(Cross-posted with Goodreads)
I like zombie stories. And I’m lucky that way; woe be to those who hate zombie stories, because you just can’t get away from ‘em. What keeps it fresh is variations on the theme: The Walking Dead gives us a focus on the human drama, Romero’s films a dose of social commentary, Left 4 Dead a single-minded focus on the action, and in the case of Max Brooks’ World War Z, we see the art of storytelling played with in some very interesting ways.
The content here is presented in the form of a faux-documentary, where world-wide survivors recount their experiences, and it’s through their eyes we see the narrative unfold. From an aesthetic standpoint, it’s a suitable way to see a myriad of locales, from the Middle East to Japan to New York and everything in between, without leaning on some plot device to get a single protagonist to a number of countries in sequence.
One way this is important, and wonderful, is that it drives home the titular war as the struggle of all humanity, no matter gender, race, nationality or creed. Now, there are only so many first-hand accounts in this book, and other than the documentarian who has taken it upon himself to collect the various stories, it can be said (and can be spun into a negative if you’re so inclined) that the book has no real “protagonist”, singular. But Max Brooks has succeeded in delivering a narrative where you truly feel that there are seven billion protagonists to root for.
As such, the perspectives we’re exposed to differ greatly, and the book’s various ‘interviews’ are naturally extremely subjective. You might find some of the interviewees highly disagreeable, but you’re sure to find others whom you connect to on a social and emotional level. We see the perspective both of people responsible for arranging attacks against the rising dead, and those of common folk who were caught in the middle. (This is a book that succeeds at the delicate art of having its cake and eating it too.)
There is, of course, an over-arching plot that is constructed through the various stories, and the order in which the survivors tell their stories proceeds in a logical, earliest-to-latest fashion. It’s a very difficult line to balance on, but Brooks has successfully told a coherent and straightforward story using convention-defying writing tactics. Thanks to the highly subjective storytelling, it’s a very easy book to invest in emotionally, as well as a highly rewarding one for the reader.
But most importantly – and some mild spoilers abound here – the scenes themselves are by-and-large a feast for the senses. From soldiers mowing down hordes of zombies to the glorious strains of Iron Maiden’s The Trooper, to scenes of daring sacrifice, the war brings out the best in humanity – but also the worst. Shysters in the early stages of the outbreak peddling a placebo cure, for example.
The text is generally unflinching in its description of gore, violence and the human cost, as is typical of a zombie story. At the same time, it doesn’t overwhelm the storytelling.
I really dig the little flourishes that drive home the faux-authenticity of this text: the pages even have little footnotes explaining certain terms used, like the notes of an academic textbook.
As an aside, I suppose you can watch the movie adaptation if you want to see a reasonably-paced Brad Pitt popcorn movie (and to chuckle at the irony of Peter Capaldi playing a character identified in the credits as WHO Doctor), but don’t expect it to even attempt the kind of innovative storytelling and mockumentary stylings of Max Brooks’ novel. And that’s a crying shame, because the unique storytelling is what defines World War Z and sets it apart from other zombie fare, so the film is World War Z in name only. What’s more, it narrows the scope of the story considerably: all that I just said about the novel’s narrative style making it the struggle of all humanity? Here, it’s more…just Brad Pitt and his family. Take that how you will.
As for the book? Buy it immediately. I’ve amassed quite a bit of zombie fare over different entertainment mediums, but World War Z stands very near the top of the pile. While it’s part of a “series”, the Zombie Survival Guide is more of a fun collection of applied zombie-story tropes than an actual novel, and Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, while immensely fun, feels like supplementary material. But World War Z feels like the powerhouse around which everything else is tethered. It succeeds as a dose of brutal zombie fiction, yes, but it also provides so much more for lovers of uniquely-told stories as well.