Some sort of apocalypse has happened and the zombies are here.
Um, I'd rather not talk about this novella a lot as one of the three story lines is still freaking me out. Freaking me out so much that I've had to internet search to make sure that the sequel to Warm Bodies isn't going to be like its prequel...it's not, but I can't remember where I read that to cite it. Sorry.
So, yeah, there are three story lines that diverge and intersect in interesting ways. My favorite, of course, is the beginning of 'R' as the second 'the tall man' wakes up he reveals more questions than answers. There's also a 12-year old Julie, whose semblance of any type of normal life is become less and less as she and her parents keep on moving in search of humanity and safety.
Then there's the story of Nora. And, in this tiny book where she gets one-third of the action. Marion paints such a vivid image of her and her journey that I couldn't help imagine myself as her protecting her most prized possession as the world collapses. Read The New Hunger just for this part of the story alone; although this is the part that's still giving me nightmares. You absolutely know where her story is going from the first time she is introduced it's still crushing and the suspense is sometimes just too much. Hence, the reason why it took me four days to read this book. I'm not sure I ever want to go to The Space Needle, I'm not sure I want to stay in a motel, I'm not sure I could survive an apocalypse of any kind.
OK, so after the scene involving The Space Needle, I stopped reading it at a night (Thank the Lord, as there are still a couple of scenes that give me the heebie-jeebies). I was going to stop reading it all together, really, but, when looking for a plot summary, I found this here:
Book 2 is about the future, but it gets there via the past. People are forgetful, dead people even more so, and confronting these buried realities will be crucial to understanding the world they're now living in--and how they might attempt to change it. THE NEW HUNGER is a necessary bridge between WARM BODIES and Book 2. It sheds a wider light on the landscape of this world. It introduces people, groups, and cosmic mysteries that will become very important. It shows how R, Julie, Nora, and M ended up where they are now, and points to where they might go next. And in my humble opinion, it's just a fucking good story.
Ugh, he better mean that.
Ugh, if his writing style wasn't so captivating and mesmerizing.
I suppose eventually I'll be glad I read it, but right now I'm just a little sad and a lot creeped out. As a matter of fact it's still dark, why are my living room blinds open?
I have this irrational fear of zombies. Irrational because I know deep in my heart that zombies do not exist and fear because the very idea of someone eating my brain or eating me alive or smelling dead and being so strong as to tear through doors scares me to friggin' death. So, while I'd been reading about Isaac Marion for a couple of years now...well, ever since I read this when talking about what is young adult fiction, I vowed to NEVER read his book about the dreaded 'Z' word.
Then one of my students brought up the book during class. She was going on and on about how wonderful it sounded and, that although the premise for it sounded just downright awful the trailer made it seem incredible. We watched the trailer right there in class and I showed her the aforementioned interview and we found some more stuff about the absolutely hipster (not meant in a derogatory way...just in case you are one of those people who hates the word) adorable Isaac Marion--we are hardcore crushing and we don't care. It's refreshing to crush on a writer as we are lovers of words. I tell her that I don't know if I can read the book, as I have, the aforementioned irrational fear of zombies. Later that day, one of my friends gushes on FB all about how 'Warm Bodies' deserves 'two thumbs' up and that Nicholas Hoult is just adorable. And, then like a week later my sister starts talking to me about it and how wonderful and adorable it is and she tells me that she just finished it and ask if I'd like to borrow it. I said, "Yes" and finished it in less than 24 hours, it has the best beginning of any book ("I am dead, but it's not so bad. I've learned to live with it.") and, well, I didn't put it down until the heart-racing ending.
How Isaac Marion managed to write this book is beyond me. It is brilliant in its prose and its message of 'hope where there's love' is delivered without sentimentality and trivialization. There are many ways this could have been delivered in a trite way...Marion never goes there--I envy his writing ability. I find it amazing that a book about a zombie who falls in love can be humorous and sad, filled with make you bite your nails horror and breath-taking moments of true tenderness. There are things and actions that make us all alive that Marion shows us that we take for granted. There are people in our lives who shape us and make us whole; we have to talk to and thank them more often. In the end it's all about what makes us human and what keeps us alive that matters and we know it matters through our interactions with others, by what we believe and what we value.
I'm not quite ready for full on zombie books (I'm reading "The New Hunger" right now and, well, it's darker and scarier than its predecessor...I'm not reading it at night) and I won't be watching "The Walking Dead" anytime soon, but I am ready for more books by Isaac Marion. I enjoy his writing style, his take on important issues of the heart and 'R'...the most thoughtful and sincere man to ever lumber out of the pages of a book. And, while this book has zombies in it, they are only the catalyst for the much deeper issues of what tears us apart, separates us as humans and ultimately binds us together. If we forget that we're all, well, we're all walking dead anyway.
Of course, this book reminded me of my favorite quote:
"I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing." ~ Agatha Christie
Oh, wait, I didn't mention that this review was going to come in two parts? This review comes in two parts...the book and more on Isaac Marion. It's a win-win really...go read the book and then find Mr. Marion through various social media outlets, I promise you will not be disappointed with either.
Myriad Ways to find Isaac Marion
Ditlo: Isaac Marion...33 super photos; I especially like the kitty-cat
Facebook: Isaac Marion
Facebook: Warm Bodies
Formspring: IsaacMarion
"I attribute this decision to innocent funloving curiosity, NOT staggering narcissim." ~Isaac Marion Goodreads Isaac Marion
MySpace: Isaac Marion
Twitter: @isaacinspace
(this seems to be the place where he converses with lots of girls...no I'm not jealous, but it does make me wish we had social media when I was in my late teens and early 20s...sorta...of course, this means that I skulk around a bit, but do not commence in the witty banter; I have witty banter envy)
Tumblr: Isaac Marion's Nood Pix and ISAAC MARION'S BIG WORDS (<--after reading Burning Building...go here)
Favorite Quote (seriously, pretty sure Mr. Marion and I could be friends-ish):
There’s a warm, saturating comfort in having a good book in my life. Even when I’m not reading it, just the knowledge that it’s there, ready for me whenever I want to cuddle up with it, makes the rest of life feel richer.
and...my favorite Burning Building (I like it when people have blogs that they've been writing since before they were famous). There aren't very many posts, so you can kind of read it like a book...an autobiography if you will, posts of note (in chronological order):
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