Lissie
asked
Isaac Marion:
Are R and Julie based off Romeo and Juliet. Will you be bringing any other Shakespearean themes/motifs to your next book(s)?
Isaac Marion
There is a Shakespeare motif running through Warm Bodies, although it's meant to be more of a winking allusion and definitely not a "zombie remake" of Romeo and Juliet.
I actually didn't set out to reference Shakespeare in the beginning. I noticed the parallels halfway through the writing process and found it fascinating that there are themes so deeply ingrained in the human consciousness that they keep popping up throughout history, by design or by accident. Romeo and Juliet itself is a remake of a remake of a remake, going all the way back to ancient times with Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe." There are timeless ideas in there--love thriving against safety and reason, the suffocating narrowness of our labeled identities, the power of youthful imprudence to disrupt the social order--and I love that they're strong enough to find their way into my post-apocalyptic zombie story without me even realizing it.
Once I did realize it, I decided to run with it, so I named the characters accordingly and scattered cute little references throughout. Although despite the reference, R's name is in fact NOT Romeo...
I actually didn't set out to reference Shakespeare in the beginning. I noticed the parallels halfway through the writing process and found it fascinating that there are themes so deeply ingrained in the human consciousness that they keep popping up throughout history, by design or by accident. Romeo and Juliet itself is a remake of a remake of a remake, going all the way back to ancient times with Ovid's "Pyramus and Thisbe." There are timeless ideas in there--love thriving against safety and reason, the suffocating narrowness of our labeled identities, the power of youthful imprudence to disrupt the social order--and I love that they're strong enough to find their way into my post-apocalyptic zombie story without me even realizing it.
Once I did realize it, I decided to run with it, so I named the characters accordingly and scattered cute little references throughout. Although despite the reference, R's name is in fact NOT Romeo...
More Answered Questions
Madikken Zelda Thomsen
asked
Isaac Marion:
Hi Mr. Marion, uhm sir. Well, I've just discovered that your book Warm Bodies is going to be a series, and personally I feel that the story ended, not a closed ending but I felt more than satisfied. My question; was it always your intention to follow up on the first book?
Allison
asked
Isaac Marion:
Hi, I know that you said in the Burning World that you were going to experiment with a broader implication of human nature, just not solely focusing on R this time. How are you going to do that? Are you going to stay with the first person narrative of R, or will you transition point of views throughout the novel?
Erika
asked
Isaac Marion:
Hello Isaac. I am a huge fan of Warm Bodies and I love that you used zombies to investigate some really deep, meaningful themes about apathy and opening yourself up to feeling. To me, the book was a somewhat indirect discussion of mental illness, anxiety in particular. Did you want to investigate anxiety through your writing? Do you think that the unfeeling world R lives in is a reality that we also live in?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more