Book Spotlight: Warm Bodies

Honestly, Warm Bodies for me was a pleasant surprise. I was not expecting to be impressed as I was when I started reading the book. 

Unlike friends and most of the public I haven't really jumped the 'zombie bandwagon' I mean I don't like zombies. They're ugly, they're rotting and they eat you. 

That scene in the very first game of Resident Evil where in your character comes upon a zombie eating a human- flesh tearing, blood oozing out of the body; zoom in on the zombie, then zombie turns to you with pale white, rotting flesh, yellow eyes and blood in it's mouth - that very scene still makes up the stuff of my nightmares and this Resident Evil game came out more than 15 years ago. 

So no, I haven't been following The Walking Dead series and other Zombie media out there but this is were the pleasant surprise comes in. I don't like zombies but I did like the novel- Warm Bodies. 

I was not even planning to read the novel, it all started when my friend came from Full Booked with a copy of the sought-after novel. Why is it sought-after you ask? Well my friend had to make a reservation to get the book and they were a lot of other people who made reservations as well. Since my friend was currently reading another zombie novel, I started reading the book- just the first few pages-then I was hooked and about 9-10 hours later I finished it. 

In my whole life as a bookworm I have never ever finished a book in one sitting but that came easy with Warm Bodies. 

Why you may ask? Well for one thing it is very well written. There is wisdom and humor written in those pages which I was not expecting at all. There were so many lines I liked that I started writing them down. 



When I first heard about Warm Zombies and  saw the trailer I thought it was another Twilight - instead of vampire meets girl its zombie meets girl but in reading the book it deals a lot more with just love, for one thing it's definitely not just a love story. 

The novel also discusses about finding and having hope in a time when there is even no rest after death. In a world ruined by plague and devoid of hope the novel tackles discovering humanity, somewhere along it transcends from being a zombie-romance to being a novel about hope, humanity and of course love. 

Aside from the surprising themes discussed in the books, the characters themselves have such depth in them it's surprising that the lead character would be classified as un-dead since he is anything but. 

The story is told from the perspective of 'R' a zombie who likes riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. Something is changing with 'R' and little does he know it is only the beginning of something bigger. 

R is such a great narrator and he tells the story in a poetic way with sides of humor to keep you smiling. 

Here is an excerpt from the book that shows some of R's thoughts: 

'There is a chasm between me and the world outside of me. 

A gap so wide my feelings can't cross it. 

By the time my screams reach the other side, they dwindled into groans." 

Julie is the girl in the equation, but what I like about her is that she is not your typical damsel in distress. I guess you wouldn't be if you live in a post-apocalyptic world with zombies as a real threat. Julie shoots a gun, wields a knife and she is not afraid to use it and she curses and swears like a thug. But underneath Julie's tough exterior she also has her inner zombies...err..demons that she deals with, which makes her character even more believable and it makes it easier to relate with her. 

One thought I had while reading Warm Bodies is that with the many different zombie media and franchises that have come out - the thought of finding a cure to the sickness was seldom a topic that was broached. I mean if it is a disease or a plague that has created these zombies then wouldn't there be a cure? 

The novel, Warm Bodies plays on this thought and author Isaac Marion brings you to an adventure where the most fundamental and essential things that make us human can actually be a light in the darkest hour. 

I'm definitely looking forward to the movie which will be shown in a few days! Yipeeeee! If you haven't read the book yet make sure you grab a copy- hey I was able to read it in one sitting. :)