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Zombies trump sparkly!vampires
Nov. 21st, 2008 06:19 pmThis year I've tried to keep track of what I've read, in part because I felt like I wasn't reading enough or as much as I have in the past. There was a time when all my free time was consumed in books. Taking a look at my list, I see I am at forty seven so far. My goal was to have a minimum of fifty, and I'm halfway through Skvorecky's bittersweet Civil War story. But what's hilarious and wonderful to me is that the best and worst books are right there next to each other at the top of the list. I'm not going to waste space on enumerating the reasons why I think the sparkling emotionally abusive Mormon vampire stalker boyfriend story is terrible. But I would like to tell you about the best book.
World War Z by Max Brooks
This is one of the best novels I've read in the past eight years. It may be one of the greatest novels of the early 21st century, and I say that without hyperbole. It's absolutely bloody brilliant. I wish I had written this book.
World War Z is about zombies, which are sort of the opposite of sexysparkly!vampires in popular culture. What makes this novel outstanding is that it doesn't limit itself just to the horror and the fear. It touches on societal breakdowns and global failures, chronicling them in a dark way that hearkens to the dystopias of Yevgeny Zamyatin's We and George Orwell's 1984.
The human element is unabashedly present as well. The novel is broken into sections, each one an oral history presented by a person involved in a critical period and place. The method of narration builds an intense emotional layer into the end of world scenario. What makes the story true horror and utterly devastating is the visceral, cold realism. You find yourself thinking about contagious disease outbreaks, geopolitics and twenty four hour news coverage, failing wars with useless strategies... You find yourself thinking, this could be exactly the way it happens.
World War Z is chilling in its realism in chronicling an unthinkable horror. If you intend to only read a few books a year, or read everything you can find, I suggest this beautiful novel. Max Brooks has created a stunning classic here.
World War Z by Max Brooks
This is one of the best novels I've read in the past eight years. It may be one of the greatest novels of the early 21st century, and I say that without hyperbole. It's absolutely bloody brilliant. I wish I had written this book.
World War Z is about zombies, which are sort of the opposite of sexysparkly!vampires in popular culture. What makes this novel outstanding is that it doesn't limit itself just to the horror and the fear. It touches on societal breakdowns and global failures, chronicling them in a dark way that hearkens to the dystopias of Yevgeny Zamyatin's We and George Orwell's 1984.
The human element is unabashedly present as well. The novel is broken into sections, each one an oral history presented by a person involved in a critical period and place. The method of narration builds an intense emotional layer into the end of world scenario. What makes the story true horror and utterly devastating is the visceral, cold realism. You find yourself thinking about contagious disease outbreaks, geopolitics and twenty four hour news coverage, failing wars with useless strategies... You find yourself thinking, this could be exactly the way it happens.
World War Z is chilling in its realism in chronicling an unthinkable horror. If you intend to only read a few books a year, or read everything you can find, I suggest this beautiful novel. Max Brooks has created a stunning classic here.