Pride & Prejudice & Zombies by Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith
If you’ve been living on Mars, in a cave, with your fingers in your ears, it’s possible you haven’t heard about Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. Possible, but not likely. But just in case…
It’s Pride & Prejudice…with Zombies!
The natural reaction to a mash-up of Jane Austen’s original text with bone crunching zombie mayhem is either excitement or revulsion–generally excitement from those who dismiss Austen as chick lit and revulsion from those of us who love her. Well, I’m here to say that both factions can rejoice–P&P&Z has something for you.
If you’ve never been a fan of Austen, or of British Lit in general, the discussions of social niceties can be confusing. And when reading someone like Austen, if you don’t know the societal norms, you can’t appreciate the way that she undermines them. Seth Grahame-Smith has solved this problem. Why did Mr. Darcy separate Jane and Bingley? Why is it unseemly for Elizabeth to walk to Netherfield alone? Why did Charlotte marry Mr. Collins? And why would Elizabeth even pretend to suffer the foolishness of Lady Catherine? The answers in Austen’s time might have been complicated, but in P&P&Z, they’re simple. Zombies.
And ninjas. Don’t forget the ninjas. (One of them has his still-beating heart plucked from his chest and eaten. By Elizabeth Bennet.)
As for fans of Austen, a group with whom I strongly identify, you guys have to pick this up. Seriously. It’s a terribly fun read, very quick, and Seth Grahame-Smith actually bases a lot of his humor on minor tweaks to Austen’s original words. How funny would Lady Catherine’s remark:
“No Ninjas! I’ve never heard of such a thing! Five daughters brought up in a house with no ninjas!”
be if you didn’t know the original? Plus, you know Elizabeth Bennet is a badass at heart. And if she could have, Austen would have had her bash Darcy’s head on the mantle for his terribly rude proposal.
Summary: I don’t care who you are, come get a copy of P&P&Z. And then hold your breath in anticipation of:
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer.
Posted by Allison L
BookPeople 
Recently read this… all the way through! It really is roughly 85% P&P so sometimes you even forgot until they throw in a zombie scene, most of which are just funny. The one thing I did not like was how many “ball” jokes there were…