Breathers: A Zombie's Lament

( 73 )

Overview

For fans of Max Brooks’s The Zombie Survival Guide and zombie aficionados everywhere, a hilarious debut novel about life (and love) after death.

Meet Andy Warner, a recently deceased everyman and newly minted zombie. Resented by his parents, abandoned by his friends, and reviled by a society that no longer considers him human, Andy is having a bit of trouble adjusting to his new existence. But all that changes when he goes to an Undead Anonymous meeting and finds kindred souls ...

See more details below
Paperback (Original)
$14.53
BN.com price
(Save 3%)$15.00 List Price
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up In Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Other sellers (Paperback)
  • All (45) from $1.99   
  • New (18) from $8.03   
  • Used (27) from $1.99   
Breathers: A Zombie's Lament

Available on NOOK devices and apps  
  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK HD/HD+ Tablet
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for Windows 8 Tablet
  • NOOK for iOS
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK for Windows 8
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for Web

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

NOOK Book (eBook)
$10.99
BN.com price

More About This Book

Overview

For fans of Max Brooks’s The Zombie Survival Guide and zombie aficionados everywhere, a hilarious debut novel about life (and love) after death.

Meet Andy Warner, a recently deceased everyman and newly minted zombie. Resented by his parents, abandoned by his friends, and reviled by a society that no longer considers him human, Andy is having a bit of trouble adjusting to his new existence. But all that changes when he goes to an Undead Anonymous meeting and finds kindred souls in Rita, an impossibly sexy recent suicide with a taste for the formaldehyde in cosmetic products, and Jerry, a twenty-one-year-old car-crash victim with an exposed brain and a penchant for Renaissance pornography. When the group meets a rogue zombie who teaches them the joys of human flesh, things start to get messy, and Andy embarks on a journey of self-discovery that will take him from his casket to the SPCA to a media-driven class-action lawsuit on behalf of the rights of zombies everywhere.

Darkly funny, surprisingly touching, and gory enough to satisfy even the most discerning reader, Breathers is a romantic zombie comedy (rom-zom-com, for short) that will leave you laughing, squirming, and clamoring for more.

Read More Show Less
  • Breathers: A Zombie's Lament
    Breathers: A Zombie's Lament  

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Browne's black comedy debut brilliantly reinvents zombie culture for the 21st century. Andy Warner reanimates after the car accident that kills his wife, but is too mangled from his injuries to talk. He lives in his parents' wine cellar, occasionally attending a zombie support group and struggling to rejoin a society that offers the undead no rights, bans them from working and doesn't even punish those who destroy them. When Andy and his fellow zombies-notably Rita, a sexy suicide victim with a lipstick fetish, and Jerry, a Playboy-obsessed stoner-learn why they're so driven to consume human flesh, the repercussions are both tragic and hilarious. Browne neatly mixes humor and extreme violence with a surprisingly tender love story, some witty social satire and an extremely strong narrative voice. (Mar.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Reviews
The dead shall walk the earth, and they're hungry for . . . love?Debut novelist Browne branches out from his mostly horror-related short stories and delivers a rousing entry in the Rom-Zom-Com genre. Based on his short story "A Zombie's Lament," Browne's mortality tale begins rather grimly but almost immediately picks up speed and humor to evolve into a terrific comedy about the perils and joys of life beyond death. Browne's hero is Andy Warner, who survived, so to speak, the car crash that killed his wife but lost his vocal chords along with his life. Reduced to a pathetic existence consisting mostly of downing his father's wine collection, suffering Glade spray-downs from his mother and attending the occasional Undead Anonymous meeting, old Andy is in pretty wretched shape. His afterlife takes a turn for the better when he meets Rita, a pale but lovely girl who slit her own throat, and Ray, a feisty undead hunter. Before long, Andy is fighting against zombie discrimination, mutilation and other forms of abuse by those unenlightened "breathers": "After all, what do I have to lose by standing up for myself? If being a rotting corpse with no rights and no future isn't the worst thing that can happen to me, it can't be that much further to rock bottom." The book has its share of gruesomeness, but it also offers astute observations on the world in which we live. A zombie comedy with brains. Agent: Michelle Brower/Wendy Sherman Associates
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780767930611
  • Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 3/3/2009
  • Edition description: Original
  • Pages: 320
  • Sales rank: 194,846
  • Product dimensions: 5.20 (w) x 7.90 (h) x 0.68 (d)

Meet the Author

S.G. Browne worked in Hollywood for several years before moving to Santa Cruz to be a writer. He currently lives and writes in San Francisco. Breathers is his debut novel.

Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 73 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(40)

4 Star

(21)

3 Star

(9)

2 Star

(1)

1 Star

(2)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 73 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 29, 2012

    Very good

    "Breathers" is not your average zombie novel. There is graphic violence. It contrasts with a zombie love story, the fight for survival, and the pursuit of personal & group freedom. The violence is perpetrated by the zombies, and against them.

    This is not a book for children. However, it is a good book for zombie fans that want something different to read.

    The length and pacing were good. It was well written and easy enough to follow. I read this book in two days. It was that good.

    The characters and their respective situations evoke deep sympathy from the reader. The story is written like a short epic saga. All of the events occur during one year. But, the drastic changes that all of the major players experience is incredible.

    Unlike many zombie books, not a lot of time is devoted to the cause of the plague. Also, it is not explained why some people become zombies, while others manage to die properly.

    A good book that I highly recommend. I plan to read some other titles written by this author.

    -AvidReader

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 21, 2012

    Different...but good.

    As a lifetime fan of zombies i wasnt to sure about this book. I mean who wants zombies that fall in love and are humorous. I almost passed on this out of disgust but decided to give it a chance. And im glad i did.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted January 20, 2012

    more from this reviewer

    Fun & wicked

    Andy is at rock bottom. He lives in his parents' wine cellar, has no social life other than weekly support group meeting and appointments with a therapist who can't be bothered to care. Worse, because he's dead he has no rights to reclaim any semblance of a life. While it has threads of zombie apocalypse, Breathers is remarkably different because of its lead. First, Andy spends most of the book mute. Second, being an intelligent and overall nice guy it makes his journey to reclaim his life and deal with the seriously impairing injuries left behind by his death (including the mental ones and a few nasty revelations about his relationship with his parents, even before his death) means this zombie is an easy to relate to Everyman on a journey.
    Breathers is a deeper read than your average zombie tale, but doesn't forget its genre roots. Fun at times, terrifying at others and absolutely compelling. Highly recommended for public collections and an essential addition to modern zombie collections.
    Contains: Sex, gore, language

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 15, 2011

    Zombie Fever

    I completely enjoyed every chapter of this book! S.G. Browne is genious for creating zombies that are are different from your usually flesh eaters. I love the fact that he makes zombies the protagonists of the story, including characters that are well thought put together. I was sad when the book had to come to an end, this is the 1st book I read from S.G. Browne and I'm already hooked on to his work. Can't wait to read Fated! I would recommend this to anyone who digs zombies, comedy, romance, and shall I say some gore? I've loved watching zombie movies and playing Left for Dead, but this book shows zombies in a whole new perspective.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 17, 2011

    Brilliant

    I loved the humor that only true zombie fans could love. Great read.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted February 20, 2011

    A new favorite.

    I absolutey could not put this one down. Highly recommended to fans of humor, romance, social satire or just those with a fondness of zombies. I can't wait to read it again.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted February 17, 2011

    more from this reviewer

    Amazing read!

    I picked up this book because of my love of zombies but was thoroughly surprised to find such a filling storyline. The characters are rich in personality and life and the world that S.G. Browne spins is extremely insightful. It's hard to put down once you start it and there are points where you'll feel like screaming out in defense of the main character but it's all worth it when you get to the end. I almost wish he would continue the storyline but if not, I'm fine with it as a single title. I'm looking forward to more work by this author.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted December 31, 2010

    Great Read!

    As an S.G. Browne fan I knew this book would not disappoint. The cast of characters were so refreshing as was the storyline. You will enjoy this book!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted December 13, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Zombie romance? Who'd have thought?

    This is by far one of the best zombie books I have ever read. I love that the writer steps outside the box to create a zombie story that is full of humor, romance, and the fight for zombie rights. Browne doesn't go the same route as other zombie books, and lucky for us readers. The story was very touching and challenges your zombie preconceptions. Don't worry, die hard zombie fans, there is still pleny of people eating for you, too.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 31, 2010

    Great Premise, Poor Execution

    This book was well-written and had an interesting premise. I was enthralled with the beginning and sympathized with the main character. However, about halfway through the book the character suddenly changed personalities. It was very odd and I found myself getting a little disgusted because I didn't find the character's actions believable anymore. The last half of the book read like it came from a completely different novel. Both the beginning and the ending were written well but they felt very disjointed to me. Based on the first half of the book and the quality of the writing I would recommend reading this book if you can get it for free. If not, spend your money on something else.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 16, 2010

    It's been awhile since I read a book

    But once I started to read this one I couldn't put it down,it took me 3 days to read it. I really like it.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted May 14, 2010

    Not Bad

    I am a huge zombie fan and was really excited for this book. This book is a quick read. It won't knock your socks off, but it's good nonetheless. This book had the potential to be really funny, but I don't think it delivered on the humor aspect like I wanted it to. The characters were likable; I found myself cheering for the main character and was hoping non-zombies would join his fight!

    I will say that the social undertone was amazing. I'm not sure of the writer's intention, but I felt as though he was saying a lot about our society through his writing.

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted April 8, 2010

    So much fun

    I got this book right when it came out and then came back for the book signing. Since reading it I have given this book to 3 people as a gift and also recommend it to friends. I enjoyed it completely. I love how different each character was. Brown came out of the box on this zombie book. It did not feel as if I was reading a "zombie story". I think that is what I liked best about this book, it was and is such a fresh take on the living dead. The characters had real feelings and thoughts and even though they were zombies, at times I could understand or relate to there situation or feeling. I do think that Rita is one of my favorite characters in this book. I find it funny that she knew the makeup brands by tasting them. Also couldn't help but laugh about Jerry. He reminded me so much of these young kids that come in to my work. Bravo to Brown for writing such a believable 18-24 year old male. Brown describes not being welcome in your old home, friends and family turning there back on you, and society's intolerance. Though this all sounds sad, you cant help but laugh at times and be entertained.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted March 28, 2010

    I Want More

    I while back I was at Barnes and Noble and the worker assisting me recommended I try out this newly released book. I ws a little skeptical going in since I am a bit of a zombie purist when it comes to what they can and can't do.
    Much to my pleasure, I loved this book. I liked the tone, I liked the story, and I really liked how there was a wide arrange of emotion in the book. There were parts that were genuinly funny, and others that were much more depressing and sad than I expected I would see.
    I would really like to see either a sequel that carries forth from the events in this book, or perhaps a prequel delving into the original outbreak of the zombies.
    It is a pretty easy read, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a break from the usual.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted March 1, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Thoroughly enjoying

    Most amazing and enjoyable book I've read in ages. I never really considered what it would be like to be a Zombie, but I have great empathy for them now. Just don't want to be around them if they stink. Loved this story. Can't wait for his next book.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted February 14, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Not Bad, But If you hadn't read this you wouldn't understand

    So overall the book is not bad, but there is one thing that really REALLY bothered me about it over all. It seems like every other chapter (and sometimes several chapters in a row) Browne feels the need to put in a phrase like: If you haven't ever (fill in the blank) then you wouldn't understand. The third of fourth time this gets said it really starts to grate.

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted January 5, 2010

    Fabulous Read

    This was a quick read which is good for a busy mom. Eventhough it was fast it was still engaging and full of storyline. The ending was a surprise. The ending made me a bit frustrated but I still loved it!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted November 26, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Monster
    Gil's All Fright Diner

    Brathers is a fantastic book to spend a day reading.

    A very quick and easy book to read, easily done in a day or day and a half, but it is still a fantastic book. It pulls you in within the first few chapters and doesnt let you go untill the last word. A book that made me lose sleep cause I has to just keep reading.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted August 29, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Original Ideas

    I had once stated that I would like to read a zombie love story, and I found one with Breathers.

    I didn't find the romance to be particularly the main hook for me throughout reading the story, but the author's depiction of zombies and their rights within society, and the character's daily problems with being a reanimated corpse.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 6, 2009

    So in love...

    the title and book cover are what sold me... i began reading it on tuesday and between work and life... finished it the following wednesday... it was a very easy book to read... i loved how it was very detailed.
    what i loved most were the characters and especially how they felt. a lot of what they went through to be accepted reminds me of our world today and all the changes it is going through. in a off way, it makes you look at society and how messed up it is slowly becoming. a Holocaust story but for zombies. maybe i'm just weird for thinking that but the characters and their emotions, their lives, so similar to the ongoing hurt that today's society goes through. i think you will find a character in which you will relate to.
    it might open your eyes, so take a chance on it. i know my views are a bit screwy, and it might not have been the author's intent to describe how slowly our world is coming to an end and to take each day as a new chance to embrace it, but that's what i got out of it.
    i couldn't wait to sit down and read another chapter, i strongly recommend that you pick this up, you won't be disappointed with it that's for sure.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 73 Customer Reviews
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)