WORLD WAR Z

An Oral History of the Zombie War
by Max Brooks

I really wish the Goodreads app (where I track the books I want to read and have read) allowed you to make personal notes so I could keep track of who recommends a book to me. World War Z has been on my list for many years and I never really felt excited to pick it up because, well…zombies? But honestly, whoever recommended this to me did not steer me wrong.

Brooks sets up his premise around a zombie infection which turns into a pandemic and then into a global war. The earth’s population has been literally decimated. Brooks immediately pulls you into the situation through his clever use of first person narrative. The book presents a collection of interviews with key players in the war. We hear from doctors and scientists, but also soldiers and politicians.

Of course the idea of zombies is silly, but let me tell you, having just lived through a global pandemic, there was a lot about this book that was truly haunting. All the more so because Brooks wrote it in 2006! Even his descriptions of how Russia emerges from the war are creepily similar to today’s conflict. These similarities definitely reinforced for me how much information already existed in the world about how to (not) deal with a pandemic, and how we just weren’t prepared for it.

So, do I recommend World War Z? Just make sure you are in the right mood and then marvel at Brooks’ prescience while enjoying the silliness. (Lily)