Warm Bodies

Warm Bodies is a novel by author Isaac Marion. Described as a "zombie romance", it makes allusions to William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The author, based in Seattle, originally wrote a short story titled "I Am a Zombie Filled with Love". Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, acquired the publishing rights to the full novel in early 2010. Plot In a post-apocalyptic future, a male zombie still in the early stages of decay lives in a community of the dead in an abandoned airport near the city. He cannot remember his name, and refers to himself as "R". After the collapse of human civilization, zombies hunt for the living, seeking to eat their brains; doing so allows them to relive the memories, feelings, and thoughts of their prey. Zombies whose flesh has completely decayed away are known as "Boneys", which act as "pack leaders" of sorts to the others, who are known as "Fleshies" and still retain traces and behaviors from their previous lives as humans, though R explains that most of the behaviors are done out of force of habit rather than an attempt to "live". R, a Fleshy, is unusual as he shows distaste for eating human flesh, and can form several coherent syllables in one breath, and collects various objects from the outside world that he hoards in his "house", a Boeing 747 airliner parked at the airport. In a hunt, R feeds on the brain of a young man named Perry. After experiencing his memories, R sees Perry's girlfriend Julie, and in a moment of mercy, saves her from the others. He disguises her scent with zombie blood, and takes her home where he hides her in the 747 airplane. He slowly gains Julie's trust, and convinces her to stay for a while until the others forget about her. R feeds her food from the airport's restaurant, entertains her with his treasures, including a record player, and Julie tries to teach him to drive a car which R has managed to get started. She also tells him a little bit about her life. In time, R begins feeling guilty over killing Perry, but continues to eat the remains of his brain, seeing it as a rare treasure, and experiences many of Perry's memories. Julie is attacked by several zombies, and R helps her fend them off. His fellow zombie M is confused and angered by his behavior, but relents his attack. However, several Boneys, attracted by the noise, arrive, and one of them shows R some old photos of the dead and living fighting each other, telling him that they need to maintain the status quo.