Koushun Takami’s notorious high-octane thriller envisions a nightmare scenario: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian programme, they are provided arms and forced to kill until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan in 1999where it became a runaway best seller and was adapted into a movieBattle 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.