Warm Bodies

On the Inner Flap

R is a young man with an existential crisis--he is a zombie. He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains. He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. 

After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and strangely 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 decision 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 is about being alive, being dead, and the blurry line in between.

My Thoughts

First, some disclosure... I don't really know much about zombies and have never really been into them. However, about a year ago, I was introduced to the TV series, The Walking Dead. At first I was skeptical. (Strange, yes, coming from a girl who seems to get a kick out of vampire novels.) Why would I care to watch a show about zombies? But, after a couple of episodes, I was hooked. So, since I was so skeptical about a zombie TV show and it worked out, perhaps a zombie novel wouldn't be too bad, right?

In Isaac Marion's post-apocalyptic world, the humans set up 'cities' in stadiums, which serve as mini fortresses against the zombies. Since the stadium is not self sustaining, teams go out periodically to scavenge for food and medicines, young humans are taught how to defend themselves from zombie attacks, and the stadium is run in a militant fashion. The zombies have set up 'hives' (the one we encounter in the novel is set in an abandoned airport), where quite like the human system, they have a hierarchy, with 'boneys' (contrasted with 'fleshies') on the top acting as generals/religious leaders. New zombies are assigned 'parents' and go to school for lessons on how to effectively obtain their source of nourishment, and teams go out periodically to hunt and bring back food required for their kind to survive. Marion tries to get the reader to understand that, despite all the mono-syllabic grunting and the fact that they need to eat humans to survive, the zombies aren't so different from the humans.

We follow a zombie, R, who falls in love with a human, Julie, whose boyfriend's brains he just consumed -- providing him with a connection to both the girl and her dead boyfriend. R decides not only to spare Julie's life, but to bring her back to the hive and protect her. Through random words and the use of song lyrics, the two develop an understanding of the other, and R certainly begins to care for her. When Julie decides to go back to the stadium to return to the humans, unbeknownst to her, R follows.

I must confess I had high hopes for Warm Bodies, right up to the part where R starts to plot with his zombie friend, M, on how to enter the stadium. I was rather enjoying it, actually. But unfortunately the rest of it was just one big disappointing, cop-out, mess -- in my opinion. Sure there were some good scenes scattered through, but the driving plot line was predictable and poorly put together.

I read another review, where the reviewer explicitly points out the story's likeness to Romeo and Juliet. I agree that this was an old fashioned love story about star crossed lovers, but that fact, the characters' names and major plot points may be where the likeness ends. There is nothing enduring or thought provoking about this story, it's just a novel that begins with so much promise and finishes with a cheesy, ridiculous ending.

Maybe I just don't get it. Maybe I picked the wrong zombie novel. Maybe I can only handle vampires. Maybe I don't like that the 'monster' has to be the one to change. Who knows? All I know is that I liked it in the beginning, and in the end I thought it was garbage, and it will be a while before I decide to pick up another zombie novel.

My suggestion? If you like romances with happy endings with some teenage angst thrown in, but not much else, go for it. Otherwise, don't even bother with this one. 

Wine Note
My local liquor store had a deal on Strut Wines, so much like my reasons for picking up the novel, I thought "why not?" I read Warm Bodies while drinking their 2011 Riesling-Gewurztraminer. I've always shied away from sweeter whites, but since I'm trying to embrace trying new things, again "why not?" It certainly smelled delicious, and I found the first few sips quite pleasing, but after a while I think the sweetness overpowered -- much like Warm Bodies. The time and place just wasn't right for me. This wine's place is out on the patio in the summer, gossiping with the girls, while nibbling on hot hors d'oeuvres.