This was a so-so read. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I remember when it first hit the shelves and everyone obsessed over it. I sort of put it in the back of my mind as a to-read book, but never thought I would as I love Austen’s novels on their own and really didn’t know what to expect with the introduction of Sci-Fi/Horror elements.
Overall this probably would’ve been a better novel if Grahame-Smith were a better writer, or a writer with better mimicry skills. The added parts stood out like sore thumbs (aside from the zombie material) and got very old very fast. It wasn’t just the zombie introduction that tried my patience with the novel, but the introduction of the Orient, from warrior training, to dojo and ninjas, it took a potentially brilliant idea and completely mangled it. Rather than just introducing the zombies and working with the time period and culture, he brought in a completely different culture and mutated the novel from a satirical social commentary to a rather ho-hum humorous horror novel. I also didn’t appreciate the crude humor, Grahame-Smith took the hinted impropriety a step to far, but I guess that’s what’s supposed to make it a comical novel rather than just a horror novel.
What a stark contrast to Henry Miller’s 
After hearing Emma Donoghue recommend this book, I of course immediately added it to my list of books to read. So I was ecstatic when I flew home to NC for my aunt Miriam’s wedding that another aunt had a copy I could borrow!
The Berlin Stories brings together two of what Isherwood wrote while inspired by the city of Berlin. His most famous character (who I did not know), Sally Bowles, comes from this time of his life when he lived in Berlin. He lived here prior to and leading up to World War II. The two stories in this book are The Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin.