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travisppe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I liked it, CW is an amazing writer, but the narrative jumps around a lot and it was hard to keep pace. Intentional, I’m sure, but be forewarned. Also, prose is pretty dense for a zombie novel. Lost forward momentum a few times but worth the slog.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
unsuccessfulbookclub's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Look, I was as surprised as you probably are that Colson Whitehead wrote not only a plague novel but a *zombie* plague novel, and it was just exactly how I thought it would be: weird, tense, sad, darkly funny and worth your time.
Zone One is literary fiction about a zombie plague. It’s gruesome and gross but also deep and very well written. It takes lots of narrative risks, with only three chapters (insert nervous laughter) and a nonlinear timeline. Whitehead loads the prose up with words you’ve probably never heard outside of SAT prep, but mostly as ways to denigrate Connecticut. It’s simultaneously thoughtful commentary on our world and a terrifying story about one guy living through an apocalypse.
👍🏻Recommended! Fans of Severance (the book), literary fiction, zombies, Otessa Moshfegh, Chuck Palahniuk and other Colson Whitehead books. This is a horror story at its core so check the CW
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Alcohol, and War