Warm Bodies, by Isaac Marion

• Pub. Date: April 2011 

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group 

• Pages: 256

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

R is a young man with an existential crisis—he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. His ability to connect with the outside world is limited to a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing.
After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and stragely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a blast of color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that surrounds R. His choice to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.
Scary, funny, and surprisingly poignant, Warm Bodies explores what happens when the cold heart of a zombie is tempted by the warmth of human love. 



Review

The cover looks interesting enough, but what made me check this out at the library was the phrase 'zombie love' plastered on the front review. All the monsters of our past have slowly been given sympathetic twists and eventually made into love interests (werewolves, vampires, ogres, faeries...you get the idea). So why not zombies? Sure, they're rotting corpses with no brain function beyond the animal instinct to live, but can you really hold that against them?? Hmmm? Being dead does tend to hamper relationships. I have to say, though, I think the author successfully made zombies lovable (at least in his special scenario). In fact, I really liked R. He has style, and apparently rots slower than most of his friends. Seriously. Although I half-joking, I really enjoyed this book, way more than I expected. The topic itself sounded like a flop from the beginning, but this is probably the best book I've read all summer. There's also a bunch of symbolism thrown in about the 'disease' of being a zombie and relating that to the condition of the heart. It's not all stated in words, but the idea is expressed.

I recommend this book for anyone looking for something different. It's also really short (or at least goes down fast) with a load of movement and action.