Andy Warner died in a car accident with his wife. Forty-eight
hours later he reanimated, but life is not what it used to be. He
spends his days alone in his parents’ wine cellar watching
reruns, drinking expensive wine he can't appreciate and ignoring
his father's threats to send him to a zoo or body farm. To break up
the monotony, he attends an Undead Anonymous meeting (UA for
short), which brings only minimal solace considering the accident
left him speechless with a gimpy leg and rotting. He shuffles
around with a dry erase board hanging around his neck, his only
means of communication besides the occasional grunt and frantic
hand gesture, which only reinforce the zombie stereotype. Needless
to say, things aren't going well for him in his post-life
state.

Fortunately for Andy, the UA meetings become more interesting
when Rita, a suicide, begins attending. The equivalent of an undead
playmate, except pastier with a penchant for devouring cosmetic
products, she livens up the meetings for Andy. After one such
evening, Andy, Rita and Jerry, another UA friend with a porn
addiction, decide to seek out a few newly reanimated corpses to
bring to the next meeting. They meet Ray, a zombie who appears to
be very well-preserved and even healthy. They all become fast
friends and fans of Ray's Resplendent Rapture, preserved meat that
Ray claims is venison.

Feeling emboldened by his new friendship and a budding romance
with Rita, he begins a campaign to enlighten the general public
about the zombie cause. He starts slowly with a sign in the front
yard and works his way up to a petition for civil rights, which he
sends to his representative. His new interests give him a lot to
look forward to, but events conspire to land him in the SPCA. Along
with regular animal strays, the SPCA also houses the undead waiting
to be claimed by their human guardians.

Miraculously, Andy finds he is healing, and Rita, now his
girlfriend, confirms his suspicions, and not just about his
recovery, but about what they believe is in Ray's Resplendent
Rapture. Realizing they are eating breather, the zombie term for
the living --- and enjoying it --- they decide to test their
healing theory out on UA members.

Dark and morbid, BREATHERS is a real treat. Browne creates
characters the reader can sympathize and commiserate with, all the
while laughing at the ludicrous nature of their existence. In
Andy's case, you understand his depression over the loss of his
wife and shirk at the way his parents treat him. His father wishes
he had stayed dead and his mother finds him repulsive, only
touching him when wearing industrial-grade gloves and spraying him
with room deodorizer to combat the smell.

Browne never lets you forget his characters are dead, reminding
the reader at every turn about stitches, hanging flesh, and the
need for formaldehyde to stave off decay. He provides his audience
with a very entertaining peek into what life would be like for a
newly risen corpse.

You'll laugh at the absurdity of it all and, at the same time,
feel as if you're getting a glimpse into an alternative lifestyle.
Yes, BREATHERS concludes in a blaze of glory that is preposterous,
but then you remember you're reading a book about zombies fighting
for civil rights and you know it's the only way it can end.