World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
I was drawn to this book by Max Brooks calling himself the Studs Terkel of zombie journalism. Terkel used oral histories to tell the story of an unknown America. His book Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression is a hybrid of storytelling and journalism. It brought home the suffering of the Great Depression and put a human face on it. Now, how does that relate to zombies? Excellent question.
Brooks took Terkel's use of oral history and tells the story of what happened during the zombie war. Now, I know the zombie war hasn't happened, but Brooks makes it seem real. While I was reading it, it was difficult to separate the fantasy from reality. Zombies could easily be subtracted out of the book, and any other widespread viral infection could take it's place. World War Z is not about zombies as much as it's about the response to any global pandemic. It's also a testament to the author that he was able to craft so many different, and convincing, voices. Usually authors take on the perspective on one character. Brooks has upwards of 20. Each has a unique story, each tells it in their own way, and felt very real.
Between this book and Feed I feel like a new door to horror fiction has been opened. Romero's Night of the Living Dead is, to this day, a massive social commentary. The modern use of zombies has created a sharp and scathing criticism of media, government, and how we respond to a crisis. Using zombies is a way to create a evil monster that looks, and acts like us, but isn't. We may be able to separate ourselves from the idea that they were once human, but a small part of humanity still remains. Zombies have been twisted and shoved backwards and forwards though time revealing the worst parts of us.
Readers, pick this up and read it. It's got a quick read time, and could be knocked out over a low key weekend (ie Labor Day). Also, a movie version is coming out in 2012 so you may want to pick it up now before it's re-released with a movie tie in cover. I absolutely loathe the movie tie in cover. It's the bane of my reading existence, and I refuse to buy them. Also, I've never seen ONE look attractive. Have you seen the covers for the Lord of the Rings books? Hideous. So, if this is on a To Read list buy it now.
The Graveyard Book is next, and seems to be a lovely YA title. It's short, so I should be done with it by the end of the weekend.
I was drawn to this book by Max Brooks calling himself the Studs Terkel of zombie journalism. Terkel used oral histories to tell the story of an unknown America. His book Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression is a hybrid of storytelling and journalism. It brought home the suffering of the Great Depression and put a human face on it. Now, how does that relate to zombies? Excellent question.
Brooks took Terkel's use of oral history and tells the story of what happened during the zombie war. Now, I know the zombie war hasn't happened, but Brooks makes it seem real. While I was reading it, it was difficult to separate the fantasy from reality. Zombies could easily be subtracted out of the book, and any other widespread viral infection could take it's place. World War Z is not about zombies as much as it's about the response to any global pandemic. It's also a testament to the author that he was able to craft so many different, and convincing, voices. Usually authors take on the perspective on one character. Brooks has upwards of 20. Each has a unique story, each tells it in their own way, and felt very real.
Between this book and Feed I feel like a new door to horror fiction has been opened. Romero's Night of the Living Dead is, to this day, a massive social commentary. The modern use of zombies has created a sharp and scathing criticism of media, government, and how we respond to a crisis. Using zombies is a way to create a evil monster that looks, and acts like us, but isn't. We may be able to separate ourselves from the idea that they were once human, but a small part of humanity still remains. Zombies have been twisted and shoved backwards and forwards though time revealing the worst parts of us.
Readers, pick this up and read it. It's got a quick read time, and could be knocked out over a low key weekend (ie Labor Day). Also, a movie version is coming out in 2012 so you may want to pick it up now before it's re-released with a movie tie in cover. I absolutely loathe the movie tie in cover. It's the bane of my reading existence, and I refuse to buy them. Also, I've never seen ONE look attractive. Have you seen the covers for the Lord of the Rings books? Hideous. So, if this is on a To Read list buy it now.
The Graveyard Book is next, and seems to be a lovely YA title. It's short, so I should be done with it by the end of the weekend.
(Image brought to you by: Bridgemarker Tim)
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