The Battle Royale Slam Book by Nick Mamatas

'Innocence Lost and Regained' - Touches on similar themes to the essay before it - innocence of children is a construct, relatively recent, & a false one. Also a great section of how school shootings are nothing new.' 'Happiest Days.' - Showing ways that reality is like BR and comparing other novels, including Hunger Games and Lord of the Flies. 'The Fight the Night Before' - About deliberations on Battle Royale winning a horror prize and why, perhaps, it did not win. Mentions that Battle Royale probably won't suffer this fate. Discusses how the subversive books of yesteryear are today's boring books that kids are forced to read in the classroom. 'Blood in the Classroom' - Intro essay to the book. Sees BR as a lesson kids need to experience.' 'Death for Kids' - A guy who lived through an evil police state in Argentina sees death at 8 years old and realizes how the world is. Well, as is the case for anthologies, magazines, and essay collections - here are the thoughts I had as I read each one a collection of my status updates. Within a context of remakes of Japanese horror rather than just bringing out subtitled or dubbed versions, I think it's understandable, even if it's misguided. There are even a few that deal with my original rejection of The Hunger Games as an anglo ripoff and being upset that it was more well-known than BR.

There are both obvious lessons and ones that make you think, 'Oh yeah!'. The deepest proof for the artistic quality of the story is the fact that these essays represent a bunch of different (and also a few similar) interpretations of what we can gain from the story. I have enjoyed many a book since then, but few in number are the books who have affected me so much. The author did such a great job building up both the stakes and the relationships, that it was devastating to read. It was the first book that ever made me tear up with the lighthouse scene. It was a book that amazed me with its emotional resonance. It's been over a decade since I read Battle Royale.

The Battle Royale Slam Book by Nick Mamatas