Romance

“You pierce my soul. I’m half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I’m too late. […] For you alone I think and plan.”

–Captain Wentworth, in the best-loved love-letter of all time in Jane Austen’s ‘Persuasion’.

 

Do you ever feel that you’re an anachronism? That you’d rather have been born in a time and place where romance was simpler and yet more complex than now? I get that whenever I watch or read period romances. Like I’ve been doing for the past few days. I started with ‘The Lizzie Bennet Diaries’, moved on to ‘Lost in Austen‘, then watched all the four episodes of BBC’s adaptation of ‘North and South’, got worm-holed (my friend V’s expression, I hope you don’t mind me borrowing, V!) into watching my favorite scenes of ‘Emma’ (Jonny Lee Miller playing the gorgeously correct Mr. Knightly), and rounded up by watching Ciaran Hind in ‘Persuasion’. And WOW! I just can’t ever get enough of historical romances in general and Jane Austen in particular.

 

Amanda Price, I totally empathize with you!

 

Lost in Austen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Pride and Prejudice. Oh, And Zombies.

“It is impossible that he should still love me, unless, by kicking him into the mantelpiece during our battle at Hunsford, I affected some severe change in his countenance.”

–Elizabeth Bennet, in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

(Elizabeth is wondering about the change she saw in Mr. Darcy when she met him at Pemberley.)

Written by Seth Grahame-Smith, ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ (from now on called PPZ) is a delightful take on Jane Austen’s incomparable novel. Although I have to admit, I had my doubts before reading the book; Pride and Prejudice (yes, I’m calling it PP from now on. It’s easier, dammit) is, after all, a favourite, and I’m not too tolerant when it comes to rip-offs.

PPZ, however, is a mashup. Not merely a satire, but something like a funny-horror alternate-universe version. I didn’t feel offended even once; the author doesn’t make fun of the novel, nor does he try to demean it. He just puts in ‘ultra-violent zombie mayhem’ into our beloved characters’ lives, and takes us along for this incredibly empowering ride!

Yes, empowering. Seeing Jane kick some zombie butt made up for all the times in PP when (I thought) she should have been more proactive.

It’s true that this was my first brush with a mashup, and the novelty might be a major reason why I liked this book. But I’ll still recommend Jane Austen lovers to give it a try.