“It
is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of
brains must be in want of more brains.”
So
begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith’s
adaptation of the well-loved Austen classic. In this version we join
the Bennet sisters in plague-stricken Hertfordshire, where for the
past five and fifty years an undead scourge has been on the rampage.
When Elizabeth, the most deadly of the Bennet sisters, finds herself
snubbed by the arrogant Mr Darcy at a local ball her first thought is
to defend her honour by immediately beheading him. Through the
violent bouts of swordplay and dialogue that follow, the young
warriors are able to reconcile their differences and the social
conventions of zombie ridden society to be united as husband and
wife.
As
the title suggests this book is an extended version of the original
Pride and Prejudice
now containing additional scenes of zombie-fuelled carnage. It is a
light-hearted comedy which manipulates the conventions of Austen’s
novels to create a niche brand of humour. Grahame-Smith has added
slight changes in dialogue, adapted the register and shifted the
traditional roles of our favourite characters to produce a silly, but
successful modernisation of a classic. The issues of this novel are
created partly through the enormity of the task and through the
inconsistencies that arise from combining such a modern concept with
a well-loved piece of literature.
The
plot remains almost identical to the original text; boy meets girl,
girl hates boy and through a series of externalised circumstances boy
and girl are eventually united in matrimony, the Austen archetype for
a happy ending. Unfortunately the zombies, who are incorporated into
the title with equal weight as the pride and prejudice, have a very
minimal effect on the narrative. The unmentionables tend to turn up
and cause small amounts of trouble only to fade away into the
background once more. Had this book been more ambitious and been
brave enough to affect some serious change in the traditional
plotting, it might have been more successful in incorporating
comedic, undead violence and Georgian society. The inclusion of
zombies does not do any great damage to the plausibility of the plot;
modern audiences are altogether too familiar with the concept of
zombies to find them challenging to accept, but it is a concept that
seems to have been overworked in popular culture. The author has
therefore been rather safe in choosing zombies as a sporadic comical
addition and has been so cautious in their inclusion to render them
completely external from the bulk of the narrative. One way in which
they could have been included successfully might have involved
stepping away from the shelter of an already popular story. If the
action had been set sometime after the ending of Pride
and Prejudice Grahame-Smith
would have had the freedom to construct an original narrative
supporting the inclusion of zombies and still base the comedy around
familiar characters. As it stands the enjoyment of this book relies
too much upon the existent plot to be appreciated for its own sake.
The
premise of this book also creates issues in the pre-existing world it
attempts to manipulate. Let us assume for a second that there is no
significant, logical issue with the concept of a zombie apocalypse.
Does it follow that a Georgian, patriarchal society would consent to
the training of women in Chinese and Japanese martial arts? That
dojos would become an integral part of every English stately home?
That English gentlemen would have no issue fighting fist to fist with
the fairer sex? Most probably not.
Furthermore,
the traditional characterisations struggle under these new
expectations of violent behaviour. Lydia and Kitty, who are two of
the silliest girls in the country, remain so despite the fact that
they, along with their sisters have apparently spent three years in
China training in the ‘deadly arts’. Strangely, three years of
military discipline has done nothing to improve their characters or
to restrain them from their famous, ridiculous antics. This is a
great shame since Pride and
Prejudice owes a great deal
of its long success to the enduring charm and energy of its central
characters and even to some of its more odious inventions. The great
realism with which Austen crafted her characters is sadly trampled
underfoot for the sake of zombies.
Nevertheless,
there are a lot of positive things to be said for this book. The
writing itself was extremely well done and applied with the right
degree of caution. Grahame-Smith has managed to blend in the sections
of his own making with the same tone, register and energy that
singles out Austen’s style. Thankfully, the dialogue has been
maintained and kept very close to the original exchanges, maintaining
the intensity of Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship as well as
creating conflicts for comedic value. The contrast of the
traditional and the modern, the elevated speech and the gruesome
fight scenes create an opportunity for parodic observations and the
interesting displacement of characters from their typical roles.
Conflicts are also created along gender boundaries for the amusement
of the reader. We see the female fighters having to balance the
requirements of modesty and their desire to defeat the zombie
scourge. After all, how does one decapitate a zombie without
displaying one’s ankles?
The
success of these comedic elements depends upon the reader not taking
them too seriously. Amusement lies in the contrast of the familiar
characters and the inconsistency of the additional extras; zombie
scenes are incorporated well but rendered ridiculous by the elevated
style in which they are written. The comedy is absurd because it is
meant to be so. Even the illustrations, which punctuate key scenes,
are verging on the farcical - showing our favourite, polite
characters locked in mortal combat with zombies or beating each other
to a pulp.
It
does appear as though great lengths have been taken to ensure that
this is not just a butchering of a classical novel. Of course, a lot
of the appeal lies in the original text but I would argue that the
additional scenes are sculpted in a subtle and complimentary style. I
can’t help but wish it had gone further and stepped away from the
safety of the traditional plot and therefore avoided the issues of
characterisation and plausibility. Despite these faults, this book is
certainly worth a read, if only to relive the magic of Austen’s
most enduring love story.
-Kate
Haffenden
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