Quick pause from dissertation stuff ....
I am a girl who loves her zombies; Shaun of the Dead has to be the best film ever made! But what about zombies invading my pleasant reading life of British novels? Though I was hesitant when the first zombie-themed Jane Austen edition came out – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2009) – I read it quickly, “devouring” every morsel of Elizabeth Bennett’s skills as a martial arts fighter against the “unmentionables.” I truly wanted to hate it – but how could I? The juxtaposition of the familiar (the real P&P is one of my favorite novels of all time!) with ludicrous horror simply made me laugh out loud. Seriously – how often does a book come along that makes a person laugh, cry, shout, and cheer?
So here is my confession -- I LOVE this new "take" on Austen. I really think Jane Austen herself would have seen the humor in this re-seeing of her work. And she would have been even more joyful at the newest member of the family, Dawn of the Dead, the prequel to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Set four years before the start of P&P&Z, we see the five Bennett sisters transition from English gentlewomen into zombie warriors. The book opens with a funeral “gone bad” and before we know it, we readers are knee deep in body parts and “unmentionables” (the ladylike way of referring to the undead!). I read this 287 page book in one sitting – I couldn’t put it down. Anyone who knows my busy life (teacher, graduate student, wife, marathoner, etc) also knows that it takes something powerful to get me to slow down for more than a few minutes. This book did it. I feel honored to have received a preview copy of the novel (for free!) with the understanding that I would review it on my blog. So here it is – you have to read this book. If you don’t, I will send a few zombies your direction!
Please go here for a cool contest! And make sure to mention my blog!
http://quirkclassics.com/index.php?q=QuirkClassicsContest_DOD_Reviews
Each Prize Package has a value of $100+ and includes: An advance copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, Audio Books of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, A password redeemable online for sample audio chapters of Dawn of the Dreadfuls, An awesome Dawn of the Dreadfuls Poster, A Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Journal, A box set of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Postcards!
I hope someone I know wins of these 50 prizes! :D
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