Not a novel to be meditated upon too seriously, “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” is a very fun ride for anyone who likes imagining familiar characters in new and exciting situations. As a long time reader of fanfiction, I was impressed with Seth Grahame-Smith’s reimagining of Jane Austen’s classic.
To throw out a metaphor: Austen painted a grand painting with many brushstrokes and Grahame-Smith recreated the same picture, but in pencil and with his own additions. I say in pencil not only because Grahame-Smith has trimmed much of Austen’s more flowery language, but also because he has made the characters sharper. The faults of disliked characters (Lady de Bourgh and Mr. Wickham, for example) are accentuated and more articulated, making it almost too easy to hate them. Love is more clearly communicated betweencharacters. Their speech and mannerisms are somewhat updated from Austen’s era.
However, like most fanfiction, the novel reads as very amateur work at times. One mistake I found unforgivable however was in Chapter 43:
“The gardener led them along the river, stopping to point out the occasional coy pond.”
It’s one thing to have amateur writing (one can be comforted in the knowledge that amateurish writing can mature) but to make such a sloppy mistake was difficult to pass over without comment.
Despite this, at the end of the book when Jane and Elizabeth finally are united in love and marriage with Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy respectably, the reader experiences the same relief and joy that Austen cultivated in her original, so it wouldn’t be far from the truth to say that Grahame-Smith has composed a successful piece of literature. He has kept the heart of Austen’s tale without being shy with his own insertions. This was a smart move. Had Grahame-Smith downplayed his interference, the novel would have come off as half-assed and would have failed. Luckily, Grahame-Smith has pushed the limits and the result is awesome.
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