literary classics, zombies

I recently picked up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which has thus far been pretty entertaining. It's a re-edit of the classic, plus a repressive zombie hoard. I feel like the zombies really add forward motion to the plot, and it's entertaining to hear elongated discussions as to whether the strange plague is more troublesome in the city or out in the countryside.

The characters remain much the same, though most of the descriptions have been greatly condensed, so it's good to know the more elaborate characterizations of the original. The choice as to who is an effective and skilled zombie-killer and who is not is also interesting.

As with the original, there is a bit of a "why her" issue with Elizabeth, who doesn't do much to distinguish herself, but somehow becomes the early interest of Mr. Darcy. To this extent, you can see where Twilight was inspired to have such a bland leading lady with very little reason to catch the interest of the ill-mannered leading man. At least in this version, Darcy is drawn by the thoughtful expression of Elizabeth. It's something, I suppose... and certainly more believable than the unexplained "personal brand of heroin" draw to Bella's blood that is the basis for that whole abusive brand of sudden ownership/relationship.

In any case, it's definitely entertaining enough to read, and I should finish it sometime this week or next.