Sunday, August 10, 2014

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Fun, Zany, Silly, but Never Boring
Book Review: Audible.com version of Seth Grahame-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

It might have been a much better book if Seth Grahame-Smith had presented his fractured fairy tale more seriously...what IF a plague of zombies invaded the tale of Pride and Prejudice and how would have strong characters such as Darcy and Lizzie reacted to such an horrific ordeal? Instead it is equal parts kung fu chop-socky and through-the-shattered-looking-glass Jane Austen. But still, it IS a fun tale, never quite LOL funny, but surprisingly witty in some places, as the world of Jane Austen goes goth (and Jackie Chan). Uma Thurman, oops, I mean Lizzie, is just too far-gone "Kill Bill," but it does make for a hilarious fantasy sequence when a put-out Lizzie beheads her gabby punk of a little sister. Darcy, I guess due to the "plague," has taken a puerile air, frequently making word plays on the ever-present frequent balls (stacking up some impressive frequent ball mileage). To Grahame-Smith's credit, I would sometimes forget that I was listening to a lampoon of Pride and Prejudice and for an hour I'd truly enjoy the story, with even a minor few revelations and perspectives (but if you really want to be dazzled by Neo Austen, try Pamela Aidan's An Assembly Such as This). Never quite Mad Magazine (but generally close), the story juggles classical beauty, very familiar archetypes, and a big bag of constant silliness. Never as witty as Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next novels, still, sometimes Seth Grahame-Smith is pretty witty. I have to admit (and I'm perfectly ready to duck tomatoes) I liked the story, and Katherine Kellgren's narration is as good as I've ever heard, beautiful in fact, and perhaps the reason that I enjoyed the book as much as I did. As a whole I'd rank the novel a 4 (out of 5), but the narration is a perfect 10 (out of 4).

Art et Amour Toujours
Douglas Christian Larsen




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