Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I can't say I'm a Jane Austen fan, although I take pride in the fact that I at least did my homework a few years back in the much-missed book club and read the entire Pride and Prejudice. (I think I was the only male in the book club to do it.) I even watched the entire BBC miniseries, although if I have to watch Jane Austen going forward, I much prefer Keira Knightley in a lead role. Having said this, I doubt I will ever read any Jane Austen again of my own free will...I think it must have been the Twilight of the 19th century.

Recently I started hearing about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a silly retelling of Austen's novel involving, yes, flesh-eating zombies. I've seen the book in bookstores recently and chuckle every time I look at the cover. I even picked it up a few times, thinking that my love of all things zombie might overshadow my boredom of all things Austen. But no, I read a few passages and most of them seemed obsessed with Mr. Darcy's vanity and condescension. The book needs less chat, more splat.

Now comes news that Natalie Portman (Mrs. Darth Vader in the Star Wars prequels) will star as Elizabeth Bennett in the upcoming film adaptation of the zombie/Austen novel, which just might push me over the edge in terms of my interest in the film. Zombieland was a silly, guilty treat, and of course I love the corny Resident Evil movies and video games. I'll be very interested to see how this movie turns out...could be a lot of fun.

So while we're at it, has anyone read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? Surely there's an Arnett girl out there that can chime in?