Stir-Fry Cinema Podcast Series

Monday, March 1, 2010

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies
by Seth Grahame-Smith
Genre: Classics, Horror, Spoof
Published by Quirk Classics
Date of Publication: April 4th 2009






     They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  I suppose spoofs fall into that category, and I have yet to find a better one than Pride And Prejudice And Zombies.  Rather than rewrite the regency classic, Grahame-Smith has used a different tactic.  Taking Austen's original text, he has expanded it in a number of places, adding scenes and a backstory of a zombie outbreak.  The rest, he left completely untouched.

     For the sake of this review, I am going to have to assume you, the reader, have at the very least a cursory knowledge of the original.  It is not my intention to try and "review" a masterpiece of English literature, and I find even the idea of such an attempt intimidating and far beyond my meager talents.

     This version of the book follows the Bennett family (particularly Elizabeth) through the same course of events as the original.  The class intrigues, romances, and family disputes all remain largely unsullied.  In fact, the bulk of the book (say 85%) remains identical to the original piece, down to the word.

     In this version, however, the countryside has been overrun by Unmentionables.  Oddly enough, the word "Zombie" rearely appears in the book.  Rather than being the somewhat less than "prim and proper" society ladies we know them as, the Bennett sisters are a highly trained and widely respected group of zombie slayers, whose collective technique (learned in a monastery in the orient) is referred to as the "Pentagram of Death".  Elizabeth is, as expected, the fiercest and most talented martialist of the bunch, and possibly in the world.

     Likewise, Mr. Darcy is esteemed across the country as being unmatched with a blade, and his record of kills borders on uncountable.  Their matched skill as combatants adds a very nice additional layer of tension and one-upsmanship to their courtship, and brings a new dimension to their feuding.

     Through questions of their suitability as women of class, to the infection and death of a close friend, and through all the same trials and tribulations, this time with "added zombie carnege and mayhem", there are no twists that can catch you offhand.  But then again, how could you possibly expect there would be with any book as established as Pride And Prejudice.

     The thing that really made this book for me is the flawless reworking of certain famous lines, in particular, the opening line of the book:

     "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains"

     In addition to the flawless used Victorian language, there are several sparsely used illustrations peppered throughout the book.  Done in much the same style as old woodblock prints, these add a very nice touch to the volume.



     When this book was announced, Austen fans the world over rose up as one to collective complain, flooding book sites with wordy diatribes why this idea was not only ludicrous, but bordered on the blasphemous.  They ranted against the bastardization of the beloved classic, and tried ardently to persuade everyone they could to not even give it the time of day.

     Yet in spite of all that, the book not only saw it's release, but the sentiment of hatred and revulsion (one widely shared across a large cross section of literati) proved an old saying true; "There's no such thing as bad publicity".  In fact, preorders reached incredible numbers, surpassing the records for many years, and it was even optioned as a movie PRIOR to the book hitting shelves.  Why?  Because zombies are awesome, and so is Pride And Prejudice And Zombies.

     I would not suggest reading the original and this back to ack, as I did.  No matter how great the classic is, Pride And Prejudice And Zombies is still largely the same book, and even a classic like Pride And Prejudice gets a little old (no pun intended) after two consecutive readings.  Also, I admit to wishing for more narrative about the zombies.  But, the next time you would revisit the original, consider picking this up instead.  If you can keep an open mind, or are anything at all like me, I promise you won't regret it.  The book does exactly what it claims it does on the back cover.  It "transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you'd actually want to read."

Concept: 5 out of 5
Execution: 4 out of 5
Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

i wonder what my wife would say if i brought this home? should i just tell her i am reading the classic and mumble the zombies? thank you for putting this out there. this is at the top of my list to read.

Pedro

Anonymous said...

very nice. still don't think i can handle the zombies, though. maybe someday! -S

Reece said...

I suppose you would want to be an Austen fan before you read this. I would have liked to see more critic on the actually Zombies. All in all, not a fantastic book, but an entertaining one. Well written, sir.

Ichaerus said...

Yeah, I thought about saying more about the zombies, but I didn't want to give away the little bit that is actually new in this version.

Ted Carter said...

So what about those of us who have never actually read Pride and Prejudice? Is it a good one to tackle without knowing the original story?

Ichaerus said...

I certainly think so, Ted. The story is very similar, as I say, with only little things changed to include the zombie story. If you have never wanted to read the original before, this is worth a try.