Summer Reading List- Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Title: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Authors: Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Published: 2009, by Quirk Productions, Inc.
Page Count: 317
Genre: Parody
Rating: ***** (out of 5)
My Thoughts: Jane Austen has long been a favorite of mine. I've also been a fan of zombie movies, mostly thanks to Greg's fascination with them. So, when I saw this book, I had to have it. What would make a classic romance better than throwing in crazy zombie attacks? I was not disappointed. I loved all of the additions to the story- having Elizabeth and Mr Darcy equally matched in the deadly arts, having Charlotte stricken with the evil plague, and Lady Catherine challenging Elizabeth to a fight to the death. I loved the extra suffering given to Wickham by Mr. Darcy- only deserving of such a horrible person.
Grahame-Smith seemed to have cut out a lot of Austen's original dialogue and prose- I did a little chapter-by-chapter comparison. I'm not sure if it was just to make room for the "ultraviolent zombie mayhem", or he wanted to do some creative editing, but I found it a slight improvement. Austen can be a bit rambling in her descriptions and dialogue, and Grahame-Smith's judicious pruning made the book a more enjoyable read than it already was.
The illustrations both on the cover and the inside of the book lend even more to the enjoyment. They are not overly graphic, at least not for someone who's watched as many Sam Raimi movies as I have. I particularly like the final illustration of Elizabeth and Darcy standing in a cauliflower field holding hands, poised to kill the zombies feasting on the brain-like vegetables.
The book makes me excited for a rumored movie in the works. Natalie Portman as Elizabeth??? Maybe...
I think I might download the Kiera Knightley version tonight to watch... though I despise her as Elizabeth. Not sure why, but I would rather someone else.
Drumroll please, it's time for the next book....
FIC
AUS
245 00 $aSense and sensibility/ $cJane Austen.
I bought this book only a few weeks ago at a sale in the mall. It looked so pretty I couldn't pass it up. It's black with shiny bronze and blue lettering. The inside has beautiful illustrations, four essays from leading literary critics, a timeline, a list of principle characters, and an explanation of transport in the regency era. I've already read some of the essays, but like all the other books, it found itself tucked away, never to be read til now. Book three of nine, here I come!