Remember
how on Monday, I was ranting about my very unoriginal zombie story? Now, I’m
going to talk about a few original zombie stories. There are two that I really
love: The Forest of Hands and Teeth
trilogy by Carrie Ryan and Warm Bodies by
Isaac Marion. I’ll talk about what they did right.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy is about
how humanity is still clinging to life by a thread centuries after the zombie apocalypse.
They have managed to survive by corralling themselves into fenced-up towns and
the rooftops of tall buildings in the cities. Any attempt at communication and
non-local government has long collapsed. The three books are narrated by
different characters and they each have very unique perspectives on the world
they live in.
First
of all, this trilogy is different from the rest of the zombie slush because of
the time period it’s in. Most books take place during or right after the zombie
apocalypse, but this book takes place centuries after zombies have taken over
the planet. It’s fun to speculate what society would be like after such a long
time living with zombies, and Ryan’s take on it is very interesting. Ryan also created
very strong, unique narrators for the books, and they each have a very
different outlook on life and the broken world they live in. I already talked
about the importance of strong MCs. There’s also one important thing in her
book that not many zombie stories have: a message of hope. It shines out
between the lines, and the book seems to say: “As long as there is hope and
love, humanity will survive.” For someone like me, that is a very comforting
message.
Warm Bodies is probably
going to end up being one of my favorite books. I had to put the book down to
write this blog post, and I can’t wait to get back to it. Anyways, the book is
about a young zombie named “R” who is in a sort of existential crisis. He’s a
zombie, and he’s not sure if that means he’s dead or alive. What defines life? R
goes hunting one day and he eats the brain of Perry Kelvin and relives his
memories. In his memories is a girl named Julie, who is just a few steps away
from him. R can’t bring himself to eat Julie’s brain so he takes her back to
the hive to keep her safe. R falls in love with Julie and he starts to feel it
slowly transform him.
I
haven’t finished the book, but I hope R becomes human and that he lives happily
ever after with Julie. The book is based on Romeo
and Juliet so I’m not sure if there will be a happy ending…But I can dream,
can’t I?
Really
though, I never thought I could care so deeply for a zombie…Isaac Marion has gone
where no writer has dared go before and what he has given us as a result of
that literary bravery is unconventionally beautiful. I would have never thought
about telling a story from the perspective of a zombie because I thought they
wouldn’t have much to say. I was wrong though. If a person (or zombie) can’t
express their thoughts perfectly, that doesn’t mean that their thoughts are
imperfect. I’m actually ashamed of myself because people have often made that
assumption about me. I will not discriminate against zombies anymore!
Back
to the point though, here is what Marion did right. First, it was obviously a
very original story. Second, the writing is exceptional. Sometimes I would find
myself reading a sentence over and over thinking, this is my favorite sentence ever. It’s so beautiful. Also, like
Carrie Ryan, he’s asking very important questions: “What does it mean to be
alive? What is the nature of love?”
So
basically, if you want to tell a good zombie story, you need to make it stand
out. Zombies have been done to death and the idea is rotting like a corpse.
Make your ideas come to life. The zombie apocalypse raises very interesting questions
about humanity, hope, and existence. They’re not just dead husks of people that
you gun down, they’re symbols. If you ever want your zombie tale to sell, you
must make people think.
Next
on my zombie reading list: World War Z! I can’t wait to see the movie, it looks
way cool. I also want to read “Generation Dead”. I think it’s a satire of
something, but I hear it’s really good and funny. :-D
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