Praise for Brains!
Sync
Becker’s book is called Brains. It is the memoir of a zombie. In the grand tradition of George Romero meets John
Gardner, whose Grendel tells of the epic struggle of Beowulf from the monster’s point of view, Becker gives
intelligence to a zombie-bitten man named Jack Barnes and sends him on a self-imposed quest to be the Moses of
zombie kind, a thinking messiah to plead the zombie case for survival to humankind. You know, "let my people go"
and all that. (read more)
The East Texan
What seemed impossible before reading the book becomes plausible at the end as the zombies seem more human than
the monstrous humans set against them. These zombies set out on a quest with a goal in mind and put aside their
zombie instincts to achieve what they wanted. Sure, they fell off the wagon a few times, their human chauffeur was
kind of jerk and deserved to be eaten, but what human being doesn’t mess up? They are human, or as close to human
as zombies can get, and the ride to this realization is enjoyable and mysteriously hopeful. (read more)
Arkansas Times
Written in a terse style reminiscent of Chuck Palahniuk, "Brains" crackles with irreverent jokes, one-liners
and zombie neologisms (among the cleverer ones, "zombeteriat"). It's also stacked high with pop culture
references. Strung back and forth are lists of movies, brands, music, celebrities and writers, as though
Becker wants her characters to feel at home in their post-apocalyptic world. (read more)
Ledger-Enquirer
It's fun and easy to read, all the while throwing literary and pop culture references at you, just to show how much zombie Barnes has actually retained from his human life.
(read more)
Tulsa World
"Brains: A Zombie Memoir" is a postlife twist on the brain-eater genre that's only recently begun to infect zombie films: monsters that retain some memory or sense of self.
The book's a must for zombie fans. If you're not one, this might infect, er, convert you with its pop-culture jabs, heartwarming moments and visceral horror.(read more)
Tor
In this summer’s Brains: a zombie memoir, Robin Becker tries to do for zombies what Anne Rice did for vampires in Interview with the Vampire back in 1976. (read more)
The Echo
Professor's upcoming zombie story humorous, entertaining (read more)
Wicked Little Pixie
Brains had me laughing one minute and contemplating human existence the next. An absolutely amazing debut! (read more)
Fantasy Girl
I have to give major props to Robin Becker for creating for readers a new way to look at zombies. I certainly will never think of the same after reading this gore filled, humorous and action packed novel.(read more)
Rex Robot
Brains: A Zombie Memoir by Robin Becker was brilliant, to say the least. It was edgy, refreshing and totally unlike anything I have read lately.(read more)
Interviews with Robin
News
Robin gets mention in her hometown newspaper from Maywood, NJ. Read the article!
In all of zombie literature, there is one person whose needs, wants and desires are woefully underarticulated — yea, hardly a shuffling moan is
heard in his or her defense. Who is that silent person? Author Robin Becker knows, and in Brains: A Zombie Memoir, she finally gives that person a voice. Go check out
Robin's guest blog post on Whatever
Brains: A Zombie Memoir. Take a big juicy bite out of the new trailer!
Reading with Tequila recently asked Robin how to spot a smart zombie
Read Robin's review of A Place in the Sun over on The Brooklyn Rail.
In October, Robin received an Arkansas Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship in short fiction for 2010. To receive the award,
she went to a fabulous luncheon in Hot Springs. Coincidentally her mentor and professor, Andrei Codrescu, gave the keynote address. She was very happy to receive the honor as well as the cash.
An excerpt from Robin's novel Brains: A Zombie Memoir was anthologized in The &Now Awards: The Best Innovative Writing. The book came out
in September and features some super authors.
Robin also has a new band of girl rockers called The Conway Twitties.
Their first show was October 31. Let your face be rocked off!