A New York Times bestselling author dives into a horror movie classic to examine his favorite film’s importance to our history, culture, and psychology, creating a perfect blend of research and memoir in the vein of Quentin Tarantino’s Cinema Speculation.
Daniel Kraus first saw George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead when he was five years old. Through watching it approximately three hundred times since, Kraus discovered the many ways the film is tied to his childhood trauma and how its influence has carried into his adulthood. He couldn’t help but wonder: Are there other admirers of the film out there who feel the same?
Partially Devoured uses a frame-by-frame deep dive into Night of the Living Dead to produce a kaleidoscopic cultural investigation of the film’s importance and to examine the author’s early life of rural isolation and local violence.
Careening from film analysis to rabbit-hole tangents, Partially Devoured will take readers from screaming laughter to the depths of grief, all while illustrating how a beloved genre film has woven itself into so many facets of our lives.
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“Here it is — the ultimate autopsy of one of pop culture’s master texts. Kraus is a sly, sympathetic, and funny tour guide, and he’s concocted a lovely tribute to the grubby adventure of low-budget filmmaking and the delicate miracle that is the artistic process.”
Colson Whitehead, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner
“[STAR] Storytelling at its finest. This is a book about America and about death, oozing with grief on every page, while simultaneously bursting with life. Similar to Joan Didion’s unforgettable classic, The Year of Magical Thinking.”
Booklist
“[STAR} Kraus says that every time he made someone watch Night was an act of love; his book is another act of love, highly recommended for horror buffs.”
Library Journal
“Remarkable… a breathtakingly ambitious project in both the scope and depth of the research, yet Kraus absolutely delivers to create something astonishing. Partially Devoured is filled with grief, love, and fascination throughout every frame and word.”
Chicago Review of Books
“I am obsessed with horror origin stories, and this is one of the best I’ve ever heard. Horror cinephiles, this one’s an essential.”
Bloody Disgusting
“Educational and passionate, this is a great recommendation to horror/sci-fi film fans.”
Southern Bookseller Review
“A STROKE OF GENIUS! This is the definitive love letter to the film, written with such meticulous passion and demented glee that you feel yourself standing on the set during the shoot. It perfectly captures who George Romero was, and I can’t wait to read it again.”
Greg Nicotero, The Walking Dead, Creepshow
“A primal scream — and an intensely, even painfully personal deconstruction that connects dots you never knew were there. Highly recommended!”
Mick Garris, Masters of Horror
“You don’t have to care about Night of the Living Dead to be moved and inspired by this book. AN INSTANT CLASSIC.”
Grady Hendrix, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
“This meticulous, obsessive, and moving book is not only for fans of Night of the Living Dead; it’s a stirring celebration of the beautiful and essential imperfectness of art and its creators.”
Paul Tremblay, Horror Movie and A Head Full of Ghosts
“In this sharply drawn dissection of one of the great masterworks of American cinema, Kraus shares a lifetime of inspiration, comfort, and heartbreakingly personal connections. An absolute must for people who relish finding themselves reflected within works of art.”
Lucky McKee, May, The Woman
“No one but Daniel Kraus could write this combination love letter, memoir, and deeply insightful cultural analysis of the lord of the Dead and his most memorable work.”
W. Scott Poole, Wasteland
“’I’m beginning to suspect there isn’t much Kraus can’t do. This one’s a must for any horror movie lover.”
Reactor
“An entertaining deep dive into George A. Romero’s classic horror film . . . Romero devotees will be enamored.”
Publishers Weeky
“Lively, conversational, persuasive – a sage take on a low-budget classic.”
Kirkus Reviews
“t’s not just interesting, it’s compelling, it’s heartwarming, and for those of us who know fandom, it feels like home. Once you flip page one of Partially Devoured, you will not be able to stop till it is totally consumed.”
Gruesome Magazine
“This is more than merely a book about a cult movie. It’s a scathing and deeply emotional look at America in the last fifty years. Few books in my long life of reading have affected me so deeply and in such a penetrating way.”
Horror Drive-In
“Kraus is becoming a cottage industry before our very eyes.”
Macabre Daily
“5/5. Kraus crafts this book in a way that is captivating pushing the nerdy deep dive into the filmmaking just to the point where it might overwhelm to then switch to a personal reflection. It’s amazing storytelling.”
Capes & Tights
“5/5. You don’t have to be a zombie to eat up Partially Devoured – it is an amusing, authoritative, and profoundly human consideration of what scares us most.”
Novels Alive
“Kraus continues to shine as a brilliant writer in fiction and (now) nonfiction.”
Book Reporter