The subtitle says it all: "An Oral History of the Zombie War." Although some of the numerical and factual data was previously published in the UN Postwar Commission Report, this collection of individual experiences told in the words of the individuals concerned adds an important personal dimension to the tale of the worldwide zombie attacks, from the earliest known outbreak in China to the clean-up operations that still continue ten years after the official end of the war.
From vampires to zombies, and holy cow, this is a brilliant book. The author, Max Brooks, had written a humor book on how to survive a zombie attack, and follows it up with this...novel? collection of stories? I'm not sure what to call it, and I'm not the only one confused by it; my library catalogued it as non-fiction, in the 818s--the humor section, maybe thrown off by the author's previous classification as a humor writer or maybe just by the fact that he's the son of Mel Brooks.
It is not humorous, though it is occasionally funny. It is violent, gory, frequently horrifying, and wonderfully written: the oral history structure requires the author to tell his story in short sections, each in a different "voice," and he pulls it off beautifully. I can't wait to recommend it to everybody I know.
From vampires to zombies, and holy cow, this is a brilliant book. The author, Max Brooks, had written a humor book on how to survive a zombie attack, and follows it up with this...novel? collection of stories? I'm not sure what to call it, and I'm not the only one confused by it; my library catalogued it as non-fiction, in the 818s--the humor section, maybe thrown off by the author's previous classification as a humor writer or maybe just by the fact that he's the son of Mel Brooks.
It is not humorous, though it is occasionally funny. It is violent, gory, frequently horrifying, and wonderfully written: the oral history structure requires the author to tell his story in short sections, each in a different "voice," and he pulls it off beautifully. I can't wait to recommend it to everybody I know.
Originally posted at MySpace 3/10/07
No comments:
Post a Comment