R is a young man with an existential crisis--he is a zombie. He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains. He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams.
After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a blast of color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that surrounds R. His decision to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.
Scary, funny, and surprisingly poignant, Warm Bodies is about being alive, being dead, and the blurry line in between.
My thoughts:
This oddly poetic story about a dystopian world filled with zombies was such a unique book. I know that neither dystopian novels nor tales of zombies are new to the literary scene...but this book does something different than others that have come before it. I don't want to go into too much detail about that because I'm afraid I'd spoil the novel. Let me just say that the book allows you to strongly empathize with a zombie (and even care for him). Also, the message of the book is quite beautiful. Check out this little passage:
"'Everything dies eventually. We all know that. People, cities, whole civilizations. Nothing lasts. So if existence was just binary, dead or alive, here or not here, what would be the f*ing point in anything?' She looks up at some falling leaves and puts out her hand to catch one, a flaming red maple. 'My mom used to say that's why we have memory. And the opposite of memory--hope. So that things that are gone can still matter. So we can build off our pasts and make futures.'" -pg. 115
My only qualm (if I'm being super-persnickity) is that the ending seems to be a bit oversimplified or, um, vague. I wouldn't have minded a bit more explanation of the conclusion (I can't say about what without spoiling...so I'll just leave it at that). Really though, this barely bothered me...I'm just nit-picking. I've read several rave reviews on the blogosphere about this book - which is the reason why I picked it up (I'll add links to their reviews at the bottom of this post). I think that most people will find that they really enjoy this book. As I said, it's not a typical read and even those that don't like zombie books will find themselves recommending it to others. So, final word...go check out this book!
4.5/5 stars
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Missy's Reads and Reviews
Weird question but is it from the zombie p.o.v? I've wanted to read something like this for a while.
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Amy, it is from the zombie (his name is R) point of view...and it's done so well. Really, I highly recommend especially if you've been looking for something like this :)
ReplyDeleteOoohhhh! My blog thoughts on this book are coming out next week! I have said it a million times and I will say it again...this is the most fun I've had reading a book in a long time! I'm glad you liked it too. It was definitely, uh, different than other zombie books that I've read, but I think it was really cool. Would make a great movie, I think. ;)
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