Warm Bodies

R is a young man with an existential crisis—he is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. His ability to connect with the outside world is limited to a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing.

After experiencing a teenage boy's memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and stragely sweet relationship with the victim's human girlfriend. Julie is a blast of color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that surrounds R. His choice to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.

Scary, funny, and surprisingly poignant, Warm Bodies explores what happens when the cold heart of a zombie is tempted by the warmth of human love.

First, I want to say that I absolutely loved this.

Second, I want to say that if you do not like flowery writing and a lot of philosophical pondering in your zombie novels, you will not love this.

Fortunately for me, I love both of those.  I love beautiful writing more than I can possibly express, and I love books that can make me think, genuinely think.  I love that Marion was able to turn a zombie novel into something haunting and introspective and beautiful.

When I first read the summary, I had two problems with it.  One, that the main character's name was R.  I mean, I've stumbled upon some pretty bizarre names in my reading experience (dystopias, i c u) but this kinda took the cake.  However, once you start reading, the reason for this "name" is revealed. Quite simply?  He does not remember his name.  He knows it began with an R, and since one letter is better than being a nameless entity, that is what he calls himself.

The second problem was that I simply could not fathom the idea of a zombie main character, and more importantly, a zombie romance.  In my head, zombies were brainless, revolting creatures, creatures never seen as anything but monsters to run from.  The idea of being inside a zombie's head, and of this zombie having some sort of relationship with a human girl, was unfathomable.

Until I started reading.

The romance . . . was beautiful.  It was different and it was real and it was beautiful.  It was a girl with ideas and a zombie who wanted them to come true.  It was a girl fighting against her world and a boy fighting against his own nature.  It was two people with thoughts and flaws and emotions, with a relationship as complex as it was unbelievable, who genuinely cared about one another. Two people trying to change the world as much as they were trying to change themselves.

Don't go into this expecting a fast-paced, zombie thriller.  This book is small, yes, but leisurely in that way thoughtful books often are.  It's one of those books that'll keep you thinking for days after you turn the final page.

“There's no benchmark for how life's 'supposed' to happen. There is no ideal world for you to wait around for. The world is always just what it is now, it's up to you how you respond to it.” 


5 stars.