World War Z: The listening

Way back when my blog was just a baby, I read and reviewed Max Brooks's World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. Actually, that was the second time I had read the book. I'd read it once before I started this blog but I loved it SO MUCH that I wanted to read it again so I could talk about it on here.

Oh, would you like to read those early days posts? Sure, why not.

It goes by many names: "The Crisis," "The Dark Years," "The Walking Plague"
Who in his right mind could have been ready for this?
Couldn't just one restart the plague all over again?

Over the years I have read some positive things about the WWZ audiobook. Because the book is made up of a series of interviews, they got a series of authors to read for the different characters. Henry Rollins, Nathan Fillion, Alan Alda, Common all took a character. At this point I wasn't super into audiobooks but this sounded like something I should try. Alas my "I should try this" basically means "if this falls into my outstretched hands, I will give it a listen."

A few years go by and I do no WWZ listening.

Then this year I took part in that super kick ass Harry Potter readalong and I ended up doing about 3/4 of that readalong on audiobook (listen along?) which worked out very nicely for me. One, I had all the books on audio (or rather, my mother did and she lent them to me). Two, I would just put the chapters I was supposed to read on my iPod. It really helps when you want to continue on with the story but you CAN'T because you don't actually have the rest of the story with you. Three, I would listen to HP during the subway portion of my commute. Because it's the subway, there's not always space for me to stand and hold a book. Listening to an audiobook was much easier. Sure, it took me longer to listen to the books than it would take me to read them, but that's fine. 

I found that I really liked listening to audiobooks and went on the hunt for some more. Boyfriend+ and I were at B&N when I saw the WWZ audiobook and on sale. Happiness and joy. I was about to bring it up to the register when I remembered my mom's advice and checked the fine print. I was disappointed to read the work "Abridged". Bastard. What kind of BS is this?

Disheartened, I put the audiobook back and do some Googling when I get home to see if an unabridged version exists. Sadly it does not. But what's this? An update on Max Brooks's website that, due to the movie coming out this summer (perhaps you'd heard of it) they're releasing a NEW UNABRIDGED VERSION of the audiobook. They were getting actors back who had to read follow bits and it would be released sometime in the summer. Happiness! Except, the site hadn't been updated in awhile. And there were no pre-orders to be found. Whomp

Sometime in April Kerry over at Entomology of a Bookworm mentioned she was listening to an unabridged copy of WWZ and I did a Scooby Doo double take

Or a Paul Rudd DT

I asked her where-oh-where she procured such a copy. It was going to be available in May so I shot an email over to Brother (he who lent me his book copy of WWZ) that said "Hey, did you ever buy me a b-day gift? Cos if not, buy me this." He answered that he did not, and I would be getting the audiobook as soon as it was available.

I realize this has been a lot of post without once mentioning anything about the audiobook. If you clicked on the other WWZ links, you'll notice that apparently that is a theme with these posts. Anyway the audiobook, how was it?

It kicked ass. I couldn't wait to start listening to it. I listened to it on my commute. I shunned watching Daria in place of listening to it while riding our exercise bike. It was a different experience from reading the book.

First up, the voice actors are great. I did spend a lot of time trying to guess who each person was. Some were obvious (Carl Reiner as the elderly Israeli man) some less obvious (Simon Pegg a Texan politician shoveling manure), but I liked them all. Martin Scorsese as the guy who created the fake vaccine was THE BEST. When I saw his name on the list of actors? readers? I thought/hoped he would read that story. Not that I mean to say the character Breck reminds me of Scorsese, just that I thought he would do a great job with that character. And he did so I was right. I've read complaints that a lot of the characters in the book sound the same. The mere fact of having different people read for each character helped this tremendously. Sure, there are still similarities, but it didn't bother me.*

I also noticed while listening to the audiobook is how infrequently the zombies actually make an appearance. When I've read the book, I would constantly think about the zombies. I had loads of zombie nightmares. But while listening I was more focused on the characters and how shitty things had gotten for them. There are a couple brief instances where the characters relate actually fighting a zombie but for the most part the book deals with how the world is coping with this global disaster. The zombies aren't the focus a lot of the time. They're just the catalyst for things being so so shitty. Which is sorta why I like the book so much. Zombies are a part of the book, but there is so much more to the story than them.

I loved this audibook. I will be listening to it again, probably before the year is out, because I don't have that many audiobooks and also THIS WAS SO GOOD. Just, if you're going to listen make sure you pick up the unabridged version. I haven't listened to the abridged one but why would you do that one when an unabridged one exists? Exactly.

*I'm also not bothered by the fact that every character in an Aaron Sorkin show sounds exactly the same. As long as I'm entertained, I can let a lot of things slide.

Couldn't just one restart the plague all over again?

Between finishing up World War Z and watching The Walking Dead series I have learned a couple things about myself.

1. I will not survive a zombie apocalypse.
I have no chance.  I mentioned in my first WWZ post that my zombie contingency plan mostly resembles the second option on the What's Your Zombie Contingency Plan page (The "I Will Miss You Dearly" stratagem).  But let's assume for a second I'm not quite that helpless, then my second plan probably follows the first option the "I Had A Good Plan But Then I Tripped," especially the tripping part.  Here's the "con" to this plan, which is the part I would probably follow most closely: "I once ran face-first into a sliding glass door.  I am not competent enough to do any of this [plan]. I would probably trip over my own feet and stumble slap-stick style into an undead group hug."  My mom sometimes says I'm about as graceful as a cow on ice (which is what her dad used to tell her cos walking into walls is a family tradition) and after reading World War Z and seeing how many intelligent, prepared, non-clumsy people couldn't make it out, I know I would stand no chance.

2. Before inevitably being eaten by the zombies, I will probably take down a lot of innocent, non-zombified people.
If you were to watch The Walking Dead with me, something I wouldn't recommend unless you've already seen the episode, you'll notice I yell at the screen.  A lot.  And most often what I yell is "Ah, it's moving!  Shoot it!  Shoot it!"*  Please notice I didn't say "a zombie is moving" just "it" and this is because I am not distinguishing between an actual threat and a healthy person who just happens to be moving. Anytime anything around me moves, I would shoot at it.  This means not only am I probably hitting innocent people, I'm also wasting ammo.  If I don't get eaten by zombies I should probably be put down by whoever I'm with to keep from making the situation worse.  Or be left for zombie bait.

One of the scariest things about World War Z is the hopelessness of the situation.  People panic, weapons fail, governments collapse and the zombies keep coming.  One of the scariest things pointed out (that probably should have been obvious) is the fact that the human army keeps dwindling but the zombie population rises.  Not every person lost becomes a zombie but a lot of them do, which means you can keep fighting but the enemies numbers just keep growing.  The story takes place just over 10 years after the zombie war is over, but all this means is the human race hasn't been completely wiped out by zombies.  Zacks still control a large portion of the land so even when I say the war is over that just means the all out constant fighting is mostly over.  Civilization still needs to be rebuilt and once things are calm and stable people will need to come to terms with what has happened.

I've heard it said that the Holocaust has no survivors, that even those who managed to remain technically alive were so irreparably damaged, that their spirit, their soul, the person that they were supposed to be, was gone forever.  I'd like to think that's not true.  But if it is, then no on on Earth survived this war. (340)

But, while things seem hopeless, there is a small sliver of hope.  Humanity did survive and the all out fighting did end.  Things haven't been easy and won't be easy but there is a chance.

For those that haven't heard, there is a strong possibility of a World War Z movie with Brad Pitt confirmed to play the lead.  I know, it's exciting.  I know I say "possibility" and "confirmed" but even though he's confirmed I'm going to go ahead and say until ads start running, there is the possibility the movie won't get made.  I'd rather be pleasantly surprised over let down.

*I had the same reaction to every alien in District 9.  I know you're supposed to learn that people are the ugly ones and the aliens don't mean any harm but no amount of Disney eyes on the little one or red vests on the adult made me like them. I'm sorry. I'm a bad person.

Title quote from page 266

Brooks, Max. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.  Three Rivers Press, New York.  2006.

Who in his right mind could have been ready for this?

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks is a seriously scary book.  As I mentioned in my previous post, World War Z takes place more than a decade after the zombie war has finished, although the infected still have control of certain parts of the world.  It's not a single narrative but instead of collection of interviews and stories from survivors of the war as they look back on "the plague years".  And because this is a history that both the tellers and the presumed audience is already familiar with, the details aren't always spelled out and you, the actual reader, has to fill in the holes. Which means you spend lots of time filling in those uncertainties with your own scenarios and personally, I shouldn't let my mind wander like that.

As the book goes on you do get more and more details about the outbreak but the first two chapters, Warnings and Blame, are so unsettling.  There are few moments when something jumps out at you and they aren't the most gory scenes; these are the things-that-go-bump-in-the-night chapters.  And what's especially frightening is the realism.  The book takes place on the global scale, complete with the prejudices and fighting between countries. Early on Israel figures out what's going on and the country goes into voluntary quarantine, offering asylum to certain people, including "any Palestinian living in the formerly occupied territories, and any Palestinian whose family had once lived within the borders of Israel" (37).  Obviously there has been some Israeli-Palestinian disagreements for the last few millenia, so it's interesting to read the story from the point of view of a Palestinian man whose family goes to Israel for protection.  Anger and suspicion and fear fill his narrative; it's easy to see how the problem could grow so long without a global reaction.

This book is scary not just because of the zombies (although they aren't exactly pleasant)  but also because of how people react in a crisis; those who panic, those who help and those who look after self-interest only. There are all sorts that provide their voice to this "oral history", and many of the people cause just as much harm as the zombies.  Or at least they allow the problem to grow out of control.  There are stories from people on the organ black market, that sold infected organs and helped spread the disease across the globe, there are people who created placebo vaccines that did absolutely nothing to stop the virus but made the inventors lots of money.  This isn't to say the book paints a picture where everyone is evil and corrupt.  One character describes the awful things people did to one another and his description of the good vs. bad people exemplifies the tone of the book, so far anyway: "I'm just highlighting the most extreme negative examples, you understand.  For every one profiteer, or repulsive psychopath, there were ten good and decent people whose karma was still untainted" (72).  And the zombies are pretty terrifying as well.

I really want to check out the audio book version of this novel, but I'm also a little afraid to actually listen to it.  There's a story told by the point of view of a woman who lives in a rehab home for feral children.  She has the mind of a four year old and hearing a zombie attack from a child's point of view is terrifying, especially because she imitates not only the voices of the other people during the attack but of the zombie moaning, the pounding on the doors, the gun fire, the screams.  I fill in enough details in my head for this scene, I don't know how I'd react actually hearing it. 

Title quote from page 21

Brooks, Max. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.  Three Rivers Press, New York.  2006.

It goes by many names: "The Crisis," "The Dark Years," "The Walking Plague"

If you were to ask me a year ago if I was a zombie fan I would have said no.  I suppose in reality if you ask me now I'll still say no.  Perhaps I'll elaborate and say I like zombies in the same way that I like pirates and ninjas.  The internet has decided these things are funny and they show up everywhere and eventually you get worn down and agree that yes, zombies, pirates and ninjas are awesome.  But even knowing the internet's power, the amount of zombie media I have consumed still confuses me.  Pirates can be pinned on the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and as a child I grew up with the Ninja Turtles, so I at least have some background with these topics.  Completely fake, pop culture based backgrounds, but backgrounds nonetheless.  I've been trying to figure out how zombies got added to my own mix and here's a timeline I've come up with.

Pre-2004 - Zombie stuff happens but I don't care yet

2004 - Shaun of the Dead comes out

2006 - I actually get around to seeing this movie.  I think it's funny enough to eventually see Hot Fuzz but don't think too much more about it

2008 - during a job interview I'm conducting I get bored with the string of typical answers to typical questions and ask the interviewee "Zombies are attacking the city.  What's your first move?"  I decide the question elicites funny responses, either in the form of great answers or just confused looks, and I start using the question in other interviews and when meeting friends' significant others for the first time.  I find it's a good way to weed out people without a sense of humor.

2009 - Zombieland and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies both come out. Boyfriend and I decide to see Zombieland, most likely because there was nothing else we wanted to see.  I love it!  Boyfriend is (rightly) baffled by this.  A few months later I'm in my neighborhood bookstore and a women is buying a bunch of zombie books because the local theater is having a screening of Night of the Living Dead followed by a zombie expert answering questions and she's picking up door prizes. (Side note, I love both the local bookstore and the local theater.) She decides against P&P&Z and I ask the cashier to throw it on my pile.  The book is hilarious and the book title is exactly right.  It is primarily the text of Pride and Prejudice but anytime the story starts to have one too many dances, meals or carriage rides BAM zombies attack.  I have lots of conversations with people while reading the book in public.  The cover draws lots of interest.

2010 - Zombieland comes out on DVD and I buy it on release day.  Around this time Brother is looking for a book to read.  He's not exactly what you would call a reader, so I'm surprised to hear he's actually looking for something to read by choice.  He's looking for World War Z and says it's about zombies.  I tell him about my new found zombie appreciation and he lends it to me after he's read it.  Brother fails to mention World War Z is not a funny book.  Laughs at me when I tell him I didn't know it would be serious.  Brother can be a bit of a jerk.

So here I am now.  I've actually read WWZ once before I started this blog but I enjoyed it enough, and wanted to write about it enough, to start reading it again.  This book has shown me that my conscious and my subconscious really can't agree on anything.  My conscious isn't afraid of zombies.  When I'm awake I think they're funny because they're slow (usually) and stupid and not very scary.  Especially if you read the Cracked article about how a zombie apocalypse would fail.  But the first time I read this I had zombie nightmares many nights.  They wake me up, which really only serves to annoy me.  Unlike normal nightmares where you still feel the residual fear, even when you know there's nothing to be afraid of, I wake up from these dreams just annoyed that I'm awake.  I know I was just dreaming about zombies; when I close my eyes I can see them again.  But I don't have any of that fear.  Instead all I think is "It's 3 in the morning, I have to get up in a few hours, and I don't want these zombies waking me up anymore.  This is annoying."  Not only do I now have zombie nightmares while reading the book, but now that I've read WWZ, other zombie things give me the same unscary zombie nightmares.  My subconscious needs to get it together so I can enjoy my zombies but still get a full night's sleep.

I swear my next post will actually discuss the book. In the meantime, check out this list of zombie contingency plans from Cracked.com.  Mine most closely resembles the second one.  I will not survive a zombie apocalypse.  (I should get some credit or something from Cracked, seeing how I've mentioned them twice in this article alone.  They have a lot of zombie related articles.)

Title quote from page 1