Battle Royale
by Koushun Takami
Book Summary Information
Author: Koushun TakamiEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2003-02-26
ISBN: 156931778X
Number of pages: 624
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Book Reviews of Battle Royale
Book Review: trauma's of a battle royale
Summary: 5 Stars
Koushun Takami was the master mind behind this suspenseful, intense, nail biting book Battle Royale. With potential and powerful words which exceeds the limitations of a book, it was also created as a high action movie. It is a story that immediately grabs your attention from page one. And unlike a typical "high school relationship" holds your interest til the very end. This story takes place in Japan, where a random class from Shiroiwa Junior high is selected to participate in a program operated by the government. Rules and regulations are given and the students find themselves left on a deserted island with their only mission is... to kill each other! As they get a feel for the game, they start to form groups, partnerships, create alliances and strategies that will increase their chances of survival. One by one the death count rises. And little do they know, through twists and turns, revealed to things such as love and betrayal. These once typical high junior high students will soon find themselves either helpless victims or relentless murderers forced to fight for their lives at all cost. In a story that truly hits you head on from the get go, the main theme is trustworthiness. Harsh punishments and times of dire need bring out a different side of people. Things such as betrayal like in chapter eleven, former gang members agreed to meet at a specific location and when they reached it the leader turned on them, killing everyone. This was also expressed in the quote "if the coin came up tails, i decided i'd take part in this game." where people were relying on something as little as a flip of a coin to determine whether they should betray people they had built a bond with for many years. Another example was the quote, "once we're down to three, I might kill you two and win the game." This showed that trust was a huge issue in this game and you could never let your guard down because anyone could turn on you at any given time. And finally, for the theme, the game put the students in a place where they had to make sacrifices and trust each other to protect one another, like in chapter twenty-two... "Loving someone always requires you to not love someone else."
Summary of 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.General Books
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