Friday, March 15, 2013

Warm Bodies, by Isaac Marion

Warm Bodies, by Isaac Marion

Reason for Reading: Loved the movie and trying to kill reading slump.

Review
R is an above-average-intelligence zombie (he can speak 4-6 syllable sentences!) who is living a doll-drum life in an abandoned airplane - but his un-life gets a sharp slap in the face when he meets Julie, who by all rights he should have eaten. Instead, he takes Julie home and tries to communicate with her. This small act of curiosity on R's part ignites a chain event of new perceptions. The world must crawl out of it's stagnant existence and remember what it was to live.

I admit that I watched the movie first. I generally don't do that, but it just happened that way. I LOVED the movie and had to rush out to get the book. This is one example where I'd say I liked the movie and the book equally. :) Warm Bodies is unquestionably a retelling of Romeo and Juliet (right down to the balcony scene), but it was certainly the most unique retelling I've read. Additionally, I interpreted the book as a parody of YA paranormal romance - I took it very tounge-in-cheek. So I got a LOT of laughs while reading it. But what I thought was most interesting was the allegory. The zombies symbolized passionless people who have simply accepted life as directed by the ruling body (Bonies, in this case). And R was a zombie who just couldn't quite conform. I loved the idea that a renewal of passion (and I don't just mean romantic passion) could revive R's potential as an individual. One simple act of individuality could change the course of history. On the other hand, I got a little tired at the end of the book of the cheesy internal dialog (and I DO mean internal dialog and not monologue). I think Marion was laying on his philosophy a little too thick. It would have been much more elegant to leave these philosophical discussions out - anybody who was willing to see Marion's philosophy would be able to do so without cheesy dialog. But that was my only complaint about this funny, quirky, and delightful story. :)

4 comments:

  1. Ah, I have this book waiting to be read and I'm keen to get round to it. I haven't seen the movie yet but will probably pick up on DVD when it's released. Not so keen to have the cheesy dialogue but thems the breaks!
    Thanks
    Lynn :D

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    1. Yeah, cheesy dialog happens. I think the rest of the book makes up for the slight cheese aftertaste though. :)

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  2. Definitely an interesting take on Romeo and Juliet. Zombies aren't really my thing, but with a partner who loves The Walking Dean, I've gotten into them a bit more.
    Cool, review!
    I did my ROTB:1 on Anna Karenina - pop by for a visit if you have a chance :)

    Brandy from bookblogbyb.blogspot.ca

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    1. I've always had a fondness for zombies for some reason. They make me laugh. Perhaps my humor is too dark. :) Thanks for stopping by!

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