Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
Hardcover, USA Edition, 239 pages
Published April 26th 2011 by Atria
Synopsis:
R is a young man with an existential crisis--he is a zombie. He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains. He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse. Just dreams.
After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a burst of vibrant color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that R lives in. His decision to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.
Scary, funny, and surprisingly poignant, Warm Bodies is about being alive, being dead and the blurry line in between.
After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a burst of vibrant color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that R lives in. His decision to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.
Scary, funny, and surprisingly poignant, Warm Bodies is about being alive, being dead and the blurry line in between.
My Thoughts/Review:
First off, I need to say that this is my very first zombie book ever. I have not read a zombie book until now. Now zombies are not really my genre but I really liked this one. It makes me want to explore the world of zombies some more. I can't wait to see what other authors have come up with to convey zombies on the page.
I loved that this book was told from a male point of view. R was a really likeable and relatable character. Even though he was a zombie he was very articulate at sharing his feelings and what he was thinking to the reader. Isaac Marion is a very talented writer and I really liked his prose and how he described things and the world he created. I really liked how this was more of an adult book instead of a young adult book. There was swearing and just plain being real in the situations that the characters had to face. I liked Julie, her personality, and how she interacted with R. There likeness of each other was slow, genuine and felt very real to me. There relationship made sense and I liked how they found each other in a controversial setting. The nuances and uniqueness of this book is really what made it for me. I really liked how Julie's ex-boyfriend Perry came into the mix and affected R's decisions. Perry really had an impact on the book that I really wasn't expecting.
The one thing I really didn't like about the book was the ending. It ended in a very good way that wraps the book up entirely. Don't get me wrong, it was a good ending that I did enjoy. It just didn't end how I wanted it to. It felt very cheesy to me and the science didn't make sense at all. I mean I get where Marion is coming from and what he wanted to achieve, it is just that I wanted the ending to be as real as the rest of the book was. I wanted more explaining in the end to wrap it up even more then it was. I was also expecting a more climax battle scene in the end and that didn't really happen. I was slightly disappointed in this book.
What made me give it a 4 out of 5 was all the small things that I loved about it. If Marion decided to write more books I could see this one book turning into many more but he didn't write it that way. This book is worth the read but if you are expecting a lot from it you will probably get your hopes shattered. If you lower your expectations a little I am sure you will really like this book. I do recommend it to everyone that likes a good love story mixed with zombies. I now really can't wait to go see the movie adaption. I have a feeling it might be very different from the book but I can't wait to see what they have come up with. Definitely read this book if you think you will like it. I am still very glad that I read it and liked the ending even though I was disappointed somewhat. =]
Since I wrote my review I went and saw the movie in theaters and I just want to talk a little about it. There were some parts of the movie that I thought were different and little better than the book. Likewise, I thought some parts of the book were better than the movie. The ending was definitely better in the movie then in the book. The movie does a better job at explaining the ending that I think Marion wanted to portray in his book. If you want to read the book or want to see the movie, I really suggest doing so, because it is worth it to read/see it at the theaters. =]
I loved that this book was told from a male point of view. R was a really likeable and relatable character. Even though he was a zombie he was very articulate at sharing his feelings and what he was thinking to the reader. Isaac Marion is a very talented writer and I really liked his prose and how he described things and the world he created. I really liked how this was more of an adult book instead of a young adult book. There was swearing and just plain being real in the situations that the characters had to face. I liked Julie, her personality, and how she interacted with R. There likeness of each other was slow, genuine and felt very real to me. There relationship made sense and I liked how they found each other in a controversial setting. The nuances and uniqueness of this book is really what made it for me. I really liked how Julie's ex-boyfriend Perry came into the mix and affected R's decisions. Perry really had an impact on the book that I really wasn't expecting.
The one thing I really didn't like about the book was the ending. It ended in a very good way that wraps the book up entirely. Don't get me wrong, it was a good ending that I did enjoy. It just didn't end how I wanted it to. It felt very cheesy to me and the science didn't make sense at all. I mean I get where Marion is coming from and what he wanted to achieve, it is just that I wanted the ending to be as real as the rest of the book was. I wanted more explaining in the end to wrap it up even more then it was. I was also expecting a more climax battle scene in the end and that didn't really happen. I was slightly disappointed in this book.
What made me give it a 4 out of 5 was all the small things that I loved about it. If Marion decided to write more books I could see this one book turning into many more but he didn't write it that way. This book is worth the read but if you are expecting a lot from it you will probably get your hopes shattered. If you lower your expectations a little I am sure you will really like this book. I do recommend it to everyone that likes a good love story mixed with zombies. I now really can't wait to go see the movie adaption. I have a feeling it might be very different from the book but I can't wait to see what they have come up with. Definitely read this book if you think you will like it. I am still very glad that I read it and liked the ending even though I was disappointed somewhat. =]
Since I wrote my review I went and saw the movie in theaters and I just want to talk a little about it. There were some parts of the movie that I thought were different and little better than the book. Likewise, I thought some parts of the book were better than the movie. The ending was definitely better in the movie then in the book. The movie does a better job at explaining the ending that I think Marion wanted to portray in his book. If you want to read the book or want to see the movie, I really suggest doing so, because it is worth it to read/see it at the theaters. =]
Overall, I give this book:
"Thrilling love story that just happens to include Zombies" =]
4 out of 5 Stars
4 out of 5 Stars
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Thanks for Visiting
and
Happy Reading. =]
-Michael
I just finished this book the day before yesterday and I really liked it. I am a fan of zombies but not like R! I'm used to the killing off all the zombies fight not zombies trying to cure themselves fight. I'm looking forward to seeing the film.
ReplyDeleteThe day I went to see the movie in the theater, I stopped at Barnes & Noble to buy a copy of the book. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I really liked the movie. I think the ending of the film was anticlimatic as well. The battle was like two seconds long, and the zombies and humans won way too easily. So I was disappointed with that, but overall, the movie made me laugh and was definitely entertaining. My daughter has already pointed out a few things in the book that are different from the movie. :)
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