"The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. "World War Z" is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years."
–(Goodreads)
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War is unlike any book I’ve read (or in this case, listened to). I can’t say that I’ve been dragged into the zombie fad, and this book isn’t going to change that. This book does not follow the traditional arc of a novel. It truly does mimic a documentary and is nothing like the movie of the same name. If you’re looking for character growth or plot development you are probably going to be disappointed. I repeatedly had to remind myself that I was listening to an audiobook and not an episode of This American Life. It is void of special effects and soundbites, which contributed to the realistic tone. Max Brooks voices the journalist of the same name in the book and an all-star cast of actors deliver each story in the book with all of the human emotion you’d find responding to Ira Glass.
The individual accounts are varied and unique, ranging from families fleeing the virus to military tactics to political ideologies. Now and then you’d find inconsistencies across stories which emphasised the idea that the characters, a reflection of real human accounts, were not always credible. Biases were rampant and memories were twisted and warped. Some characters were more likeable than others and I found myself wanting a followup with several, wanting to know where they ended up after all was said and done. One of my favourite aspects of the book is how international it is. The various commentaries reflect the importance of cultural traditions in how information is understood and spread. I will add, however, that a bit of imagination and forgiveness is needed to appreciate the various accents portrayed by the actors.
Max Brooks clearly uses the book to discuss corruption, pride, and short-sightedness as it related to the near-extinction of the human race. It was an interesting glimpse in to one mans predictions of how various cultures would respond to a world catastrophe, and it wasn’t very flattering for western society. In one particularly grimace-worthy chapter, a bodyguard recounts his time at the fortress/home of a Kardashian-like celebrity who broadcasts the safe and lavish lifestyle of those living in the fortified mansion on television as the rest of the country succumbs to the virus.
Throughout the book we see examples of governments around the world lying, ignoring facts, and covering up problems until it is nearly too late. Soldiers tell stories of corruption and ignorance in the beginning and ruthless decision making as the war progresses. At one point a soldier says, "The book of war, the one we’ve been writing since one ape slapped another was completely useless in this situation. We had to write a new one from scratch." I was surprised to find the chapters on military strategy and operations the most fascinating of the lot, it was a refreshing take on the idea of a zombie apocalypse and gave the entire book a more realistic tone.
I truly enjoyed the experience of listening to World War Z and highly recommend the audiobook if you’re interested in reading it. (Note: there are several different versions, I listened to the version produced by Penguin Random House Audio). It wasn’t what I expected and definitely doesn’t fit the standard zombie apocalypse idea. It is a unique look at how humanity might respond to an international crisis that no one is exempt from.
0 comments:
Post a Comment