For my graduation from grad school in May, my mom decided that she wanted to frame my diplomas. But what meant almost as much to me, if not more, was the total collected works of Jane Austen. She is, hands down, one of my favorite authors in classic literature. Her writing style is, unlike many of her contemporaries, like looking into a crystalline pond. Clear, concise and perfect. Her plots are funny and her characters real. When I want to read something intelligent in fiction, I look to Jane.

However, sometimes we all need brain candy, and when I want my brain to be off, I turn to the horror genre, where you can find the most absurd plots. One of my favorite genres has always been zombies. Not the (non-canonical) faster zombies of 28 Days Later or I Am Legend, but the more horrific, shambling zombie that would like nothing more than some brains. (As an aside, wasn’t the movie of I Am Legend a travesty? Fast zombies and the main character lives? What is up with that!) No, I prefer Night of the Living Dead zombies. I remember watching these types of movies with my stepmom when I was little, and now they are like mental comfort food.

Can you see why I may be the perfect audience for an Austen/zombie mashup? The clarity and beauty of classic writing combined with some zombie mayhem. (It’s like chocolate and peanut butter.) On paper, this book is right up my alley. I was a little nervous about reading it for that reason: what if I hated a book that seem to be essentially written for someone like me? However, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies does not disappoint. I think, partially because the mashup “author” mostly kept Pride and Prejudice intact. I could practically see Jane Austen writing it as she was going through her day during a zombie apocalypse. The parts that were altered were so seamless that I was impressed. It did not go overboard, but was extremely funny all the way through, particularly for a Jane Austen fan like myself.

Imagine if the Bennett sisters had actually been trained fighters against the hordes of the undead? How would they act when scorned by Mr. Bingley or Mr. Darcy? I was very impressed with Elizabeth Bennett seeking out Mr. Darcy specifically for a beheading for his atrocious behavior. Way to show some backbone, at last! I also liked how there were added layers to English Society, and ideas about how classism would work during this time despite the struggle of humanity against legions of the undead. The snobbery over fighting styles and weaponry was a smart addition. I thought it really helped the novel to come together so that there wasn’t a moment where I thought: “No, this is all wrong for the time period.”

This book has gotten a bit of flack from people saying that it was a hack job done by a man who couldn’t write his own book. That it was lazy, and unremarkable. I have also seen in places where people have called it sexist (and made pretty compelling arguments in doing so). To those criticisms, I have to say that maybe it’s all is true. I’ve never read another of these increasingly common mashups, and perhaps this was horrible. And if it’s unfeminist, I’m sorry: I just really liked it. I liked the part where Charlotte slowly became a zombie and Mr. Collins didn’t know. The Bennett sisters gave me the feeling I had when watching Buffy. I think that reading mashups are a little like fanfiction: a person either has a taste for it, or they don’t. I like the reimagining of the familiar.

However, I did not like most of the background story. I thought that the girls’ focus on learning fighting in China from a Shaolin monk (while funny) was too over the top. I think that this focus in some Western-style entertainment that makes the Chinese inscrutable masters of hidden wisdom is stereotypical and racist. I kept waiting for a flashback about their teacher instructing them to take the pebbles from his hand, a la David Carradine. So, maybe in a way I do sympathize with the crowd that finds parts problematic.

From a historical point of view it also tested my suspension of disbelief a bit, at the idea of English ladies not learning English styles of fighting. At this point in history, England was conquering the world with its soldiers, sailors and technology. It seemed a little off that they would go to China for superior warrior skills, particularly when England was an imperial power that would all-but conquer the Chinese 50 years after the events in the book.

The other thing was that, if the girls learned to fight in China, why do they wield katanas and train in dojos? Those are both Japanese. Wouldn’t they be using Chinese or English weaponry and training in Chinese or English-style training rooms? I understand that the upper crust of society preferred Japanese fighting styles, and a justification can be made that the lower classes were conforming to the upper. I think the issue is that I shouldn’t have to make up my own backstory to keep up my suspension of disbelief. That’s the author’s job. Stuff like this drives me crazier than people who think that “irregardless” is a word. I have unfriended people on Facebook for less.

Despite my nitpicking, I highly recommend this book on all counts. It was a great read, and I am looking forward to the movie, which I expect will, as usual, not be as good as the book.

[Also recommended: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith - Ed.]

  -- Sara Paige