In case you haven't cottoned on, I've just finished reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.
What's it about? Take the Austen classic, add zombies, et viola, you have this book.
At first I was a little worried that the zombie and martial art additions would get boring, but aside from a few glaring additions and characterisations that didn't quite work, the concept worked quite well. It certainly gave the militia a better reason for being in Hertfordshire than the original and some of the less savoury characters get their comeuppance in a much more satisfactory manner, if a lot less realistic.
It even has discussion questions at the end. A couple of my favourites (without spoilers) are:
- Some critics have suggested that the zombies represent the authors' views toward marriage - an endless curse that sucks the life out of you and just won't die. Do you agree, or do you have another opinion about the symbolism of the unmentionables?
- Vomit plays an important role in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Mrs. Bennet frequently vomits when she's nervous, coachmen vomit in disgust when they witness zombies feasting on corpses, even the steady Elizabeth can't help but vomit at the site of [character name deleted] lapping up [its] own bloody pus.Do the authors mean for this regurgitation to symbolise something greater, or is it a cheap device to get laughs?
All in all, a pretty good read and may make for a better read if you've either read the original or at least seen the BBC series. It's going to be made into a movie, if the skuttlebutt is anything to go by.
Some quotes: -
"The creatures were crawling on their hands and knees biting into ripe heads of cauliflower, which they had mistaken for stray brains."
"That none of the others noticed this, Elizabeth attributed to their stupidity - particularly Mr. Collins, who apparently had no idea that his wife was three-quarters dead."
3 comments:
'm not good with zombies... The idea of the book is interesting but the cover scares me. I freak each time I check you blog for a new entry.
Think big furry spiders...
I'm not normally good with zmobies either, but I coped very well with this book. There were a couple of moments when I was a little bit nauseated by the descriptions, but it really was only a couple of times. Considering how often it could have been, that's not bad!
Just so you know, it's doubtful I'll update between now and next week so, to save you any squickiness, you won't have to check back until then. I'm glad you read my blog though! :)
Shudder, I say, shudder.
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