A zombie who yearns for a better life ends up falling in love — with a human — in this astonishingly original debut novel.
R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams.
He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra.
He is a little different from his fellow Dead.
R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams.
He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra.
He is a little different from his fellow Dead.
Title: Warm Bodies (Warm Bodies ~ Book 1)
Author: Isaac Marion | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: April 26 2011
Publisher: Atria Books
Length: 258 Pages
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads
Buy It: Amazon US / Amazon UK
Source: Purchased (Kindle Edition)
Cover Love: I am in absolute love with this cover!
Point of View: 1st person, following R
My Rating: 5 Stars
What a magnificent surprise this book turned out to be. I am not ashamed to say that it was the impending release of the film that got me to read this book. Sadly I had never heard of it before and I only wish that I had read it sooner, thankfully the old saying still stands ‘better late than never’.
“In my mind I am eloquent; I can climb intricate scaffolds of words to reach the highest cathedral ceilings and paint my thoughts. But when I open my mouth, everything collapses.”
Meet R. He is a zombie, however he is a zombie with a conscience. He has a hunger in him that he must satisfy but he hates himself for having to do it.
I absolutely fell in love with R. Yes there I said it, I love a zombie. I never would have thought it possible for a zombie to be portrayed as a romantic lead or for it to actually be pulled off in such a spectacular way but Isaac Marion has a wonderful way with words and truly knows how to tell a story. It would be impossible to read Warm Bodies and not fall in love with the characters to be fair.
R struggles with his current state of being. He walks around all day at the airport where his zombie ‘family’ lives, riding the escalator and then going into the city to feed. That is where he meets Julie and when everything starts to change.
“...wanting change is step one, but step two is taking it.”
Julie lives in a stadium with the other survivors who have made their way to Seattle, they have converted it into a liveable city. Her father has worked his way up to being a commander of sorts in the new army that has formed. He is definitely a shoot first and ask questions later kind of guy. Julie, her boyfriend Perry and her best friend Nora are all out on a recon mission when they are attacked by R, his friend M and the other zombies in their group.
You may wonder why zombies crave brains so very much. See... when they eat the brain they get flashes and see a short glimpse into the lives that the ones they are eating lived. So, R and his band of brothers and sisters attack... one thing leads to another and R eats Perry. (This really isn’t a big spoiler so please don’t get upset with me.) He starts to get flashes of Perry’s life and sees Julie in the memories, then he sees her there fighting the zombies and something inside him starts to come alive. He does the unthinkable and saves her.
“I can feel it...the chance to start over, to live right, to love
right, to burn up in a fiery cloud and never again be buried in the
mud.”
It was a joy to see the relationship between R and Julie evolve. It is set in an unbelievable backdrop for a love to blossom but somehow it becomes believable. You become their biggest cheerleader and want nothing more than for these two to find a way to be together.
The side characters are also great and my favorite would have to be M.
“My friend "M" says the irony of being a zombie is that everything is funny, but you can't smile, because your lips have rotted off.”
M had me in stitches and even in parts where you probably shouldn’t be laughing he brought his sense of humor. I also loved Nora, she is an undeniable badass and was a really strong character.
I could go on and on about this story, the characters and how much I loved it all but I don’t want to give any more away. Honestly I can not recommend this book enough. Even if you are not a huge zombie fan but you can appreciate an endearing love story then please give this book a chance. The writing is spectacular and it was so very enjoyable.
“I crush her against me. I want to be part of her. Not just inside her but all around her. I want our rib cages to crack open and our hearts to migrate and merge. I want our cells to braid together like living thread.”
Wasn't M hilarious? I really enjoyed this book and like you, I really wish I'd read it sooner!
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Christine! =D
Such a lovely review of what sounds like a interesting book, really might give this a try
ReplyDeletehttp://thehouseofliterarymirrors.blogspot.co.uk/
I loved this book. It was pretty funny, wasn't it? :)
ReplyDelete