Author: Isaac Marion
Published: 28th October 2010
Publisher: Vintage
Format: eBook
Number of Pages: 241
Source: Bought
Purchase: TBD, Amazon, B&N
From Goodreads
'R' is a zombie. He has no name, no memories and no pulse, but he has dreams. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.
Amongst the ruins of an abandoned city, R meets a girl. Her name is Julie and she is the opposite of everything he knows - warm and bright and very much alive, she is a blast of colour in a dreary grey landscape. For reasons he can't understand, R chooses to save Julie instead of eating her, and a tense yet strangely tender relationship begins.
This has never happened before. It breaks the rules and defies logic, but R is no longer content with life in the grave. He wants to breathe again, he wants to live, and Julie wants to help him. But their grim, rotting world won't be changed without a fight...
My review
Warm Bodies was a touching, heart-warming novel about zombies that I would have never though it will surprise me this much.
As soon as the film was released, one of my best friends read the book and was enthusiastic about it, she loved it but, nevertheless, I couldn't shake away the feeling that it was not my cup of tea. I just have to say that I had been also very influenced by the film trailer (that didn't make justice to the book, I can say that now) and the story seemed childish, a little too ironic for my tastes, something funny yes, but probably nothing I would have liked to read.
I couldn't be more wrong.
Warm Bodies is an excellently written book, thoughtful, moving, and with that light touch of Paranormal here and there. Infact, even if zombies are the protagonists, I think this book is just more than that, it is not the ordinary Paranormal novel, it is the diary of a zombie who feels to be like a normal person but who just not has the mediums to express how he feels. The Paranormal context is just a claim to develop themes that otherwise would have been banal; the zombies, the curse, was just the product of human hate and also, R, the protagonist, is the example par excellence that if you really do want something, you can achieve it, you can actually change and win what you have been craving for.
Let's just say that the best parts of the book were R's thoughts, I loved that the story was completely told by his point of view because in this way the consciousness of the reader grows up with R's, since he is started to a completely new life, a life in which he is not alone anymore, a life in which hope can live. I found it awesome how easily you can grow fond of the characters, especially R, and this aspect made the book incredibly emotional, in my opinion, because it was impossible not to feel touched during R's change. See how his emotions grew, how he tried to return to human habits, how deep his love for Julie was.. it was all perfect! And the author's writing style was so charming, cynical, direct, harsh sometimes and perfectly able to describe his characters' emotions.
I also really liked Julie's character and her strong personality. It was really interesting and sad, at the same time, reading about a young girl who was born a grew up during the period of the curse, and it was even more sad reading about how she was forced to do nasty things to achieve some money. I think that all about her past was incredibly touching and yes, I know I have been repeating touching for at least a million times but I really think this book can affect readers!
Something I really enjoyed about her personality is that despite the condition in which she grew up, she didn't lose hope, she's always found a reason to live even if sometimes it seemed impossible. I really liked her relationship with music and art and it was lovely how she and R could communicate through songs' verses.
Another aspect of the book that was really interesting is how the author decided to tell part of Julie's story through Perry's thoughts, it was brilliant! First, because it was a constant reminder to R about his true nature and about what he had done, second because it showed us the differences between the two characters and made us understand what was that Julie found so amazing and lovely in R's personality.
Well, let's just say that Warm Bodies has entered my favourite list, alongside with Michelle Hodkin and Cassandra Clare.. do you really need more boosts?
Rated 5.0 !
I'm going to have to read this one now! I'm glad you liked it so much! =)
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