Colson Whitehead takes on the zombie trend
Colson Whitehead said in that writing a book about one of the current monster phenomena was a little different from taking on his previous novels.
鈥淚 did have to give myself permission because zombies were so popular,鈥� Whitehead told NPR about taking on a horror theme that can be seen in everything from AMC鈥檚 popular TV show 鈥�The Walking Dead鈥� to Seth Grahame-Smith's 2009 parody 鈥� soon to be a movie. 鈥淏ut I think the idea is that if it's good, people read it. So all I could do is really salute my childhood influences and try to do the best I could in reinvigorating the genre, putting a new spin on it.鈥�
If reviews are any indication, it鈥檚 a satisfying spin. The new book by Whitehead, author of books including "Sag Harbor" and "The Colossus of New York" and a 2002 recipient of a MacArthur grant, is titled 鈥淶one One鈥� and will be released tomorrow. In Whitehead鈥檚 new novel, society collapsed when zombies (called skels in this world) took over, but now the survivors are determined to take back the city of New York. Groups called 鈥渟weepers鈥� are sent into Manhattan to roam the area and kill any skels they encounter; our hero Mark Spitz is one of them.
Whitehead said he was a fan of movies like 鈥淓scape From New York鈥� and 鈥�Planet of the Apes鈥� growing up and that 鈥淶one One鈥� is an homage to movie depictions of a post-apocalyptic New York.
鈥淚 wanted to cut back on the Whole Foods lines and make it easier to get a cab for my main characters,鈥� he said about his decision to destroy New York in his interview with NPR. 鈥淚f you get rid of 90 percent of the population, life gets a bit easier in the city.鈥�
Reviews for the novel have so far been mainly positive, with many writers praising Whitehead鈥檚 fresh take on the subject matter.
鈥淲hen a Macarthur Fellow takes a whack at zombie lit, you know the neighborhood has gentrified,鈥� James Kennedy wrote in . 鈥淏ut Mr. Whitehead comes by zombies honestly 鈥� he riffed memorably on Romero's zombies in his last novel, 鈥楽ag Harbor鈥欌�� an astute and often suavely ironic explorer of race in America, Mr. Whitehead is clearly aware of the subtle racial legacy of zombie stories, but what truly drives 'Zone One' is a sincere love of the genre.鈥�
Patrick Ness of The Guardian praised Whitehead鈥檚 character development.
鈥淭hese are real, three-dimensional characters fighting for their lives, for the future.鈥� of Mark Spitz and the other members of his sweeper team. 鈥淎nd, what a surprise, that makes this zombie story rather affecting.鈥�
Molly Driscoll is a Monitor contributor.
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