Not having read the bowdlerized version of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (P+P+Z), sans zombies, I cannot comment on how well it compares to the unexpurgated version just released by Quirk Books. The zombie parts are so cunningly interwoven in the story that it is difficult to conceive it holding together without them. P+P+Z without zombies would be like Frankenstein without body parts.
I always felt Ms. Austen's decision to publish a version of P+P+Z minus zombies perplexing. True, press reports at the time were rife with speculation as to the cause of the falling out between her and coauthor Mr. Grahame-Smith. Nevertheless, the wholesale hacking up of P+P+Z into P+P+Z-Z makes no sense (at least to my sensibilities).
In any case, the complete work is now available to us, and what a piece of work it is! Set firmly in the British countryside during the trials of the First Zombie Uprising in the early 19th century, P+P+Z is a fine example of the English stiff upper lip during adversity. It is the story of the daughters Bennett, all trained in the fine art of zombie killing, with some ninja work thrown in to keep it interesting. In spite of frequent and unexpected intrusions of ravenous zombies ("unmentionables"), the girls simply will not be distracted from their daily routines of attending and planning balls while also plotting to capture husbands. The novel contains everything a reader could want. Action sequences are accomplished with the skill and humor of a Spielberg - Elizabeth's solution to the problem of dispatching a band of zombies feasting on the hapless driver of a wagon load of whale oil (without dirtying skirts) reminds the reader of Indiana Jones' practical handling of a swordsman in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The repartee between the characters is carried off with Howard Hawks-like aplomb - after dinner conversations throughout the book could have just as easily occurred in the newsroom in His Girl Friday. The quality of the writing in P+P+Z is so consistently high that it is difficult for this reviewer to distinguish Mr. Grahame-Smith's contributions from those of Ms. Austen. It is regrettable that she chose to sever their professional relationship before it had really got off the ground.
I compare the accomplishments of P+P+Z to great moments in movies for a reason. This novel needs to be filmed, preferably by Martin Scorsese. Barring that, I recently learned that Mr. Grahame-Smith has received a solo contract for two more novels with Grand Central Press. I look forward with eager anticipation to the first title of the two, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
