Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: 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 one another until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan - where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller - 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.
My Thoughts: Ack! I loved the concept of this. Absolutely adored it in fact - and it is a real inspirational classic that should be read by all if the chance arises.
The plot is brilliantly intense, bloody, brutal. There is no hesitation in bringing characters to their ultimate end; pretty damn awesome and I really wanted to rave about it...
And yet for me all of this 'she crushes on him' and 'he fancies her' let it down. I found it irritating and tiresome. It was very difficult for me to keep tabs on who each of the copious amounts of characters were, and nearly impossible to remember which of them was where.
One or two of the characters definitely stood out however, and I was routing for them to get through it.
All in all a good read that leaves much to talk about, but personally, I found some aspects of it annoying.
I RATED THIS 6/10
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