Publisher: Random House UK / Vintage Books UK
Published Date: 31 January 2013
Rating:
Thank you Random House UK and Vintage Books UK also NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book..
Spoilers FREE!
'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...
Wow this book surprised me!
I always love post-apocalyptic or end-of-the-world reads, definitely one of my favorite book themes (of all time).
This book was so refreshing and original. I love the concept of this book, telling the story from Zombie point of view. I never read anything like this before..
What I really adored was how the story was told. It had that same feelings like when I read Catcher in The Rye or Looking for Alaska. R narration of the story was so unique and details, it was trying to give understandings or answers on how Zombies see things.. I really enjoyed it (It's not like I read many Zombie POV books).. Because it was just humorous and very human in a twisted way..
And characters development, R characters was clearly developing, from a heartless zombie (but still cute) to lovable-and-human zombie. Maybe people already know that this book was about the possibility of Zombie-cure.. So it is not actually a spoiler, right.. well.. it was just totally amazing, how R started finding his humanity that was hidden deep deep down in his dead-heart.. And the girl that was the trigger of this reverse-process, Julie. I don't have a lot to say about this character. I mean Julie was Julie. She was just herself throughout the story. Their interaction was believable so I didn't really have problem with it. And I really like that M. He was R's zombie friend. Also Perry. Perry for me also played a very important role in reviving R's humanity. In a way, it was because of Perry that R noticed Julie. And because of Perry's memories and guidances that bring human R back. So he was definitely important.
There were not so much story about R's background (or any other zombies). But there were definitely snippets of Julie and Perry background stories. It was kinda problematic and dramatic. A bit of family, personal, and love dramas.
Story plot, it followed the changes in R. The changes in R was giving a new perspective on how the story went. When he started to see and think differently, I as the reader found this really interesting, because he was just so awkward and when he started to understand things in very human way, I just could not help to like him more and more as the story progressed. There was also a bit of action toward the end, but totally not the focus of the book. So don't expect to read much about it ;)
Alright then, as you all know that this book is already made into movie and going to hit the theaters in February, so please check the trailer below ;) - I personally think it's always better to read the book first before watch the movie. If you watch the movie first, it's just going to be a major spoiler.. hehe.. enjoy!
