2. Overview. The world is being taken over by zombies. Contained within the pages of this book is the journal filled with haiku poems written by a newly converted zombie. The zombie loses his arm to Chris, the last known human in the area, and clutched in his hand is a journal. Chris begins writing in the journal, explaining the situation, and then finishing up with one final chilling haiku of his own.
3. Critical Analysis. What an interesting combination of reactions this little book holds for this middle-aged adult reader! The poems themselves are really quite amazing. That a whole story could be told in haiku (3 lines of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables respectively) is pretty unbelievable. At first, I found myself counting syllables. I suppose that is the English teacher in me. And yes, I did find a mistake or two where the syllables weren't quite right. But by the time I reached a fourth of the way into the book, the syllable counting was gone and I was focused on the story being told. Apparently zombies have voracious appetites for fresh meat (as in human flesh), so most of the book tells the tale of the zombie's quest for food. And this is where the mixed reactions come in. This book is classified as humor, and I did find myself laughing as I simultaneously cringed. Lines such as this
I can remember
good food that Mom used to make.
I bet Mom tastes good.
border somewhat on distasteful, until a few stanzas later I found
I loved my momma.
I eat her with my mouth closed,
how she would want it.
Then it really got almost too gross in its descriptions for me. But I can sure imagine some of my high school boys eating this up (pun intended!). It is definitely clever. And no English teacher is going to try to analyze the heck out of this one.
Some additional characteristics of this book which add to the interest include gross zombie photos that appear to be taken with a polaroid and taped into the book. Blood is splattered on many of the pages as the zombie has the book open to write his poems while feasting. Some of the poems are written directly on the journal pages while some are typed or written on scraps of paper and taped in. Older readers will realize they must suspend what is even possible in a zombie world when they are asked to believe that a zombie could write such brilliant haiku, let alone type some stanzas (where does the typewriter come from given that the zombie is traveling around looking for his next meal?) while taking pictures.
The funniest part of all was getting to the end and discovering that Ryan Mecum is/was a youth pastor for a Presbyterian church in Cincinnati. Somehow, that made perfect sense. (I've worked with quite a few youth pastors in my time and they are definitely a crazy bunch of guys).
If you "hunger" for more zombie haiku, take a tour of the website which includes zombie haikus sent in by other writers (check out the one sent by Billy Collins) and Mecum's own haikus mimicking what famous authors would have said had they written zombie haikus. Fun!
http://zombiehaiku.com/
Interestingly, criticism of this book from recognizable sources that I often quote (Booklist, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly) are not to be found. However, fans of everything zombie had plenty to say:
"Simply one of the best zombie reads of the year... If you have a taste for horror, this quirky little book is for you. But if you're a zombie fiend like myself, you should make it your single minded goal to seek out this book and digest then savor it." -- Mark. L Miller, Ain't It Cool News
"Ryan Mecum obviously knows his zombie films well, and his book tells a gory, violent story that will warm the veins of Romero fans." -- Rue Morgue Magazine
"A thoroughly unique and entertaining experience. Ryan Mecum has quite possibly found the only corner of entertainment not yet infected by the zombie plague--haiku--and made me wonder why it took this long, as the two seem to go together like zombies and brains. I highly recommend it to fans of all things zombie." -- Robert Kirkman, author of The Walking Dead and Marvel Zombies
"The most inventive zombie book in years!" -- David Wellington, author of Monster Island
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