Warm Bodies - Book Review

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

What is it about:
R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Not just another zombie novel, Warm Bodies is funny, scary, and deeply moving.

What did I think of it:
I read this book as I was challenged to read it by Titania. She knew I don't normally like zombie stories where zombies fall in love, so she challenged me to get out of my comfort zone and pick up Warm Bodies.

Did I like it? Yes and no...

First let me tell you that I don't think this is a zombie book at all!

Yes, I know, it's about a zombie called R., but still: this is not a zombie book! So what is it? It's more a philosophical journey about what makes a person human and about what is needed to turn your life around.

Now this theme of exploration can be very interesting, but in this case it didn't work for me. There were things happening in the story that were too fantastical for me to be able to believe in them when looking at the actions in themselves alone. Looking at the underlying philosophical layer, they might be logical, but to me any event should be (or at least seem) logical even without the deeper layers of the story.

What I did like was the use of present tense.
Yes: it was a surprise to me as well!
Present tense always has a bit of a halting, stuttering quality for me and in this case it added to the story as it's told from a zombie's point of view.

All in all I really liked the first part of the book, but as the story moved forward I lost my interest as it was all getting a bit too weird for me.

Why should you read it:
It's a philosophical story with zombies.