Book Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Unlike her sisters and contrary to her mother's wishes, Elizabeth Bennett isn't as focused on finding a suitable husband as a girl her age should be. Instead, she would rather focus her energies as her father and her Shaolin Master prepared her, on fighting the mysterious plague affecting England, one that seems to be returning the dead to life. Still, she must keep familial obligations and makes an appearance at a ball. It's here that she meets Mr. Darcy, reknowned to be her equal in the arts of killing the undead. Elizabeth's impression of Mr. Darcy, however, turns unfavorable. She finds him arrogant and full of too much pride and what follows is a comedy of manners and societal divisions as the two verbally spar with one another while trying to keep their true feelings from reaching the surface amidst both their own impressions and their their respective families. Oh, and they must defend against attacks from the undead before England is overrun.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies does a wonderfully imaginative job of re-telling Jane Austen's classic tale of romance between two of the most unlikely of lovers -- Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy -- and throwing in a bit of zombie mayhem. While author Seth Grahame-Smith endows many of the characters with special training and combat skills and creates a world in which the undead have been wreaking havoc for 50+ years, he keeps the main focus on the original story between Elizabeth and Darcy. The scenes of zombie mayhem -- many of which are accompanied by woodcarvings/illustrations by Philip Smiley -- fit perfectly into the time period, never seeming over-the-top or horrifically gruesome. In fact, they come across as more tongue-in-cheek and oddly enough, enhance the story.

This book isn't for everyone, and I think many Austen and Pride and Prejudice purists may have a difficult time accepting the Bennett sisters' acumen for killing zombies. But it's all in good fun, and I, for one, was thoroughly entertained. And, it makes me want to read the original to see how closely non-zombie events match in the two tales. (My copy's already in my stack next to the bed.)

Image from Irreference.