Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

(Photo taken from Goodreads)

Title: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Author:  Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Publisher: Quirk Books

Language: English
ISBN-10:  1594743347

ISBN-13:  978-1594743344

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Rating: 

I previously said I'll be reading this but I ended up ditching it because it bored me.  Well, in between books, I tried to read a few pages and now I am done, hence this review.

At first I was really fascinated with the concept of introducing a completely bizarre story into the classics, helps stir things up and encourages a renewed interest in the books.  I even did a post on these book mashups and most of the commenters on that post said they have a copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  I was also thinking of which book I could pick up, and thinking that this book is the most popular one, I know a friend who has a copy and borrowed this and started reading.  The first few chapters are funny and interesting, but I think all of you have experienced having a conversation with your parents/friends/anyone else you know where they always bring up this silly incident which makes you laugh the first few times but then the joke gets old pretty soon and all you could say when they repeat it again is, "Yeah, I think you already told me that story..." but they still insist on telling you about it again?  That's what happened in this book.  I loved Pride and Prejudice so much and I understand that that book, as well as Austen's other books are really very powerful that the magic of their stories transcends time.  I also like zombies although not too much to go gaga over them but enough to give me a laugh when I read about them, and it was interesting to see Austen's storyline being invaded by zombies.  But mere insertions of a zombie fight or some such thing is not really that riveting to me, it was just like reading Pride and Prejudice all over again, but this time it's like my mind is warping some of the passages that makes reading about zombies not very amusing.

I thought the book would be giving different twists and quirks and maybe that's what disappointed me so much.  I suppose I could not expect any of the major characters to die or turn into a zombie, but something to that effect could have been better, could have at least made the book more fascinating on its own, than relying on Austen's power and just tossing in some undead beings.  For me, it doesn't really matter if you don't stay too faithful to the original book, the point here is to create a new story from an old book and a new concept right?   This book had a lot of promise, but the execution was poorly done.

Of course, Austen's prim and proper manner of writing is preserved, the voice solid and clear, the characters charming and relatable.  I loved the graphic illustrations and the realistic tone of dialogue but that's where it stops.  If the story itself had been written with more creativity and force, this book could have been better.  I could not picture myself  buying this book and keeping it on my shelf to re-read it over and over.  Good thing I did not get this on my own, otherwise, I would be really kicking myself in the head right now for wasting a lot of money on something as useless as this book.

Every Little Thing by Pamela Klaffke

 

Photo taken from Goodreads 

Title: Every Little Thing
Author:  Pamela Klaffke
Publisher: Harlequin
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778329232

ISBN-13: 978-0778329237

Publication Date:  1/25/2011

Advanced reader's e-proof received from NetGalley

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Rating:

  

The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.  Life on the Refrigerator Door.  The Last Time I Saw Mother.  It seems like I've been gravitating to mother-daughter books lately, and here is another one.  I received an ARC of this story from NetGalley and read and finished it in one sitting.  The book is not that long, the story itself just below 250 pages, and I guess it was okay.  Not bad, but not exactly groundbreaking.  Just enough to tide you over the next read. 

To understand what I'm talking about, let me tell you a little about the story first.  This is about Mason MacDonald, the infamous magazine columnist Britt Castleman's daughter - a woman who loved to write about everything, good and bad, including everything about her daughter.  Mason grew up despising her mother's lack of sense of privacy, broadcasting all that happens to her and especially to her daughter, that the latter ended up leaving.  On Britt's death, however, Mason returns and is confronted by several problems, some of her own doing, and she discovers that though she knows she should not do the things her mother did, she might have to do some in order to cope.

I found the plot promising, which is why I really wanted to read it.  The writing is good, everything's crystal clear.  Some graphic sexual scenes, but still readable.  The dialogue is crisp, a bit of foul language but not too much that it's difficult to read.  Most of the characters are likable; however, I felt that Mason was a bit too whiny for her own good.  Why does she have to bitch about everything that happens to her?  Why does she have to blame everyone else except herself?  Since this is a bit of a coming-of-age story, yes she does grow out of her whining but still, it was too much when she did it, like she did not want to own up to her own faults and just went on doing her goth thing so she could hate the world for what she has become.  It was irritating that she had to wonder why her friends weren't paying her as much attention as she would have liked - they're grown-ups, they have jobs, of course they wouldn't have been there for her as often!  It wasn't like the world revolved around her.    This Mason gal should know that by now, she's past thirty already.  If I did not have any idea about her age I'd make her for an early twenties girl who doesn't know any better.

But that's not just where my problem with this book ends.  This story had potential, and I wouldn't have changed some parts, but those parts when she rebelled about her condition seems too made up, and even though there might be women out there who won't be afraid to stand up for whatever choices they make, what Mason does in this story is just a bit too over-the-top to be believable.  But maybe that's just me.  Maybe I'm just too square to accept the fact that what happened in the story is the norm, and I'm just too uptight to believe it.  Read this book and be the judge.

But whiny Mason and over-the-top developments aside, I enjoyed the light vibe of this book, and though it's supposed to be about how one daughter copes with her mother's death and understanding her mother, it was not too heavy that you cannot read it without having those painful chest constrictions - you still get to enjoy the book's humor and mockery, and makes this story an easy and touching read.

Quirky Mashups: Yay or Nay?

So I in the bookstore a few days ago, while looking at books, I found this:

(Photo taken from The Girly Nerds)

I gasped out loud. My favorite, my beautiful, beautiful Anna Karenina has been infected by the Quirk Classic mania!

Apart from that I also found the following titles:

(Photo taken from The Girly Nerds)

Half-shocked, half laughing, I went and read their blurbs. They still have the same synopsis, but an addition of curious creatures and events are included. Mashups combine a pre-existing text, often a classic work of fiction, with a certain popular genre such as vampire, zombie, or werewolf narratives. I actually said out loud, "Twilight has invaded the classics!" A couple of people looked at me strangely like I ate a live chicken in front of them. I was thinking, why would they do such a thing to these beautiful books? Is this another ploy to cash in on the paranormal mania? Or is this a creative way to pull the younger audience to reading the classics, since not a few young people right now do not even know about Anna Karenina (in the Philippines they think that's a popular television show way back), or Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet, and a hundred or so other characters that they should be learning about, instead of how to pout their lips the right way when taking pictures (which I think MAY also be useful, just not that essential).

I haven't read a Quirk Classic yet, but I might try to pick one up one of these days. But I don't think I can face getting Android Karenina. It just totally feels like I'm betraying my favorite Anna. I do hope that it's something that I would really savor, since the books cost a bit more than my average find. Until then, I will keep hoping that these books are not just out to "milk the vampire cow" hence the cost, but to actually educate the public about these classics.

What about you? What do you think of these quirky mashups?