Book Review: Battle Royale

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In a totalitarian Japan (now called the Republic of Greater East Asia) every year, 50 3rd year middle school classes are selected to participate in a program designed to test their resourcefulness, strength, intelligence, but most of all, their ability to murder their classmates. You read that correctly, the program's sole objective is to survive, no matter the cost. Why? To control the population by instilling fear and paranoia, of course. Not because high ranking officials like to bet on the outcome, that would be cruel and barbaric, not to mention senseless murder. You should be ashamed for even suggesting that kind of thing!
As luck would have it, this year the students from Shiroiwa Junior High School were among the privileged 50. Masqueraded as a school trip, they are drugged and shipped off to an island, armed and instructed with their objective. Oh, and to ensure they don't try to escape, they are each outfitted with a neat collar that not only gives away their exact position, but is also built to explode if they enter a "forbidden zone" or try to escape. Cool, huh? Well not so much if you're one of the participants of course.
When the sole objective is to kill or be killed, who can you trust?
Battle Royale was (for me) an instant favorite. Equal parts thriller, dystopian, pulp, (inappropriate) comedy, it even had a bit of romance thrown in now and then. What makes Battle Royale stand out most though is it's ability to permeate itself into your reality. It expertly plays on your fears and paranoia, throwing you in a confusing stalemate. If you fall into suspicion, the government wins, but if you don't... well, let's just hope it will be relatively painless. While reading Battle Royale I guarantee you will find yourself "sizing up" your classmates, workmates, neighbors, etc. I know I did.
Not only is it thought provoking, it is also very emotionally compromising. You find yourself attached to most of the characters, despite the fact that most are not necessarily "good" (the biggest example of this for me was Misuko). You find it hard not to relate with them, and sometimes trying to justify their actions. This "bond" that you form with them makes their deaths all the more painful.
Battle Royale is a one of a kind novel that envelopes you completely, not only in it's premise but also in the characters, it plays with your emotions making you laugh, cry, hate, and hope, though it's always quick to return to it's pervading hopelessness. Battle Royale is everything you would want in a novel, between gory death scenes and tearful goodbyes, there's never a dull moment, that's for sure. This jewel of a novel culminates in a brilliant use of Springsteen's Born to Run, a moment that will forever enrich the song. I wholeheartedly recommend this novel, not just to dystopian/pulp/thriller lovers but to everyone.

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