So, I've been reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (hereafter referred to as PPZ for the sake of my fingers.) I'm a bit of an Austen fanatic. I have the complete works in a handy volume that sits in my library, should the urge to read strike me. (And it does. Frequently. Especially PP. It's my favorite.) So, I went into this with some skepticism. How can you mess with the quintessential Austen? My husband told me it was the original, with pieces added. He also said it will forever ruin my reading of PP because I won't be able to avoid thinking of the zombies. I'm happy to report that he was wrong on both counts.
The storyline is basically the same. Many of the phrases have carried through from the original, especially the dialogue. However, PPZ is its own book. The motivations of the characters are different. The settings are different. (For instance, Pemberly, Darcy's ancestral home, is rigged up like a Japanese temple.) It might best be said that this book is loosely based on the original. And it's probably better that way.
I have enjoyed reading it. It's been a slower read than if I was plowing through PP without the zombies. I keep expecting to have it be like the original and the changes throw me off a little. This book is also not for the faint of heart or for the younger crowd. There are some gruesome illustrations of zombies eating people that I truly wasn't expecting. And some of the additions are gruesome or slightly veiled crude references. (At least as veiled as something in Regency England could be.) (OK. It's not really that bad. I just don't normally go for horror, zombies, or things of that sort.)
I don't think I'll read it again. I find the original much more satisfying. I am glad that I read it once, though. Now, to catch up on some of the other great books I've missed in the last while.
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