Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
Atria • $24 • ISBN 9781439192313
on sale May 17, 2011
Isaac Marion has the type of publishing story that fuels the dreams of other young writers. Just 28 years old, Marion worked an assortment of odd jobs (power plant guard, foster care visit supervisor) while writing a short story called “I Am a Zombie Filled With Love.” After he posted the story online, it caught the attention of a publisher. Once the book was finished, it caught the eye of a movie producer. Now his story of a zombie who falls in love with a human girl after eating her boyfriend’s brain is poised to catch the eyes of the reading public.
Though the premise might seem off-putting, the book has drawn raves from the likes of Stephenie Meyer, Audrey Niffenegger and Josh Bazell. Check out this excerpt (like the rest of the book, told from the POV of the zombie known only as “R”) and judge for yourself!
Eating is not a pleasant business. I chew off a man’s arm, and I hate it. I hate his screams, because I don’t like pain, I don’t like hurting people, but this is the world now. This is what we do. Of course, if I don’t eat all of him, if I spare his brain, he’ll rise up and follow me back to the airport, and that might make me feel better. I’ll introduce him to everyone, and maybe we’ll stand around and groan for a while. I’ts hard to say what “friends” are anymore, but that might be close. If I restrain myself, if I leave enough . . .
But I don’t. I can’t. As always I go straight for the good part, the part that makes my head light up like a picture tube. I eat the brain, and for about thirty seconds, I have memories. Flashes of perfume, music . . . life. Then it fades, and I get up, and we all stumble out of the city, still cold and gray, but feeling a little better. Not “good,” exactly, not “happy,” certainly not “alive,” but . . . a little less dead. This is the best we can do.
What are you reading today?
I am reading Tender Mercies by Mary Manners. A Heartbreaking secret stands between Cooper and Lexi, and Lexi plans to keep it that way. Can Cooper’s gentleness and renewed faith coax the secret to the surface? And if he does, will forgiveness draw them close…or will their love be shattered forever? After reading half of the book, I am intrigued to know the answer.
I am reading Claire DeWitt and The City of the Dead, which is sarcastically funny and mysterious so far.
Reading ‘Wedding of the Season’ by Laura Lee Guhrke. Listening to ‘The Testament’ by John Grisham and ‘That Perfect Someone’ by Johanna Lindsey(one in the car and one at home).
I just finished Zoe Carter’s memoir “Imperfect Endings.”
I am reading Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich. Very funny read and also have started So Cold The River by Michael Koryta.
I listen to every one of Janet Evanovich’s books. She makes me laugh!
I’m reading The Girl Who Played With Fire. Enjoyed the first in the series, couldn’t wait to read this one.