World War Z by Max Brooks

It has been a long time since I devoured a book, but that is what I did with World War Z over the course of a very enjoyable day.  And when it comes to a book about zombies, devour is a very apt word.

Zombies?  Really?  The book is subtitled An Oral History of the Zombie War, but don't be fooled by the name.  This is a story about what people do when they are confronted with an unrelenting enemy; the zombies are just a satirical device.  

It is not a coincidence that Brooks sets some of the action in countries like Israel, South Africa, North Korea, Cuba and the United States: all these are countries where the resident population (or at least parts of the population) have perceived themselves to be under siege from larger, hostile forces.  Let us not forget that in the real-world cases of Israel and the United States, both countries are building physical walls of separation from their neighbours.

The book is set out in the form of first-hand accounts from survivors of the war, starting from the outbreak of a zombie plague and going through the various phases of the war between the zombies and the rapidly dwindling human population until the war's conclusion.

Brooks has done a marvellous job of giving authentic voices to the several dozen respondents who were interviewed for the history.  We get insights into their psychology as they recount their stories and the actions of those around them, as well as finding out how war on a vast scale impacts the lives of individuals and communities.  The respondents come from a wide variety of nationalities and backgrounds: doctors, soldiers, social engineers, politicians, and ordinary, everyday civilians; Chinese, Japanese, Arabs, Iranians, Russians, Latin Americans, Canadians and Yankees.

All of the respondents are eloquent storytellers, and there are some memorable quotes in the book:

Lies are neither bad nor good.  Like a fire they can either keep you warm or burn you to death, depending on how they're used.

I must admit, I allowed my emotions to rule my hand. I was the typhoon, not the lightening bolt.

The monsters that rose from the dead, they are nothing compared to the ones we carry in our hearts. 

All up, World War Z is an entertaining, well-written and thought-provoking book that asks us what it means to be human.