Breathers: A Zombie's Lament

Certainly a new twist on the road through Zombieland, and one that I enjoyed for the most part. Our "hero", Andy, is a newly deceased and reanimated member of the Undead (read: zombie). Due to societal disdain of the Undead, he is relegated to living in his parents basement, stripped of all rights, and with no outlet but his Zombie Support Group.However (and isn't there always a however), the whole treatment of Zombies by the Breathers (regular living folks) was fraught with problems. First, I find that, while yes, most people would be rather repelled by the rotting corpse of the deceased child returning to live with them, there would certainly be some joy in it as well. If Andy was simply a moaning groaning regular zombie, ok, but he is not. He has the whole range of emotions: love, joy, remorse, hope. And he expresses them. His parents know that their son is still in there, despite his rotting appearance and unpleasant aroma. But they treat him with the not with happiness that their has returned from the dead, but with absolute disgust. By and large, this is how Andy is treated by all Breathers to an absurd level. The Undead are worse than lepers and with even less rights. I did not buy it. Sorry. No. There never is offered any explanation as to why people acted the way they did towards the Undead, other than that most information was gleaned from watching movies such as "Night of the Living Dead." Huh? We got flesh eating zombies that have been around since the Civil War and that 1 out of every 200 corpses reanimate, nobody, including the government, knows much about them. Don't buy it. I think that the author really missed an opportunity here to expand on several subjects, but hey that was his call....My only other issue is that throughout the book, Andy will state "If you have never [insert strange event of your choosing], then you probably wouldn't understand." Ugh! Alright, the first couple times were fine, but it appeared at least a dozen times. This to me is a writing cop out. Annoying.But at the end of the day, and despites its faults, I liked the book.

As someone who reads voraciously, it has become harder and harder to find something new, fresh, and different from the mass of books out there that often seem to be nothing more than slight variations on the same old theme. Agree with me? Want something original you've never seen before?Then 'Breathers- A Zombie's Lament' by S. G. Browne is what you have been waiting for.I don't know if Browne has been influenced by Chuck Pahlaniak, the Author of 'Fight Club', and many other fantastic books, but it feels like it. That's not to say that I think this is derivative in any way, but Browne has the same type of outrageous black humor in this book that you can find in most of Chuck's books. I can't wait to read Browne's next book to see what he will come up with.A lot of people will turn up their noses at a book about zombies. If they do, they are making a big mistake. While the characters are indeed undead, the book is less about zombies than it is about people who just want to be happy, be allowed to live their lives (Such as they are with their brains hanging out) and be left alone. The social commentary about personal rights, prejudices, and our culture's often cruel treatment of anyone who is different is razor sharp. The love story that develops is sweet without being sappy. Like a lot of romances, this one is bittersweet, filled with uncertainty, hope, and at times,terror.Best of all, even though this is of course a work of fiction, the characters and situations feel remarkably real. Nothing is cut and dried, nothing is neat, and the people who inhabit this work live messy lives.Just like us.Whatever you like to read, I highly recommend this book. One of the best I've read in years. I picked it up on a whim, and could not put it down. I own a hard copy of it, but love it so much I'm buying the Kindle version so I can carry it with me and read it over and over.Enjoy this book, and keep an eye on S.G. Browne. We may be seeing the start of a glorious career that will bring us all a lot of enjoyment.

It's hard being a zombie. That's all there is to it. You have to be the ward of someone willing to take charge of you. Zombies cannot vote or get jobs. Curfews must be adhered to always and it's best to avoid the breathers whenever possible. Those are just a few of the annoying and unfair aspects of living as the undead.S.G. Browne's 'Breathers: A Zombie's Lament' is a fun read from a very different point of view...the zombie's, specifically Andy. Over time and while attending his 'Undead Anonymous 'meetings Andy decides that it is unfair the way zombies are treated. They have rights, too. So he and some of his friends begin a quest to make some changes. Oh...and Andy falls in love with one of his group members Rita.This is definitely not your typical zombie read. It is very entertaining, but a bit slow at times. The characters are quite hysterical when you stop to think about what they would look and sound like considering their means of death. I greatly enjoyed the dialogue between the various members of the group. It was witty and sarcastic yet, at times, very thoughtful. The setting is a normal everyday town and some of the various homes of our characters. As for the gore, there is definitely some violence and flesh eating, but as mentioned earlier, this is not your typical zombie novel, so even this role of the undead is played differently.I am pleased to have 'Breathers: A Zombie's 'Lament 'on my bookshelf and definitely suggest you add it to yours as well.

Meet Andy. He’s been living in his parents’ basement since his wife tragically died in a car accident four months ago, he doesn’t have a job or any money and he’s completely lost touch with his young daughter. Oh, and he just happens to be a zombie.In S.G. Browne’s engaging debut novel, the undead ‘live’ among us. But far from being the slow-moving, stumbling, mindless, flesh-eating fiends of many a Hollywood movie, Browne’s zombies are articulate, emotional and compassionate.Things are far from easy for these zombies, however. They stink up any room they enter; they can never be entirely sure when a piece of them might suddenly drop off; they terrify any living person they happen to encounter; they're a constant target for frat boy initiation parties; they're not welcome anywhere and they can’t go out after sunset. And that’s just for starters.What bothers Andy the most however, is the way he and his fellow zombies are treated on an almost daily basis. Step out of line and you’re immediately carted off to the SPCA, shoved in a cage and left there until your guardian (if you’re lucky enough to have one) shows up to bail you out. Meanwhile, those with no guardians or those left for longer than 7 days are handed over to the county authorities for use in various experiments and tests. Or worse still, you’re shipped off to a zombie zoo, chained up and used as macabre exhibitions for the rest of your days.It’s fair to say that undeath would be a pretty miserable affair for Andy were it not for his friends at Undead Anonymous. There he connects with other zombies, developing friendships and slowly learning more about what it’s like to live in a world where you’re no longer a ‘Breather’. And the more he learns, the more he starts to realise that something has to change.So when the group encounter Ray with his delicious jars of venison, his alternative view of the world around them and what it means to be a zombie in that world, Andy and his fellow UA members start to realise that although the world might not want them around, it doesn’t mean they have to disappear or accept their fate.Slowly but surely the group all start to assert their personalities in different ways – from small gestures to larger, more risky expressions of discontent – and at the forefront of it all is Andy. But with rebellion comes responsibility and a realisation that once you start a mutiny, it has a tendency to take on a life – or undeath - of its own.I thoroughly enjoyed ‘Breathers’, zombies and all. It’s darkly comic with some genuinely unpleasant moments (particularly the passages concerning cadaver decomposition which aren’t recommended reading after you’ve just eaten), and you can’t help but love the UA gang. Andy is a likeable lead, believably starting out as a downtrodden character who’s unsure of his place in the world, but all the while capable of seeing the funny side. He takes everything in his stride – from frat boys pursuing him though a graveyard at midnight, to passing drivers throwing food at him as they drive by – confident in his belief that one day zombies will have their moment.The other characters – Rita, Tom, Jerry, Naomi, Helen, etc. – all have a valid place in the story and all aid Andy in his pursuit of zombie rights. There’s really not a weak character amongst them and when I reached the end, I was genuinely sad to say goodbye to them all.If there’s one small criticism I have of ‘Breathers’ it’s the direction of the final third of the story. Things suddenly start to happen very quickly, almost as if Browne realised that things weren’t going quite quick enough to wrap it up nice and neatly in the number of pages remaining. As a result, things become a little unbelievable (or at least more so than before) and I must admit to finding Andy a little unpleasant and egotistical at certain points. Having said that, he’s a zombie, so a little unpleasantness is probably not wholly unexpected.This had elements that reminded me very much of ‘Warm Bodies’ by Isaac Marion – another fantastically entertaining and engrossing zombie novel with a twist. And much like ‘Warm Bodies’, ‘Breathers’ has zombies you genuinely come to care about – even root for – which says a lot about the talents of the author. After all, zombies aren’t meant to be lovable or even likeable, so it takes a uniquely gifted writer to make you feel both.S.G. Browne is onto a winner with ‘Breathers’ and despite the weaker final third, I would definitely read more about Andy and his friends if Browne ever decided to pen a follow-up. Highly recommended.

I am not normally a fan of zombie books, in fact I gave up on the last one I tried to read and gave it to the boy next door, but this one sounded different and I bought it.I loved it, its totally different, the zombies in this book have feelings, can talk, make friends, in a world where they are not wanted and abused, its hard not to feel sympathy for them.I like the writing style and humour as well, its a very original tale, and an excellent read.It reminded me of Joe Hills book "Horns" when I read that I thought wow, thats different, and both these guys are writing books the like of which I've not read before, both highly original writers, with a wicked sense of humour, I'm not saying they are alike but I think any fans of Joe Hill will love SG Browne as well.I look forward to reading his next book.

This is a dark, humerous story told from the perspective of a recently reanimated zombie called Andy who is forced to come to terms with the fact he is now completely alienated from society, considered a burden by his parents and forced to live in their basement out of the way.The story is a clever mix of equality-struggle allegory, social commentary and of zombie cliche but wrapped in a witty and often sardonic humour which makes it incredibly easy to read. The characters are all easy to connect with and have a good depth which really helps with the flow of the story.The only criticism I have is I wasn't a massive fan of the ending as it seemed a little bit out of character with the rest of the story and pacing. But other than that the book was thoroughly enjoyable.Breathers is a unique read and a definite for fans of zombies fiction and a refreshing change to what you normally find when looking.

A good story about a new zombie who is coming to terms with zombiedom in a society that hates zombies. Part equal rights struggle, part zombie gore-fest. I found this book entertaining and easy to read. There is some good depth to the zombie characters, they don't just shuffle around moaning 'brains'. There is love, tragedy, a dark secret, death, undeath and a few laughs to be had in this book. Recommended for zombie fans or anyone who likes something a bit different in their reading material.

Really enjoyed this, refreshing view of the genre.