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Overview
From the acclaimed author of Breathers—an irreverent novel about fate, destiny, and the karmic consequences of getting involved with humans.
Over the past few thousand years, Fabio has come to hate his job. As Fate, he's in charge of assigning the fortunes and misfortunes that befall most of the human race-the 83% who keep screwing things up.
Frustrated with his endless parade of drug addicts and career politicians, Fate has to watch Destiny guide her people to Nobel Peace Prizes and Super Bowl MVPs. To make matters worse, he has a five- hundred-year-old feud with Death, and his best friends are Sloth and Gluttony. And worst of all? He's fallen in love with a human.
Getting involved with a human breaks Rule #1, and about ten others, setting off some cosmic-sized repercussions that could strip him of his immortality-or lead to a fate worse than death.
Synopsis
From the acclaimed author of Breathers—an irreverent novel about fate, destiny, and the karmic consequences of getting involved with humans.
Over the past few thousand years, Fabio has come to hate his job. As Fate, he's in charge of assigning the fortunes and misfortunes that befall most of the human race-the 83% who keep screwing things up.
Frustrated with his endless parade of drug addicts and career politicians, Fate has to watch Destiny guide her people to Nobel Peace Prizes and Super Bowl MVPs. To make matters worse, he has a five- hundred-year-old feud with Death, and his best friends are Sloth and Gluttony. And worst of all? He's fallen in love with a human.
Getting involved with a human breaks Rule #1, and about ten others, setting off some cosmic-sized repercussions that could strip him of his immortality-or lead to a fate worse than death.
Publishers Weekly
Browne (Breathers) unleashes the irresistible tale of Fabio Delucci, who's getting tired of his job as Fate. It's a grind, working the Fate Radar and the Fate Generatorprogram and reporting to Jehovah--known here as Jerry--who believes Fate's work has grown sloppy. Even his no-contact romance with Destiny has become distinctly unfulfilling. Then he falls in forbidden love with human Sara Griffen, and once he reveals his true self to her, their relationship is drastically transformed, and, naturally, big consequences threaten to crush him. Fabio provides an appealing commentary on the hazards of immortality, the uncertainty of destiny, and the lengths people will go for love, all wrapped up in a cute, funny package. (Nov.)
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Browne (Breathers) unleashes the irresistible tale of Fabio Delucci, who's getting tired of his job as Fate. It's a grind, working the Fate Radar and the Fate Generatorprogram and reporting to Jehovah--known here as Jerry--who believes Fate's work has grown sloppy. Even his no-contact romance with Destiny has become distinctly unfulfilling. Then he falls in forbidden love with human Sara Griffen, and once he reveals his true self to her, their relationship is drastically transformed, and, naturally, big consequences threaten to crush him. Fabio provides an appealing commentary on the hazards of immortality, the uncertainty of destiny, and the lengths people will go for love, all wrapped up in a cute, funny package. (Nov.)Kirkus Reviews
Another radically funny comedy from one of America's best satiric novelists.
California must have good stuff. California-based Browne (Breathers, 2009) hails from the same neck of the woods as humor powerhouse Christopher Moore and brings the same mojo to his sophomore novel. After getting down with zombies in the subversive romantic comedyBreathers, the author turns his attention to the human condition. His hero is the deeply flawed and conflicted Fabio, the nom de plume of the literal Fate, the predestination of your life on this crazy Earth. Fabio reports to Jerry, who sounds a lot friendlier than God but is actually a bean-counting bureaucrat complete with quotas and a serious deficit in the sense-of-humor department. Not that Fabio is the only anthropomorphized divinity on the clock—there are plenty of compatriots, among them Lady Luck, Gossip, Karma, Justice (who is a sociopath), Truth (the kleptomaniac), Dennis (which sounds friendlier than Death) and, the most troublesome, Love. Not to mention that his rival, Destiny, is gunning for him. Unfortunately, Fabio has fallen head-over-heels in love with Sara Griffen, his neighbor in New York City, from which he telecommutes to ruins most people's lives. Bummer for Fabio: His girlfriend is slated to be part of the "Big Event," the return of the Messiah to Earth, delivered by memo, no less. "Effective immediately, all staff members are instructed by executive order to prepare for the Messiah's arrival sometime within the next eighteen months as indicated in your individual job descriptions," scribbles Jerry. "Those not directly affected are expected to plan the baby shower." Genuinely comic novels are hard to come by, so grab a copy of this one. There will be long lines at Browne's book signings if he keeps this up.
These days there are very few American comedy writers bringing their A-game, but Browne is swinging for the fences.
Sarah Pekkanen
…[a] terrific comic novel…True love's struggle against all odds isn't an original story line, but the fate of "Fated" hinges on the details, which Browne nails comically time and again…This author's mind must be as active as a pinball machine surrounded by 10-year-old boys; the pace never falters.—The Washington Post