Invite a zombie to the Book Club
Posted by: Kaite Stover
There’s not enough hijinks at books groups. We need more. I’m going to start with having one of my groups read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Of course, we’ll pair that with the 
original Pride and Prejudice and then do a judicious comparison. We’ll look at changes in characters (dead to undead); the addition of possibly anachronistic elements (ninjas and martial arts training); and unusal plot devices (clever conversational sparring paired with deft swordsmanship instead of country dances).
Mr. Smith and his astute publishers over at Quirk Classics have graciously provided additional discussion topics. “Do the zombies represent the authors’ views on marriage? An endless curse that sucks the life out of you?” and how important a role does the action of vomiting play in the story? Do the characters engage in regurgitation in an act of ‘rebirth’ or are they merely sickened and appalled at the destruction and blood shed? Further discussion will focus on what this book might be like if it didn’t have zombies.
Extra points to readers who bring hatchets, cauliflower, or World War Z.
May 1st, 2009 at 9:32 am
I think this is a fabulous idea and one I was contemplating for my book club’s October meeting (we always try to read something ‘scary.’ I can’t wait to hear how this goes. Please do update us on the success of this session!