Warning: As always, I try to stay relatively spoiler free. But it doesn’t hurt to proceed with caution.
Rating: Three stars—Good
Well, this one was…interesting. As much as I am generally a purist when it comes to the books I love, I must admit that I quite liked the idea of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES. (If you’ve read my review of ILLUMINAE, you’ll know I get excited about zombie fiction.) So let’s talk a bit about what I liked and what I didn’t.
The Culture. I love what Seth Grahame-Smith did with this. In the majority of zombie media I’ve encountered, the world is being turned topsy-turvy by a massive influx of the walking dead—consequently, all established conventions and rules have been thrown out the window. Not so here. It’s incredibly amusing to watch the characters attempt to go about their normal lives like nothing catastrophic is happening—attending balls, visiting friends and relatives, traveling, sightseeing, going on walks—all the while doing their best to avoid getting attacked by the “manky dreadfuls”.
Before this book, I’d never considered what a culture built around zombies as a matter of course would look like, so it was delightful to see how England has grown used to the long-term presence of this plague. At the time this story is set, the people of Britain have had a couple generations to adjust, to the point where zombies are now considered more of an inconvenience than an immediate threat—no need for society to grind to a halt. People know when to avoid going out—especially during rainy times when the ground is soft (which allows the dead to climb more easily from their graves, in case you were wondering). And conventions may not be extinct, but they have changed somewhat in that becoming an accomplished young lady now includes learning how to wield a sword.
The Characters. Grahame-Smith has kept most of the characters true to their original forms. Jane Bennet is still as compassionate as ever. Mary is just as odious. Lydia and Kitty remain their shallow, flirtatious selves. And so on. BUT, I was little put off by some of liberties Grahame-Smith took with my favorite characters.
Don’t get me wrong, I love that he has taken the time to make Lizzy an even stronger, more capable young woman. I love that she is this kick butt, accomplished fighter, and I love how that combines with everything else to make her feel even more fleshed out (in some ways) than the original Lizzy. (At which point, all the Austen purists move in to strike me down.) Grahame-Smith has added more fire to her fiery personality, and he has given her a stronger sense of honor that makes her even more relatable, in my opinion. However, I think he goes too far. I can’t say I’m comfortable, AT ALL, with Lizzy ripping out someone’s heart and taking a bite. I mean, excuse me. *squinty eyes* Lizzy is one of my favorite characters of ever, and I would prefer it if she weren’t represented as a savage cannibal person. She is strong and clever and beautiful in her ability to stand up for herself, defend her honor and her family, and verbally joust with Mr. Darcy. She definitely doesn’t need to detract from that by acting like a feral animal. So yeah, I would have much preferred if she had retained, in the face of the walking dead, a heightened respect for human life and human decency.
I was also disappointed with the tweaks made to Mr. Bennet (Lizzy’s father) and Mrs. Gardner (Lizzy’s aunt). I loved those characters in the original, and I respected them because they are some of the best people in that story. So I was bothered that Grahame-Smith felt the need to include some mentions of extra-marital dalliances for both of them (separate cases, of course). Maybe that wouldn’t bother you, but I felt it detracted from the overall tone of the story. Beyond that, I was frustrated with how Mr. Bennet treats his wife. In the original PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, while he has no great respect for her silliness, he is amused by her and rather fond of her, in a distracted sort of way. Overall, he treats her better than she deserves, and when he teases her, it’s all in good fun. But in P&P&Z, he’s downright rude to her most of the time. I just, I don’t know, I loved him in the original book and I couldn’t love him in this one, which made me sad.
Other Issues. Often, Lizzy repeats the details of her training and backstory, and it got a little tiresome after a while. Not only is it repetitive, it doesn’t feel true to form. As a martial artist, I’ve found that those who frequently reference their training in order to establish a sense of dominance (and in rather bragging terms, as Lizzy does) do not usually tend to be very good at what they do. So if Lizzy is the fighting master she claims to be, she wouldn’t feel the need to bring it up as often just to convince people to take her seriously—she would know her abilities could speak for themselves.
Furthermore, as an honorary grandma, I wasn’t pleased with all the innuendo Grahame-Smith slipped in there. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE was such a clean story—something I would happily recommend to everyone and their coffee maker. But I wouldn’t feel as comfortable blindly throwing P&P&Z at just anyone.
Beyond that, the writing wasn’t hugely spectacular. Grahame-Smith uses a lot of Jane Austen’s own words, and I enjoyed those parts. But many of his additions felt forced, like he wasn’t fully comfortable using regency language. Many of the fight scenes also came across as rather unbelievable, so I couldn’t take the story as seriously. It’s one thing if I’m suspending disbelief for the zombies—that’s fun. But there’s a limit to how much I’m willing to suspend disbelief, and I (personally) think it would have been better if everything aside from the zombies had been realistic because then the contrast would have been more stark and thus more enjoyable.
There were other aspects of this story that made me roll my eyes and grumble, but those were the main ones, so I’ll leave it at that.
In Conclusion. All in all, I enjoyed the concept of P&P&Z. It was a fun mix-up, and in some places the additions actually made the narrative feel more complex and whole. Grahame-Smith retained much of Jane Austen’s humor as well as adding some of his own, and he balanced the added darker elements with the lighter tone of the original story very well. But (and I realize I sound a little whiny) I would have much preferred a more quality execution and a little more respect for the original characters and story. Still, I’m glad I read it, if only to say that I did. And I would like to give a big shout-out to my sister who bought me a copy so I could read it before the movie comes out February 5th. Let's all give her a round of applause. Just look at the movie tie-in cover—it does make a gorgeous addition to my shelves.
What about you, my little coffee beans—have you read this one? What are your thoughts on rewrites like this? Are you a strict purist, or are you open to classical remixes? Have you read any books like PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES? Do you think the movie will be any good?
