Dying to Live: Life Sentence
by Kim Paffenroth
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Book Summary Information
Author: Kim PaffenrothEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-10-15
ISBN: 1934861111
Number of pages: 232
Publisher: Permuted Press
Book Reviews of Dying to Live: Life Sentence
Book Review: Life's reflections, death revered
Summary: 5 Stars
Kim Paffenroth has gone beyond what he did in his first zombie novel in many ways and in many different directions. I am both pleased and disturbed by this book, which I guess is to say that I both enjoyed it a great deal and yet was exasperated by it. But then again, so few books do that, I consider that to be a good thing.
The plot is as different from the traditional zombie tale as you can get, with two parallel storylines. We see the world through the eyes of Zoey, a young girl who lives in a community that believes it is the last of its kind on earth, with the living having come to terms with the undead that surround it. She is on the edge of becoming an adult and taking on new and more challenging responsibilities. We get to see her perspective change as the world around her changes, expands, and also contracts in many ways, tightening and wraping itself around her as she comprehends more of it, both the good and the ugly.
We also see the world through the eyes of Truman, a incredibly rare zombie that has retained much of what he once was when he was alive. Unlike nearly every other rotting stiff that dominate this world, he has a understanding of what he is and how he is different from the living. His intelligence is essentially the same as it once was though he is limited by his deteriorated body. Despite that, he is able to adapt and learn, not only about who he has become but what it means to be a human being, as he is exposed to more and more of them.
Their two stories intertwine as each character grows and transforms into something more than what they once were. Both characters start out filled with questions. In the end, they still have many questions but their experiences also grant them some knowledge, not only about themselves but of everyone else around them and perhaps of their purposes in the world.
It is hard for me to say I am actually fond of the idea of a intelligent and more importantly, sensitive and humane zombie. Perhaps this is because I already feel that zombies, at least the traditional Romero archetype, are not necessarily evil. They do what they are driven to do by instincts more powerful than anything else. Leave the evil up to us humans, who have the intelligence to perpetrate actual evil quite readily. Devious, diabolical evil. Truman not only resists what drives all zombies but he also does not have the drives and hungers that make humans what they are either. Given this lack of human needs and urges, he becomes almost transcendent. He is sincere, kind, caring, and has no distrust of his fellow zombie. He can feel love but not pain or the burn of sexual desire. He can ruminate on how wonderful and terrifying the human animal can be yet at the same time feeling guilt for what he is, despite the fact that he has done very little wrong in his entire existence as a zombie and certainly nothing wrong outside of defending himself from the hatred and fear of others.
Dr. Paffenroth has created a new variation on Bub, the zombie featured in the movie "Day of the Dead". But the difference here is that Bub slowly learns how to become human again--he learns how to appreciate friendship and communication but at the same time the idea of revenge and hatred are not alien to him either. Truman has lost some of his memories of his life as a human being but still retains most of his intelligence and learning as a Professor of Philosophy. Thus he essentially is an observer who ruminates on what it means to be human but can not absorb those meanings and identify with them himself, at least not as far as the more crass parts of what it means to be human.
I am not sure if this is a criticism of the book. It is more of rumination on Truman and what he really is. Is he both more and less than what we are? Is he better because he has resisted the most basic urge that drives his kind and essentially has no other drives or urges that might corrupt or taint him? What would he become if he or someone he cared for was hurt or killed? Would he show anger and rage or would he be able to rise above those base emotions? For me it is something that bears consideration.
This novel challenged me and I like being challenged. I will say that if you are looking for a straight forward tale of undead violence and destruction, it would be best to steer clear of this book. But if you are willing to take a closer look at the human condition and perhaps stretch your perception of what a zombie story should be all about then this book is something you might really enjoy...and perhaps be challenged by as well.
Summary of Dying to Live: Life Sentence
At the end of the world a handful of survivors banded together in a museum-turned-compound surrounded by the living dead. The community established rituals and rites of passage, customs to keep themselves sane, to help them integrate into their new existence. In a battle against a kingdom of savage prisoners, the survivors lost loved ones, they lost innocence, but still they coped and grew. They even found a strange peace with the undead. Twelve years later the community has reclaimed more of the city and has settled into a fairly secure life in their compound. Zoey is a girl coming of age in this undead world, learning new roles-new sacrifices. But even bigger surprises lie in wait, for some of the walking dead are beginning to remember who they are, whom they've lost, and, even worse, what they've done. As the dead struggle to reclaim their lives, as the survivors combat an intruding force, the two groups accelerate toward a collision that could drastically alter both of their worlds.Horror Books
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