I had started and re-started this book a couple of times. I don't know what turned me away from it the first few times. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the narrative, or that the content wasn't something I was interested in. I love zombies! And this is a take on zombies that you don't see very often: how real-world politics or nations might handle such an international crisis.

I've been trying to figure out why it was sometimes a slow read for me, and why I didn't feel compelled the first time. It wasn't because the stories got repetitive. They each had their own feel to them, and the different sections of the book definitely added new puzzle pieces to the story each time. But I think that it's because I'm not a history buff, nor am I very knowledgeable about 20th century political conflicts, especially when it comes to regions that I was just never taught about sufficiently in school (read: The Middle East, China, and South America). So, when it came to parts where history mattered to a particular person's story, I just kind of felt... dumb?

This isn't saying that this book should take a hit for my inability to know important parts of history, but it is a reason why I think this book might be a slow read for some people, or why it is not compelling during parts.

I do have a lot of good things to say about this book. Although none of the characters really caught my attention on that deep level (I didn't take away feelings of deep sorrow or happiness from any one character's problems or victories), the stories weaved through each other in ways that I think is hard to do. Especially when you consider the fact that, in the world of this novel, none of the characters really interacted, save a couple. That's pretty amazing to me.

I was convinced, while reading the stories, of the gravity and utterly horrifying situation that the book is set in. World War Z is a must-read, especially for history lovers and zombie nerds.