by Brodie Erk

Image Courtesy of Penguin Random House

World War Z is not a new book; in fact, it is old by the standards of most young readers. It was published by Max Brooks in 2006 at the height of the zombie craze, and it went on to become very successful. It sold over a million copies worldwide, and was praised by both critics and fans, but is it still worth reading after all these years? I believe it is; in fact, World War Z has never been more relevant for a younger reader than it is today.

World War Z is a unique disaster story. It is set in a world that managed to survive the zombie apocalypse, but is struggling to move on. The stories of the book are told during interviews with a journalist who wants the perspective of characters looking back on their experiences in the “Zombie War”. These survivors come from countries around the world and they range from military personnel and celebrity bodyguards to civilians and warrior monks. Their stories are told in chronological order, from The Great Panic and The Battle of Yonkers to the final siege of Hero city; each one maintains the tension of the book as they each give the reader a little more insight into how the Zombie war began…and ended.

It took a few pages for me to get into the book which was not unusual, but once it picked up the pace, I was hooked. From the start the stories were dark and twisted, not just because the zombies were scary like I expected, but because society’s reaction to the zombies was worse. This early chapter of the book is called The Great Panic, and it stood out as one of the darkest chapters in an already grim book.

During The Great Panic, the media spread mass hysteria across the United States and the world, before the zombies even begin to arrive, destroying any chance of a unified resistance. It is estimated in the book that more people died in lootings and car accidents in the first days of The Great Panic than were killed by the zombies they were fleeing.

This chapter was very relatable to me as a member of the generation that has lived through the Covid-19 pandemic and other modern day disasters. Stores closing, stockpilers, looters, car accidents, and mental health crises, America was plagued by these problems during the pandemic in our world, and during the apocalypse in World War Z as well. This is why the book is so relevant to modern readers; despite never having lived through the zombie apocalypse, millions of readers could, and still can, relate to the experiences of the characters in this story.

Each one of the eight chapters in World War Z manages to maintain this connection to the experiences of its readers, and this is achieved in so many ways. The use of themes such as societal panic, the fear of the unknown and of being unprepared, the fear that our leaders will not be able to protect us, and even the feeling that the world is already nearing its end are all things we deal with, or hear about in our modern world. We are struggling to move on from a pandemic just like the survivors of the zombie outbreak, so maybe what we need right now are books like World War Z, books that accept the darkness of our modern world, but also offer a ray of hope. 

We can survive the many threats of the modern world like climate change and war, and we do not have to do it as a metaphorical small band of survivors in a sea of the undead. A disaster does not have to be the end. That message is why World War Z is so relevant now. And it is also an entertaining and unique book, both good reasons to read it.

Afterword And Notes:

I neglected to discuss most of the plot, or even the writing of World War Z in this review; in fact, I barely even mentioned the zombies (rest assured horror fans, there are plenty of zombies), but that was because I believe that it was more than just the mid 2000’s zombie trend that made this book popular.

  If you want to experience this book for yourself, it is available in the school library, as well as online in the form of an audio book. Also, for an easier reading experience, you can buy or listen to an abridged version of the book that preserves most of what makes it great.

PS: Max Brooks, the author of World War Z has recently written another book, Devolution, a story about a small town that is cut off from the outside world, and is left to fend for itself against a clan of monsters. I will be reading this book shortly, and I will report back with my recommendations.