Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, #1) in Around the Year in 52 Books

Sep 10, 2013 Book Concierge rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: concierge, strong-women, library, audio, 19th-century, action, british

Playaway audio performed by Katherine Kellgren
3.5***

Mr and Mrs Bennet are parents to five girls who must marry well because Mr Bennet’s estate is entailed to a distant male relative. When wealthy and single Charles Bingley takes the nearby Netherfield Park estate, Mrs Bennet immediately begins plotting to have her girls cross his path, in the hopes that he will marry one of them. He falls for the eldest Bennet girl, Jane. His good friend Fitzwilliam Darcy is also introduced to the girls, but whe Playaway audio performed by Katherine Kellgren
3.5***

Mr and Mrs Bennet are parents to five girls who must marry well because Mr Bennet’s estate is entailed to a distant male relative. When wealthy and single Charles Bingley takes the nearby Netherfield Park estate, Mrs Bennet immediately begins plotting to have her girls cross his path, in the hopes that he will marry one of them. He falls for the eldest Bennet girl, Jane. His good friend Fitzwilliam Darcy is also introduced to the girls, but when he blatantly refuses to dance with Elizabeth Bennet at a ball where “gentlemen are scarce and more than one lady is without a partner” he is seen as arrogant and prideful. Still, there is something about Elizabeth’s “fine eyes” … not to mention her acknowledged accomplishments as a zombie fighter!

This book fulfilled a challenge in a Good Reads group to read from a genre that I normally avoid. I am SOooo not into zombies that I figured this one would fill the bill. I wasn’t expecting much – in fact, I expected to have to force my way through it. But I was pleasantly surprised by this take-off on Jane Austen’s classic Regency Romance.

Grahame-Smith was smart to use many of Miss Austen’s own words and dialogue. I have a feeling that readers who have never read Austen’s original might actually be inspired to seek it out after enjoying this farce. I sure hope so. Readers who have enjoyed the original classic will surely recognize Austen’s brilliance. Most of the references to the “plagued individual” or “unmentionables” are pretty nicely woven into the plot. There are a few longer scenes that really forced me out of the period, but even these are pretty entertaining. I’m thinking especially of Elizabeth demonstrating her prowess against Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s expert ninjas … and later showing her exceptional finger strength with a hand stand that converts to a one-hand stand, and finally a one-finger stand. Bravo, Lizzy!

Katherine Kellgren does a great job on the audio. Her pacing is good and she has sufficient skill with voices to differentiate most of the characters (although Jane & Elizabeth do sound much alike). I loved how she voiced Charlotte Lucas! As is my usual practice with audio books, I also had a copy of the text on hand, in this case the deluxe hardcover edition. It includes some very interesting illustrations; some are very entertaining (Lizzy kicking Darcy in the face following his impassioned proposal), but many are way too ghoulish and gory for me (my imagination was MUCH less bloody and graphic).
...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 13, 2009 Ann rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, retellings, 19th-century, paranormal, regency, england, humor, alternate-worlds, horror, jane-austen-adaptations

The idea is SO wonderful and original, and there are lots of legitimately laugh-out-loud parts. But there were just as many lines that made me roll my eyes, that read like poor high-school fan-fiction, or were just so horrifically violent that I couldn't completely enjoy the book. I really liked that some of the reasons for things happening in the original book are zombie-related (Jane taking a horse to Netherfield in the rain, for example), but some of the non-zombie storylines just seemed so o ...more

1 like · Like · see review

May 10, 2009 Ciara rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-in-2009

everyone who knows me wondered why the hell i was reading this book, because i don't really go for classics very much, & i think zombies are just about the stupidest "ironic" interest someone can possibly cultivate (also in the top three: ninjas & pirates, & come to find out that this book involves ninjas as well). even i wasn't sure why i picked it up. i think i just wanted something light, fluffy, & silly to wash the bitter aftertaste of letters from young activists out of my brain.

so, the pre everyone who knows me wondered why the hell i was reading this book, because i don't really go for classics very much, & i think zombies are just about the stupidest "ironic" interest someone can possibly cultivate (also in the top three: ninjas & pirates, & come to find out that this book involves ninjas as well). even i wasn't sure why i picked it up. i think i just wanted something light, fluffy, & silly to wash the bitter aftertaste of letters from young activists out of my brain.

so, the premise is pride & prejudice, except that england has been plagued by the zombie scourge for the last 55 years. the bennet sisters have all been trained in china to fight zombies & have pledged to protect england from the zombie scourge until they either die or get married. elizabeth & jane are the two best zombie killers. lydia & kitty are a little more interested in the officers that have been stationed nearby to protect the countryside, & mary is just kind of an all-around drip. mr. darcy is also a great zombie killer. he & elizabeth meet, she hates him, he harbors a secret passion for her, blah blah blah. you know the drill from pride & prejudice probably, & there really isn't ANY "ultraviolent zombie mayhem" at all. charlotte lucas gets bit by a zombie & slowly transforms & has to be beheaded & burnt eventually, but she is the only zombie casualty that plays a significant role in the book. elizabeth kicks the crap out of mr. darcy when he initially proposes, with her mad shaolin zombie-killing skills, & later she kicks the crap out of lady catherine for opposing the elizabeth/mr. darcy match, & she kills a bunch of ninjas & beheads a bunch of zombies, but...

yeah, at the end of the day, it's pretty much just weird jane austen fan fiction. & some publisher came along & was like, "huh, interesting. you know what ironic assholes the world over like almost as much as PBR & trucker hats? ZOMBIES! i might just have a bestseller on my hands." & that publisher was not wrong. *weep* ...more

Like · see review

Jul 09, 2009 Meg rated it did not like it

Shelves: spin-offs-retellings, 2010

I can't believe I actually made it through this book - it took a lot of time and determination. It was horrid. It was akin to watching a natural disaster or plane crash on television - painful to continue reading but I was morbidly fascinated by how much damage he could do to a classic and one of my favorite stories. It was brimming with pre-pubescent humor, the zombie portions of the book were forced and unoriginal, and he seemed to take every possible cliche, misinterpret it, and then jammed i ...more

Like · see review

May 26, 2012 Camzcam rated it liked it

Silly but strangely it works....eighty percent original Austen text mixed with a problem of zombie apocalypse. Not much of a thinking novel but funny.

Like · see review

Apr 04, 2010 Jesse rated it liked it

I'm determined to read this book, just because my wife is so disgusted by the very idea of it (yes, she's a Jane Austen die-hard). I'll let you know what I think!

Well, now that I have read this book, here is my opinion. I am not a horror movie or zombie fan, but I did enjoy this book. My wife couldn't stand the things I told her about it, but the honest truth is that it made me want to read "Pride and Prejudice". So it can't be that bad, right? ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 01, 2016 Cait rated it liked it

Overall, much better than expected.

Like · see review

Jun 30, 2009 Jillian (Peapod Historical Bookery) rated it it was ok

Shelves: historical-fiction, paranormal-supernatural, humor, undead, retellings-jane-austen-pride-and-pr, finalist-audie, audiobook-narrator-love, booklist-goodreads-best-of-yr-fntsy

I was looking forward to a little more of Grahame-Smith's own writing in here, since I'm not a big fan of Jane Austen. Unfortunately, substantial additions of his were few and far between. I did appreciate all the different ways of phrasing "zombie invasion," though. ...more

Like · see review

Aug 15, 2009 Trish rated it liked it

Shelves: gothic-or-ghosts, horror, retellings

Jane Austen meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer! And I admit it, I enjoyed it. Does that make me a bad person :-) The humour is in the complete non sequitors when the zombies appear. Just don't read this if you take your Jane Austen too seriously! ...more

Like · see review