Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I guess I am one of the few that really enjoyed reading the original Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I have been wanting to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies since it came out so I was really excited to read it this semester. Mainly because I like any excuse to re-read a novel I really enjoyed. I was surprised when I first started reading it that the text is exactly the same as the original, which I liked because it keeps the story and most of the characters intact. Because I knew the original text I appreciated the humor involved by the addition of zombies and ninjas. That was my first impression of this book when I first saw it on the shelves. I believed it was written for Jane Austen fans who were in need of a little change in their favorite novel. I am sure that this new take on a old classic has attracted some new Austen fans as well. I think if Jane Austen were alive today, she would really get a kick out of her beloved characters fighting off unmentionables ninja style. The mash-up of the two different texts didn't bother as much as it did some because I went into this looking for a good laugh. I can see it bothering people who have never read Pride and Prejudice and couldn't get the humor from it all. The whole time I was reading this I was picturing Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy fighting zombies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style. I really appreciate that most of the characters were kept intact for this version because the characters are what made me love the original (with the exception of a few.) I hope I am not the only one when I was happy that Mr.Collins offed himself. He was such an annoying character in both versions. I love how Mr.Darcy beats Mr.Wickham to a bloody pulp which leaves him crippled and constantly wets and soils himself. These are things that you secretly hope happens in the original.

The only inconsistency in the novel that bothered me was the lack of zombies towards the end of the novel. It was like once Elizabeth realized she loved Mr. Darcy all the zombie fighting took a break for a while and it was all the original text (which is okay with me), I just found it to be obviously inconsistent. I almost forgot I was reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and thought I was just reading Pride and Prejudice. Maybe the new expanded version has more zombies towards the end.

Overall, I really enjoyed the novel. It makes me want to go out and buy the expanded version with more zombies. I guess you could say these books were made to give Austen fans an excuse to read them again without feeling silly that they read the same book over and over again because it is different. It has zombies! Once, my time frees up I plan on buying Sense and Sensibility and Sea-monsters next.