You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.2 AVERAGE
3.2 AVERAGE
It's finally over! I only read this book because we (my husband and I) own a copy, and we made a goal to read all of the books that we own including the ones that were really for the other spouse. I love Pride and Prejudice so it was the zombies that made me hate this book. It really felt like they were a forced afterthought (which they were, but it didn't need to *read* that way) and not in keeping with zombie lore in the first place. The author just seemed to randomly tack on the mention of "unmentionables" whenever he felt like a sentence by Austen wasnt long enough without really adding to the story. There was the occasional new scene or mention of combat that provided some spice, but overall it felt incredibly forced and aimed at making money. Hated it! Although I don't begrudge those who enjoyed it their own satisfying experience,
This has been on my TBR list for a few years. I love zombies, so I thought I would have a blast with this. But having read the classic, non-zombified version before and finding it nothing but dull (shoot me, if you must, but I just can’t get into any of Austen’s work, as lovely as it always turns out on the screen), I was hesitant. I knew going into it that the author only wrote/rewrote parts of it, so I think I put it off for so long thinking it would be more Austen than zombie.
Plot-wise, I was right. What finally motivated me to sit down and check this one off my list was that I watched the movie. The movie’s plot is significantly different from the classic book, so I thought Seth Grahame-Smith’s rework would be so as well. Nope. It’s a scene-by-scene rewriting, except for hordes of unmentionables, of course.
The five Bennett sisters are still found in Hertfordshire, pining for husbands. Only that’s their concern when they’re not keeping the kingdom safe from the roaming undead or practicing their Shaolin training. Then Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy show up and the rest is mostly as it was, with a few much more satisfying alterations, in my opinion. And ninjas. Don’t forget the random ninjas.
Now, even though I knew going into this there would be an overload of gore and camp (campy gore; gory camp?), I was still a little annoyed. Just…calm down, Seth. Slaughtering a gang of Satan’s soldiers is one thing, which is what I came for, eating the heart of a ninja is quite another.
But, after finishing the book and having a minute to sit and process it, I think I figured out what really bothered me about it. Elizabeth Bennett, originally, is nothing special. She’s not as pretty as her sister, she doesn’t sing or paint or draw. In both the original classic and this mashup there’s a conversation about what sort of expectations Mr. Darcy has on what makes a woman remarkable, and Elizabeth doesn’t even come close. But against all odds, Darcy falls for her anyway. I like that. I think a lot of people like that. But in this book, Elizabeth has been transformed into another interchangeable dystopian heroine. Which wasn’t really what I was after. I was hoping to see Elizabeth use her wits to get her out of zombified danger. Oh well.
And one nagging detail that really just bugged me: “exercise moisture.” I am not one of those people who are squeamish at the word “moist,” I was just really, really annoyed the author chose not to say “perspiration,” which would have been perfectly acceptable.
Anyway, I don’t want to work up a moisture about it, so I’ll move on. I like Wickham’s fate much better in the zombie version. I’m so happy to hear that Darcy beat him lame. This is what Mr. Bennett ought to have done in the original book to begin with, for having so dishonored his daughter. I also like that the main reason Charlotte chose to marry Mr. Collins was because she was going to die anyway and didn't want to do so being unwed. To me, it beats the real version where she just married him for the sake of finally being married. And then having to be married to him for the rest of her life. I was hoping she would eat his brains in the end, but, eh, oh well.
Overall though, I’d say there was a lot more that I didn’t like about this book than what I did. I feel like Elizabeth’s lack of reaction to Charlotte and Mr. Collin’s deaths were out of character for her, at least as far as for Charlotte. Even Jane, who was noted to cry over zombies as well as everything else, had no reaction about the news. So I found the whole story inconsistent here and there, which could be distracting. The innuendo and one-liners were fun, but far and few between. And even when having some premise of the story going in, I was left wanting something else entirely.
Plot-wise, I was right. What finally motivated me to sit down and check this one off my list was that I watched the movie. The movie’s plot is significantly different from the classic book, so I thought Seth Grahame-Smith’s rework would be so as well. Nope. It’s a scene-by-scene rewriting, except for hordes of unmentionables, of course.
The five Bennett sisters are still found in Hertfordshire, pining for husbands. Only that’s their concern when they’re not keeping the kingdom safe from the roaming undead or practicing their Shaolin training. Then Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy show up and the rest is mostly as it was, with a few much more satisfying alterations, in my opinion. And ninjas. Don’t forget the random ninjas.
Now, even though I knew going into this there would be an overload of gore and camp (campy gore; gory camp?), I was still a little annoyed. Just…calm down, Seth. Slaughtering a gang of Satan’s soldiers is one thing, which is what I came for, eating the heart of a ninja is quite another.
But, after finishing the book and having a minute to sit and process it, I think I figured out what really bothered me about it. Elizabeth Bennett, originally, is nothing special. She’s not as pretty as her sister, she doesn’t sing or paint or draw. In both the original classic and this mashup there’s a conversation about what sort of expectations Mr. Darcy has on what makes a woman remarkable, and Elizabeth doesn’t even come close. But against all odds, Darcy falls for her anyway. I like that. I think a lot of people like that. But in this book, Elizabeth has been transformed into another interchangeable dystopian heroine. Which wasn’t really what I was after. I was hoping to see Elizabeth use her wits to get her out of zombified danger. Oh well.
And one nagging detail that really just bugged me: “exercise moisture.” I am not one of those people who are squeamish at the word “moist,” I was just really, really annoyed the author chose not to say “perspiration,” which would have been perfectly acceptable.
Anyway, I don’t want to work up a moisture about it, so I’ll move on. I like Wickham’s fate much better in the zombie version. I’m so happy to hear that Darcy beat him lame. This is what Mr. Bennett ought to have done in the original book to begin with, for having so dishonored his daughter. I also like that the main reason Charlotte chose to marry Mr. Collins was because she was going to die anyway and didn't want to do so being unwed. To me, it beats the real version where she just married him for the sake of finally being married. And then having to be married to him for the rest of her life. I was hoping she would eat his brains in the end, but, eh, oh well.
Overall though, I’d say there was a lot more that I didn’t like about this book than what I did. I feel like Elizabeth’s lack of reaction to Charlotte and Mr. Collin’s deaths were out of character for her, at least as far as for Charlotte. Even Jane, who was noted to cry over zombies as well as everything else, had no reaction about the news. So I found the whole story inconsistent here and there, which could be distracting. The innuendo and one-liners were fun, but far and few between. And even when having some premise of the story going in, I was left wanting something else entirely.
Really interesting, silly and clever at first, but started to get old pretty quickly.
very little original content added, weirdly makes Elizabeth very bloodthirsty in a way that doesn't work.
the tension of people continuing with social functions while this looming terror is outside the gates is interesting and does work.
the tension of people continuing with social functions while this looming terror is outside the gates is interesting and does work.
dark
slow-paced
Highly entertaining. Stayed true to the original novel and just added in some zombies
Talk about prejudice! This book is racist! Seth includes offensive dialogue about "orientals" that serve no narrative purpose. There is a maid that wears a kimono and has her feet bound. This careless blending of cultures shows how little Seth cares for the asian cultures he has chosen to add to this classic. The extent of his knowledge seems to be Japanese ninjas. The details of asians cultures that do not serve his aesthetic purpose are dismissed and abused. Asia's role in this book is all together unneeded. Seth opted to replace European methods of defense-which would be appropriate in this English setting- for flashy samurai swords.
Seth's only real contribution to the work was clumsy racism.
Seth's only real contribution to the work was clumsy racism.
...okay, è cosa nota ed universalmente riconosciuta che quando leggo “Orgoglio e pregiudizio” a me parte qualcosa nel cervello – ma non come gli zombie eh. Quindi, dicendomi “Ma ci hanno fatto anche il film, cosa potrà esserci di terribile!” ho iniziato questo libro. Non l'avessi mai fatto.
Non sapevo se piangere, se ridere, se scrivere all'autore e chiedere spiegazioni razionali riguardo ciò che ho letto. Ma partiamo dal principio.
Allora, conosco la storia di “Orgoglio e pregiudizio” e conosco gli zombie, anzi a me piacciono gli zombie! Quindi ho pensato che per quanto assurdo potesse essere, mettere dei non-morti in un romanzo classico come quello dell'amata Jane Austen non potesse essere tanto sgradevole. Ed infatti, non lo è, fino a quando non si vedono le sorelle Bennet praticare le arti marziali. Sì, avete letto bene. Arti marziali. Tipo Kung Fu Panda, per intenderci. Passi per gli zombie, passi per l'ambientazione totalmente trascurata... Ma immaginarle nelle vesti di ninja – o quel che è – e fare meditazione, e che vengono criticate da Lady Catherine perché le sorelle Bennet, da vere comuniste, hanno appreso le “arti mortali” (le chiamano così nel libro, non sto scherzando!) in Cina, mentre lei e tutti i nobili sono andati in Giappone, no eh. Hanno i dojo, in casa! Io il dojo ce l'ho solo su Angry Birds Epic!
Ecco, queste sono le cose sulle quale non potrei chiudere un occhio. Sono il motivo per cui Elizabeth ripete in continuazione che dovrebbe riaprirsi i Sette Tagli del Disonore. Ma io i tagli del disonore li faccio all'editore che non ha parlato con il suo autore e gli ha detto:
“Sì, carina l'idea degli zombie, ma togli quel dannato karate” (sto mischiando discipline, lo so).
E vogliamo parlare di Charlotte ed il signor Collins? Dobbiamo proprio? Qualcuno mi spieghi il perché. Qualcuno mi dica che c'è un motivo logico per cui accadono determinate cose – non voglio fare spoiler. E Lydia e Wickham? E Darcy e Georgiana?
Almeno lo stile fosse degno di nota! No, è una scopiazzatura di quello di Jane – con la sottile differenza che lei sapeva cosa stava facendo – e quello di un bambino delle elementari che sta scrivendo il tema “Le mie vacanze estive”.
Comunque, do' due stelle, per una scena degna di nota che mi ha fatto ridere così tanto, da essere inserita nelle scene assurde e divertenti migliori di sempre.
Non sapevo se piangere, se ridere, se scrivere all'autore e chiedere spiegazioni razionali riguardo ciò che ho letto. Ma partiamo dal principio.
Allora, conosco la storia di “Orgoglio e pregiudizio” e conosco gli zombie, anzi a me piacciono gli zombie! Quindi ho pensato che per quanto assurdo potesse essere, mettere dei non-morti in un romanzo classico come quello dell'amata Jane Austen non potesse essere tanto sgradevole. Ed infatti, non lo è, fino a quando non si vedono le sorelle Bennet praticare le arti marziali. Sì, avete letto bene. Arti marziali. Tipo Kung Fu Panda, per intenderci. Passi per gli zombie, passi per l'ambientazione totalmente trascurata... Ma immaginarle nelle vesti di ninja – o quel che è – e fare meditazione, e che vengono criticate da Lady Catherine perché le sorelle Bennet, da vere comuniste, hanno appreso le “arti mortali” (le chiamano così nel libro, non sto scherzando!) in Cina, mentre lei e tutti i nobili sono andati in Giappone, no eh. Hanno i dojo, in casa! Io il dojo ce l'ho solo su Angry Birds Epic!
Ecco, queste sono le cose sulle quale non potrei chiudere un occhio. Sono il motivo per cui Elizabeth ripete in continuazione che dovrebbe riaprirsi i Sette Tagli del Disonore. Ma io i tagli del disonore li faccio all'editore che non ha parlato con il suo autore e gli ha detto:
“Sì, carina l'idea degli zombie, ma togli quel dannato karate” (sto mischiando discipline, lo so).
E vogliamo parlare di Charlotte ed il signor Collins? Dobbiamo proprio? Qualcuno mi spieghi il perché. Qualcuno mi dica che c'è un motivo logico per cui accadono determinate cose – non voglio fare spoiler. E Lydia e Wickham? E Darcy e Georgiana?
Almeno lo stile fosse degno di nota! No, è una scopiazzatura di quello di Jane – con la sottile differenza che lei sapeva cosa stava facendo – e quello di un bambino delle elementari che sta scrivendo il tema “Le mie vacanze estive”.
Comunque, do' due stelle, per una scena degna di nota che mi ha fatto ridere così tanto, da essere inserita nelle scene assurde e divertenti migliori di sempre.
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced