Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Grahame-Smith, Seth and Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2009. 319 pages. $12.95 ISBN 978594743344
Readers Annotation: The world of the Bennett sisters has gone to the undead!
Plot Summary: All seems well in the village of Meryton, except for the fact that villagers continue to become zombies. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies follows the Bennett sisters in their quest for love and the defeat of the invading zombies.
Critical Evaluation: At first I was disgusted with the idea of altering an Austen classic in such a manner. However, after reading the adaptation and seeing the illustrations that accompany the text, I decided otherwise. What a clever way of getting people to read the classics. Although, their not really reading the true classic. It is, however, an interesting alternative to what some may call boring regency satire.
Information about the Author: Jane Austen wrote several successful novels that reflect her views on social life during her time. Seth Grahame-Smith has written How to Survive a Horror Movie, Pardon My President and The Big Book of Porn.
Genre: Horror, Parody
Age Level: Ages 15 and up
Curriculum Ties: An alternative when reading classics like Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
Book talking ideas: Discuss whether Grahame-Smith was wrong in his adaptation of Pride and Prejudice or if his undead recreation was worth the read. Also discuss the sudden fascination of zombies, vampires and the paranormal and how that has affected the literary world.
Challenge Issues: The fact that Graham-Smith took a perfectly good harmless classic and turned it into a bloodbath make cause some parents to wonder at the sanity of the author and the librarian who includes it in their collection. However, I feel that it is an interesting parody of a great novel and a great example of how you can change a few words and it changes the whole meaning of the story.
Why I included it: I included this novel because zombies, vampires and the paranormal are very popular right now. I am also a big fan of Austen and found this parody very amusing, albeit graphic and just wrong.
Grahame-Smith, Seth and Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2009. 319 pages. $12.95 ISBN 978594743344
Readers Annotation: The world of the Bennett sisters has gone to the undead!
Plot Summary: All seems well in the village of Meryton, except for the fact that villagers continue to become zombies. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies follows the Bennett sisters in their quest for love and the defeat of the invading zombies.
Critical Evaluation: At first I was disgusted with the idea of altering an Austen classic in such a manner. However, after reading the adaptation and seeing the illustrations that accompany the text, I decided otherwise. What a clever way of getting people to read the classics. Although, their not really reading the true classic. It is, however, an interesting alternative to what some may call boring regency satire.
Information about the Author: Jane Austen wrote several successful novels that reflect her views on social life during her time. Seth Grahame-Smith has written How to Survive a Horror Movie, Pardon My President and The Big Book of Porn.
Genre: Horror, Parody
Age Level: Ages 15 and up
Curriculum Ties: An alternative when reading classics like Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
Book talking ideas: Discuss whether Grahame-Smith was wrong in his adaptation of Pride and Prejudice or if his undead recreation was worth the read. Also discuss the sudden fascination of zombies, vampires and the paranormal and how that has affected the literary world.
Challenge Issues: The fact that Graham-Smith took a perfectly good harmless classic and turned it into a bloodbath make cause some parents to wonder at the sanity of the author and the librarian who includes it in their collection. However, I feel that it is an interesting parody of a great novel and a great example of how you can change a few words and it changes the whole meaning of the story.
Why I included it: I included this novel because zombies, vampires and the paranormal are very popular right now. I am also a big fan of Austen and found this parody very amusing, albeit graphic and just wrong.
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