Immortal Longings book review: Enjoy this Shakespearean Hunger Games

The new Hunger Games prequel movie, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is just around the corner, releasing in cinemas later this month, and we couldn’t be more excited to return to the world of Panem.

Lionsgate treated us to a new trailer last month, which gave us another peek at Panem decades before the events of The Hunger Games trilogy. We also get a glimpse of a much earlier form of the Hunger Games, and the war which led to its beginnings.

Lionsgate also released a short clip involving the character of Lucy Gray Baird, played by Rachel Zegler. Rachel is at the reaping in District 12. She may look innocent and demure, but there is a much tougher side to her; in the words of Zegler herself (who was asked to compare Lucy with Katniss, the protagonist of The Hunger Games trilogy), “Lucy Gray is a performer forced to fight, while Katniss is a fighter forced to perform.”

The anticipation for this film is through the roof, and with anticipation always comes the near unbearable feeling of having to wait. So if you’re eagerly (and desperately) awaiting A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I have a book recommendation to fill the time which will probably be right up your avenue…

Immortal Longings: Where Anthony and Cleopatra meets The Hunger Games

Author Chloe Gong is best known for her Young Adult Secret Shanghai novels, which began in 2020 with the publication of These Violent Delights (a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai). However, in July 2023, Gong made her adult fantasy debut with Immortal Longings.

Like the Secret Shanghai novels, Immortal Longings is also heavily influenced by Shakespeare, specifically the play Antony and Cleopatra. Shakespeare is fast becoming a Chloe Gong staple, with Gong telling WBUR: “I have always been fascinated by the presence Shakespeare takes up in like English literature and the English canon. I am one of those people who really just loves the kind of language he puts together.”

Gong is particularly interested in the themes Shakespeare is playing with in Antony and Cleopatra, which is why Immortal Longings feels more like a story influenced by the play than a straightforward retelling.

Star-crossed lovers in a battle arena… sound familiar?

Fans of The Hunger Games will be well acquainted with the idea of two characters forced to fight to the death, and along the way falling in love with each other (objectively, I could say this is a spoiler, but the first Hunger Games film came out 11 years ago. And if you’re here, you’ve definitely watched that and are aware of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark).

Well, something similar happens in Immortal Longings! We’re dropped into the kingdom of Talin, which is ruled by the twin cities of San-Er. Every year, thousands flock to San-Er for the palace games, where the winner will meet the king and win unimaginable riches. The twist is that in the kingdom of Talin, people have the ability to ‘jump’: leaping in and out of others bodies while maintaining their qi (soul and personality, essentially). So if you’re mortally wounded in the games? Well, not a huge issue, just jump into another person’s body and off you go. But jumping over and over can come at the cost of a slow but steady death which is unstoppable…

This may sound chaotic, and at first all these concepts can be overwhelming, but Gong’s immersive writing style and the way she just talks about jumping like it’s a basic fact of life make it easy to get used to.

The cities of San-Er are futuristic. In the games, players wear wristbands which track their locations and beep when they come close to one another. The idea is to instigate a fight. Sound familiar, Hunger Games fans?

Each player is in this fight for themselves — their own money, their own agenda. Poverty seeps through the kingdom of Talin and the twin cities, and for many, playing in the games and dying is better than living in destitution.

So when Calla and Anton meet and decide to join forces, it is not only unheard of, but creates an emotional problem they have to eventually face: only one of them can win the games. And with both having such clear cut reasons for wanting to win, can they hold back their growing feelings for one another to complete their tasks? Or will their love result in great tragedy and pain for them both?

If you’re a big fan of The Hunger Games and simply can’t wait for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, then Immortal Longings will tick all the boxes for you. With engrossing, immersive writing, compelling characters, and love under the harshest possible circumstances, Immortal Longings should hit that sweet spot for every Hunger Games fan; and it’ll get bonus points if you’re a Shakespeare fan, too.

Immortal Longings is available now. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes releases in cinemas on October 17.

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