Holiday Bliss and Ultra-Violent Zombie Mayhem

Okay, I haven't posted for ages. A thousand apologies. But part of the reason for my slackness was a lovely holiday in Fiji - pure laziness and absolute indulgence.

Of course, there is a price to pay: big piles of work to wade through on my return with only my sweet memories of bliss to sustain me.

Here are three of my favourite pics from our trip.







A fantastic holiday! But a la Bridget Jones, I now feel the need to confess my current scorecard.

Books Read: 7
Movies Watched: 5
Manuscripts Finished: um... okay. None.

So instead of talking about writing, I thought maybe I'd review a couple of the best books I read while on holiday.

The Guernsey Literacy and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Set in 1946, just after the war, this book consists entirely of letters written from and to a writer called Juliet Ashton. The letters mainly come from the residents of the Island of Guernsey, and tell the stories of various inhabitants of the island during the German occupation. The book weaves scandal, romance and history together in a way that had me laughing out loud in a couple of places, and actually forced a few tears from my hardened and cynical eyes.

Especially poignant was the information included about the author of the book, Mary Ann Shaffer. At 70 years old, this was her first novel, and she died without seeing it in print. Her book club goaded her to write the novel in the first place, and her writing group were instrumental in seeing it finished. All hail the writing community! A more wonderful bunch of people will never be found.

Now to jump from the sublime, straight to the hilarious:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
by Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith
Could there ever be a book that is NOT massively improved by the addition of zombies? I think not. Can you imagine Elizabeth and Jane Bennett as a pair of warriors, trained by a Chinese martial-arts master, happily slaying the zombie "unmentionables" when they emerge from the fresh earth to eat brains? Now I find it hard to imagine them any other way.

The graphic illustrations and cover art do a lot to enhance this masterpiece of 19th century zombie literature.

After reading this book, I'm looking forward to re-reading Jane Austen's original version. I know I'll enjoy it. But I'm equally sure I won't spend nearly as much time chuckling. I think, in this case, the author has phrased it better than I can. There is a very funny Readers Discussion Guide at the very end of the book. The last question reads:

"Some scholars believe that the zombies were a last-minute addition to the novel, requested by the publisher in a shameless attempt to boost sales. Others argue that the hordes of living dead are integral to Jane Austen's plot and social commentary. What do you think? Can you imagine what this novel might be like without the violent zombie mayhem?"