Battle Royale
Battle Royale, a high-octane thriller about senseless youth violence, is one of Japan's best-selling - and most controversial - novels. As part of a ruthless program by the totalitarian government, ninth-grade students are taken to a small isolated island with a map, food, and various weapons. Forced to wear special collars that explode when they break a rule, they must fight each other for three days until only one "winner" remains. The elimination contest becomes the ultimate in must-see reality television. A Japanese pulp classic available in English for the first time, Battle Royale is a potent allegory of what it means to be young and survive in today's dog-eat-dog world. The first novel by small-town journalist Koushun Takami, it went on to become an even more notorious film by 70-year-old gangster director Kinji Fukusaku.
-Amazon
Comments
My favorite book! Its just so tastey! I wish this would happen to my school! I kinda want to shoot the kid who sits behind me in math class. Yes, Brian. That means you.
This book was excellent. I enjoyed the twisted plot; found the characters to be very likeable (especially appreciating the dichotomous relationships between classmates and the virtue apparent in some); and found that the action kept things unpredictable and interesting. One of my favorites.
Battle Royale, I thought, was very interesting. It was a little difficult at first to keep track of the different people because of their Japanese names, but reading further, you start to identify with the characters more. Throughout the whole book I kept trying to make assumptions as to who would be the last one standing. I was pretty pleased with the ending, though.
The idea of having a sort of government that controls the population in that way is ridiculous! I often imagine a handful of people I know being put on an island for a Battle Royale, in those circumstances, and guess what the outcome would be.
I'd also like to see the film.