Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
10 reviews
iono's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Cannibalism
Minor: Racism, Rape, and Xenophobia
amorphousbl0b's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Reading World War Z in 2024 is strange and beautiful because, on a much less catastrophic scale, we're now in a similar position to its narrators.
We have emerged on the other end of a devastating pandemic. It's not over, not really, the proverbial zombies do still bite people all the time, but that's just part of our way of life now. We all remember watching it grow in other countries and then reach our own shores, our calls to the government to take some action growing in intensity while they simply ignored the issue because doing nothing and assuring us things were going to be fine was easier to do in an election year. We all remember the sudden onset of panic when lockdown was declared, we remember the political pissing matches over whether these measures were necessary, and we remember the callousness of many who simply refused to take on their new civic responsibilities.
We were trapped inside for six months, a year, for some of us longer. We fell out of contact with friends, family, and the outside world at large. Sometimes we didn't leave our houses for weeks or months at a time. People began dying regardless. We all caught it, or at least know many, many people who caught it. Many of us know someone who died.
And then, suddenly, it was declared over. The vaccine worked! The zombies are gone! You can go back to work now! But people still die. The shape of our infrastructure is forever changed by the measures taken -- ordering groceries to be delivered is a great convenience born from necessity and no small amount of blood. We all lost a year of our lives. And we just live on regardless, because what are we gonna do? Just stop the economy from turning?
When the book was written, back in 2007, World War Z was painfully familiar with the fact that our lives in the West were somewhat insulated from the things that happen on the news. We rarely dealt with disease, with war, with governmental instability, with shortage. It meditates on 9/11 and the AIDS epidemic, moments when the American public was confronted with the fragility of its own security. And it meditates on our reactions before -- ignore, deny, shift the blame -- and after -- go on the attack, then go back to normal. Anything but substantive change.
Ain't that the truth.
I tried to read WWZ several years ago and bounced off. It was a little too dry for my teenage attention span. I think, in hindsight, that was a good thing. I'd never have appreciated then it as much as I can now.
We have emerged on the other end of a devastating pandemic. It's not over, not really, the proverbial zombies do still bite people all the time, but that's just part of our way of life now. We all remember watching it grow in other countries and then reach our own shores, our calls to the government to take some action growing in intensity while they simply ignored the issue because doing nothing and assuring us things were going to be fine was easier to do in an election year. We all remember the sudden onset of panic when lockdown was declared, we remember the political pissing matches over whether these measures were necessary, and we remember the callousness of many who simply refused to take on their new civic responsibilities.
We were trapped inside for six months, a year, for some of us longer. We fell out of contact with friends, family, and the outside world at large. Sometimes we didn't leave our houses for weeks or months at a time. People began dying regardless. We all caught it, or at least know many, many people who caught it. Many of us know someone who died.
And then, suddenly, it was declared over. The vaccine worked! The zombies are gone! You can go back to work now! But people still die. The shape of our infrastructure is forever changed by the measures taken -- ordering groceries to be delivered is a great convenience born from necessity and no small amount of blood. We all lost a year of our lives. And we just live on regardless, because what are we gonna do? Just stop the economy from turning?
When the book was written, back in 2007, World War Z was painfully familiar with the fact that our lives in the West were somewhat insulated from the things that happen on the news. We rarely dealt with disease, with war, with governmental instability, with shortage. It meditates on 9/11 and the AIDS epidemic, moments when the American public was confronted with the fragility of its own security. And it meditates on our reactions before -- ignore, deny, shift the blame -- and after -- go on the attack, then go back to normal. Anything but substantive change.
Ain't that the truth.
I tried to read WWZ several years ago and bounced off. It was a little too dry for my teenage attention span. I think, in hindsight, that was a good thing. I'd never have appreciated then it as much as I can now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Self harm, Xenophobia, and Cannibalism
crusoe's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Positives. World War Z is a brilliant piece of speculative fiction that realistically explores how a war on zombies (or any major world war for that matter) functions. The interviews with different individuals who survived the war feel extremely realistic, from their different approaches to the war rooted in their culture and personal experience, to the easy ways in which they talk about their expertise. It is fantastically written and showcases every angle and emotion you might find in a war like this without getting lost in the detail.
Dislikes. Many characters are introduced throughout the interviews and at the end, when they are revisited, this makes it harder to keep track whose story is being continued. Other than that, no notes.
Dislikes. Many characters are introduced throughout the interviews and at the end, when they are revisited, this makes it harder to keep track whose story is being continued. Other than that, no notes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
wormgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
theoldestbennetsister's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
Some cool and interesting perspectives you wouldn't usually hear from in a zombie/apocalypse story. The sheer number of people and accounts made it a bit repetitive sometimes. But some of the accounts were just excellent zombie short stories on their own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, and Xenophobia
Minor: Death of parent
clarabooksit's review against another edition
The representation in this is super offensive. Nearly every character is a stereotype, they all spout offhand bigoted comments that often have no bearing on the narrative, and the racism and xenophobia go way beyond the in-story narrative elements that mirror real world responses to crises and pandemics. Not to mention the overt sexism and poorly written women. All this adds up to a big old “Nope” from me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Fatphobia, Grief, and Medical trauma
rainbowcerberus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, and War
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Self harm and Pregnancy
klor's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I've been recommended the audio version of this book over the physical copy and the (apparently innacurate) movie version and boy, did I enjoy it. Brooks took a lot from historical instances of how different countries and people will respond to a zombie apocalypse, I also enjoyed a lot of the interviewee voices and the stories that created a much well-rounded story of what happened in the zombie war. I think for topics like this, focusing on people is one of the things that brings a heart to the story. I think it also looked at different solutions like the ocean (it's terrifying to think of zombies underwater and RIP whales, and in some instances, how the world hasn't recovered fully yet. This is one piece of media that I'd probably enjoy seeing as a miniseries but the whole situation might also feel a bit too early, given that similar incidents happened during the COVID pandemic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Cannibalism, and War
tardycreative's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Quite an inspiring read, very exciting and thought provoking!
This is how world building should be done.
This is how world building should be done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, and War
mackenzi's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence
Minor: Genocide, Suicide, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Religious bigotry