Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: 11/10/10

Jane Austen's books in their unadulterated form are not my cup of tea. I've tried and failed on numerous occasions to read through a single novel. But for some whacky reason I like adaptations of her novels (Clueless and Bride and Prejudice for example). Throw in the fact that I prefer brain noming zombies over blood sucking vampires and I knew I had to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Graham-Smith (and Jane Austen, sort of).

So there's Mr. and Mrs. Bennett trying to get their daughters married off. And there's Mr. Darcy, arrogant sod as always (who is apparently dreamy to all creatures female except me). But things aren't all peachy in the English countryside thanks to the Dreadfuls (aka zombies, but in polite society, one doesn't call them zombies).

The Bennett sisters when they aren't being courted are out there trying to keep the gentry safe from the Dreadfuls with their zombie fighting ninja skills. In the edition I read there were some cheesy illustrations that get in the way of the charm of the book. Since I read the book last summer, there's now a graphic novel; I hope the drawings are better in that version. The original drawers were dreadful (and not in a good way).

The book was a quick read, perfect for when I was waiting to pick my son up from school. If anything, it follows too closely the original novel. The Austen heavy sections are (to me) as boring as ever. If I could improve the book I'd put in more zombies (including zombifying Mr. Darcy).

Comments (4)

Comment #1: Friday, November, 12, 2010 at 18:18:34

Okie

I had a hard time enjoying this book. I admit that it stayed pretty true to the original and at times this was a pain. Still, even the zombie sections didn't grab me.

In the end, I really felt like this was a fun idea that just didn't work out for me in the execution. Personally I'm amazed at the following and the number of related books and sequels/etc going on.

But that's just me...I know plenty of people who loved it.

Thanks for a nice review.

Comment #2: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 at 21:58:19

Pussreboots

It wasn't my favorite of the mash-ups I've read because I didn't think the Austen and the zombie parts blended well enough. I did though like the Austen-esque take on zombies in polite society.

Comment #3: Thursday, November, 18, 2010 at 17:20:16

Okie

That is a good point...he did a good job of juxtaposing the grotesque zombie elements alongside the high social charms of Austen's world.

Comment #4: Tuesday, November 23, 2010 at 20:02:27

Pussreboots

I'd like to see another attempt at Austen and zombies. I think it could be really well done.