing the action, but don't think he doesn't dive into the emotions of these kids...it's a tight rope to walk and he does it beautifully.
I loved the movie and didn't even know it was
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based on a novel until about a week ago so of course I had to pick it up as soon as possible. This book is by far the most action oriented novel I've ever read. You are thrust into the action almost immediately and it doesn't really stop until you close the book.I found it pretty amazing how the author can take a book with 40+ characters and it never really feels rushed or like it is taking away from the storyline of the main characters. Obviously there are some characters that we don't get much from and there are only 10 or so that have there own story lines that go beyond just the section about their deaths, but I really felt that Takami did a great job in giving us just enough to not feel cheated by any of the "fringe" characters stories.
Be warned this is a pretty gory book, and most of what you will read will be about how certain people are dying. The author doesn't skimp on describing the action, but don't think he doesn't dive into the emotions of these kids...it's a tight rope to walk and he does it beautifully.
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LibraryThing member dasuzuki
I picked up this book because I loved The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and I heard this Japanese book was very similar to it or The Hunger Games was similar to it. Battle Royale wasn’t bad but I much preferred The Hunger Games. This one had way too many characters to keep track of (there were
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over 40 students) and there were too many mini story lines coming out as each student is killed. It was kind of funny in a morbid sort of way that some of the weapons the students are given are forks or sticks. Talk about raw deal when other students are given machine guns. If you enjoyed The Hunger Games and have time on your hands(Battle Royale is over 600 pages long) this is a nice complement to it. Show Less
LibraryThing member HvyMetalMG
This is not a book about wrestling, believe it or not. What this book is in reality is the Lord of the Flies meets American Psycho. Man, the Japanese don't hold anything back. What do you get when a group of junior high school kids are put on an island and given weapons and ordered to be the last
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one standing? Some sick, twisted violence! Of course, some of the students have faith that they can find a better way to survive than killing. Yeah sure. They are brutally murdered and the author makes sure to be very descriptive. Show Less
LibraryThing member MSWallack
Lord of the Flies meets 1984 meets Survivor is the only way to accurately describe this book. Without giving too much away, the book is set in a world in which Japan is a modern, fascist superpower. Each year, several junior high school classes throughout the Japanese empire are randomly chosen to
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participate in The Program, an insidious exercise in which the students (both male and female) are put on an abandoned island, given weapons, and told that they have three days to kill each other. The last one alive "wins" and if more than one is still living at the end of the allotted time, they will all be killed. The story is absolutely brutal in its telling; Takami does not spare any of the gory details. However, what makes the story more than just a simple bloodbath are the relationships of the students as they plot and plan, each trying to decide his or her place in the "game" and whether they can bring themselves to trust one another or even to "play". An obviously controversial book, it is clearly not for everyone. I, however, thoroughly enjoyed it. Show Less
LibraryThing member bikerevolution
Its like a gorey version of Lord of the Flies in a facist world. I read this because I'm trying to cure myself of a pretty mean blood phobia. I don't think it worked, although I did feel a little icky at parts. I'm not sure if it is just the way the novel was written or if something gets lost in
Basically, in a present-day fascist Asian republic, a 9th grade class is sent to a deserted island, given weapons and made to kill one another (or they will all die). If they don't fight, the electronic collar around their necks will explode. There are a ton of characters, mostly minor, which means we don't really have the time to agonize over their deaths much. My favorite line: "Don't shake me, there's a sickle stuck in me, man, that hurts."
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the translation, but because the narration seemed so distant and cold, it was pretty easy to deal with the gore. Basically, in a present-day fascist Asian republic, a 9th grade class is sent to a deserted island, given weapons and made to kill one another (or they will all die). If they don't fight, the electronic collar around their necks will explode. There are a ton of characters, mostly minor, which means we don't really have the time to agonize over their deaths much. My favorite line: "Don't shake me, there's a sickle stuck in me, man, that hurts."
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LibraryThing member veevoxvoom
First of all, I have to admit that I'm no stranger to the violent and gory world of Battle Royale. I've seen the movie and read the manga, and they intrigued me so much I went out and got the book the entire franchise is based on.
Battle Royale is a dystopian thriller about a tyrannical East Asian
Needless to say, it's not a pleasant story. Written originally in Japanese, it reads a bit awkwardly to an English speaker-- I don't know if this is a matter of poor translation or a cultural difference in prose. Battle Royale isn't particularly subtle either. It tends to throw around its philosophical weight like bulky fat. What I mean is that if you're looking for literature where there are meanings behind meanings and layers beneath layers, this isn't it. At the same time, it's not a mere thriller either. Amidst all the violence, there are glimpses of true humanity. When you see characters you love die, you weep for them. That edge of perspective and tragedy is what makes me forgive Battle Royale's stylistic issues. It's an aggressive story about youth and corrupt government. Even if you didn't like it, I dare you to forget it.
Battle Royale is a dystopian thriller about a tyrannical East Asian
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government. In this tyranny, every year junior high classes are randomly selected and dumped on an island, where they're given three days to fight each other until the last student stands. Failure to do so, and they all die.Needless to say, it's not a pleasant story. Written originally in Japanese, it reads a bit awkwardly to an English speaker-- I don't know if this is a matter of poor translation or a cultural difference in prose. Battle Royale isn't particularly subtle either. It tends to throw around its philosophical weight like bulky fat. What I mean is that if you're looking for literature where there are meanings behind meanings and layers beneath layers, this isn't it. At the same time, it's not a mere thriller either. Amidst all the violence, there are glimpses of true humanity. When you see characters you love die, you weep for them. That edge of perspective and tragedy is what makes me forgive Battle Royale's stylistic issues. It's an aggressive story about youth and corrupt government. Even if you didn't like it, I dare you to forget it.
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LibraryThing member ShannonRattray
I honestly loved this book and couldn't read it fast enough. There was such a diverse group of students on the island, most of which were easy to relate to, and it was interesting to see how "The Program" led them to turn on each other once fear and the instinct to survive took over. Battle Royale
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was violent and unsettling but it also showed the value of friendship. I highly recommend this to anyone who can handle intense violence! Show Less
LibraryThing member ThisYAlibrarian
In a not so parallel universe Japan is run by a militaristic government where criticism is not tolerated. In order to keep Japan in a state of control a program is enforced on a random Junior High School class. The students are taken to a secret island location, equipped with different weapons,
Koushun Takami is a reporter in Japan. His book was rejected in the final rounds of a literary contest on the grounds of its controversial subject. Battle Royale has since gone onto be a runaway bestseller in both Japanese and English.
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means of survival, and are forced to kill one another. The game ends when one student is left. “Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world.” This violent story explodes from the beginning and never lets up! This book has been turned into both a movie and very popular manga series. Due to its very graphic content Battle Royale is recommended for High school and up.Koushun Takami is a reporter in Japan. His book was rejected in the final rounds of a literary contest on the grounds of its controversial subject. Battle Royale has since gone onto be a runaway bestseller in both Japanese and English.
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LibraryThing member hawaiianobrien
A great read that lives up to the hype. Admittedly, it's often brutal given that it deals with middle school kids from Japan fighting each other to the death until one is left standing... all of which is a government experiment no less. But that's only the surface. To me, it became a re-affirmation
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that all of us are born with an instinctual desire not to be dominated, along with an overwhelming urge for basic survival. Show Less
LibraryThing member linedog1848
Nothing spectacular, but well worth the read. It's a violent, entertaining pulp piece, though I wonder what of the style, form, and prose are lost in translation.
Read it. Enjoy it. Just don't expect a masterpiece. It's gene-splice lab baby of Lord of the Flies, Beverly Hills 90210, LOST! and
Read it. Enjoy it. Just don't expect a masterpiece. It's gene-splice lab baby of Lord of the Flies, Beverly Hills 90210, LOST! and
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Surviving the Game. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kiwiria
Several people mentioned this book in their reviews of The Hunger Games so I was intrigued, and jumped at the chance to read it. The reason for comparison is obvious and both are amazing books in their own right. I think I marginally prefer THG though - mostly because Battle Royale did get a tad
That said, it was still almost impossible to put down - both physically and mentally - and a very interesting social commentary. Many of the twists I had not seen coming, and some of the deaths (or the timings of them at least) were very unexpected.
It's a lot more gory than THG, but also - IMHO at least - more unrealistic. Some of the things people survived I would not have thought possible... although admittedly that may be because I know next to nothing about mortal combat. Fortunately!
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repetitative at times. After all, there were twice as many people to kill off, and only so many ways to do it.That said, it was still almost impossible to put down - both physically and mentally - and a very interesting social commentary. Many of the twists I had not seen coming, and some of the deaths (or the timings of them at least) were very unexpected.
It's a lot more gory than THG, but also - IMHO at least - more unrealistic. Some of the things people survived I would not have thought possible... although admittedly that may be because I know next to nothing about mortal combat. Fortunately!
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LibraryThing member aimless22
I picked this up since The Hunger Games has been compared to it. This one is ultra-violent but still a very good story. While there were almost too many characters (42), the action still flowed well. A few times I had to flip back to remember what someone did earlier in the book.
As with The Hunger
As with The Hunger
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Games, I found myself uncomfortably enthralled by the premise and the action. Show Less
LibraryThing member jimmaclachlan
Kind of like a cross between Survivor & 'Lord of the Flies', the story is about a future when the government sends a class of kids to an island to kill or be killed. Each gets a weapon & they battle until only one is left.
It was pretty well written, but didn't do a lot for me. The basic premise of
It was pretty well written, but didn't do a lot for me. The basic premise of
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game didn't seem particularly well set up to me nor very real. The reasoning behind the game, the politics, was unreal. The action was OK, fairly realistic in some ways, wrong in others. It came highly recommended by my son who was in his late teens at the time. Show Less
Awards
Japan Horror Novel Award (1998)
This Mystery is Amazing! (#4 — 2000)
Language
Original language
Japanese
Original publication date
2003
1999 [Japan]
2014 [Collins Translation]
ISBN
1421527723 / 9781421527727
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