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A review by jasminenoack
Breathers: A Zombie's Lament by S.G. Browne
4.0
My fifth star is broken this year. I know this is weird since historically I've been fast and loose with high ratings, but this deficiency in me should not be taken as a reflection of the book.
I wrote a good portion of this review yesterday when I wasn’t actually finished with the book which does lead to the positive that there shouldn’t be any spoilers at least not any end spoilers… I tried really hard to not have any middle spoilers either but we’ll see.
I have a lot of live concerts in my itunes, which means I've got a lot of random recordings of different artists talking about nothing. One of these (okay a good number of them, dude doesn't shut up) is john mayer talking about people telling him they like his early work. He equates this to someone walking up to you and saying "you were so great at your last job." Well Mr, mrs, initials Browne you were fucking fantastic at your old job.
I expected a lot of things from this book, but the one thing I didn't expect was for this book to be substantially better than Browne’s more recent book. Don’t get me wrong I loved fated, but this well it’s just so much more. If fated is the bastard child of tom robbins and terry pratchett, well Breathers is that child of an incestuous affair between that child and daddy, tom robbins not pratchett. If that’s too gross for you it’s kind of like being the child of douglas adams and tom robbins but way fucking cooler. Basically what I’m saying is that it’s funnier, smarter, and more poignant.
Just to look stalkery, he lists his influences as Chuck Palahniuk, Christopher Moore, and Stephen King. I think he does a better job than any of these gentlemen, I mean he’s not as overwritten as king (although it’s hard to say if he’s as nice a guy personally, let’s hope so, and that no one is trying to run him down with cars, he’s smarter than Christopher Moore (but not at all smart in an alienating way), and more interesting than Palahniuk (to be honest this one is hard for me cause I really love Palahniuk and I think god those are good ideas, but his tend to be good ideas that most 15 year old boys have thought of, this could possibly be said for zombies but I think browne deals with it in a much more interesting way).
Now this book does have those aspects of things that you know long before the characters know but since I like that in books I’m cool. And the fact is there are plenty of plot twists you don’t know in advance. Also the verbal repetitive diarrhea thing I hated in the other book is used way better here, it doesn’t actually bug me at all, although I think it is also used less which probably helps.
Lastly, I just have to say this book reminds me of still life with woodpecker, I guess just in the sense that when you read it there is definitely a level on which you’ve got to reevaluate your own life and your own actions.
I guess my point is I'm a fan.
I wrote a good portion of this review yesterday when I wasn’t actually finished with the book which does lead to the positive that there shouldn’t be any spoilers at least not any end spoilers… I tried really hard to not have any middle spoilers either but we’ll see.
I have a lot of live concerts in my itunes, which means I've got a lot of random recordings of different artists talking about nothing. One of these (okay a good number of them, dude doesn't shut up) is john mayer talking about people telling him they like his early work. He equates this to someone walking up to you and saying "you were so great at your last job." Well Mr, mrs, initials Browne you were fucking fantastic at your old job.
I expected a lot of things from this book, but the one thing I didn't expect was for this book to be substantially better than Browne’s more recent book. Don’t get me wrong I loved fated, but this well it’s just so much more. If fated is the bastard child of tom robbins and terry pratchett, well Breathers is that child of an incestuous affair between that child and daddy, tom robbins not pratchett. If that’s too gross for you it’s kind of like being the child of douglas adams and tom robbins but way fucking cooler. Basically what I’m saying is that it’s funnier, smarter, and more poignant.
Just to look stalkery, he lists his influences as Chuck Palahniuk, Christopher Moore, and Stephen King. I think he does a better job than any of these gentlemen, I mean he’s not as overwritten as king (although it’s hard to say if he’s as nice a guy personally, let’s hope so, and that no one is trying to run him down with cars, he’s smarter than Christopher Moore (but not at all smart in an alienating way), and more interesting than Palahniuk (to be honest this one is hard for me cause I really love Palahniuk and I think god those are good ideas, but his tend to be good ideas that most 15 year old boys have thought of, this could possibly be said for zombies but I think browne deals with it in a much more interesting way).
Now this book does have those aspects of things that you know long before the characters know
Spoiler
BRAINSLastly, I just have to say this book reminds me of still life with woodpecker, I guess just in the sense that when you read it there is definitely a level on which you’ve got to reevaluate your own life and your own actions.
I guess my point is I'm a fan.