A Great Book To Recommend

Are you a fan of memoirs?

Do you recognize the cultural commentary in George Romero's zombie movies?

Have you read the Zombie Survival Guide back to back, and written criticisms in the margins?

If so, have I got the book for you...

Brains: A Zombie Memoir by Robin Becker.

Don't really click to look inside; I took the image from Amazon.

Brains is narrated by English-professor-turned-zombie, Jack. As a zombie virus is unleashed on the world, Jack finds himself transformed into one of the walking dead. Unlike the shambling masses around him, Jack has retained his intelligence and has the amazing ability to communicate through writing. Sadly, Jack's abilities with speech are... less than successful.

Filled with an overwhelming desire for brains, and the need to create a zombie society, Jack sets off in search of other intelligent zombie and the creator of the zombie virus. He meets a large cast of zombies who are capable of fighting off their need to feed, and creates a small "family" with them. There's Joan, the former nurse who retains her ability to patch up her dead brethren. Guts, a small child who is quite empathic with other zombies and can move as if he were still alive. Ros, the soldier-turned-zombie who can actually SPEAK. Annie, the teenage zombie who has amazing sharpshooting skills. The group also keeps a couple of non-intelligent zombies around, including Eve, a woman Jack turned into a zombie to be his "wife".

The book takes the reader through the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of Jack's band of shambling misfits. From being captured by the military, hunting a Wal-Mart for brains, capturing a living person to act as a driver, and finally wintering at the bottom of Lake Michigan to hide from human hunting parties, the zombies provide a delightful, if sometimes disturbing, tale. Becker has laced Jack's narrative with sarcastic references to pop culture that left me laughing out loud. I rooted for the zombies the whole time, even when they were at their most despicable.

Obviously, I liked the book, and I recommend it to everyone who enjoys zombies or dark comedies. I found the book in the Horror section at my local Borders bookstore, but I wouldn't really classify it as such. There was nothing to invoke horror in the reader, really, but I'm not sure where else they COULD classify it. If my description sounds interesting, but your not a "reader", fear not! Brains comes in at only 182 pages; I finished it in less than a day, and the chapter lengths were short enough that there plenty of good places to set the book down if life prevents you from reading large chunks at a time (like having three kids).

End of Demented Rambling