cover image Fatizen 24602

Fatizen 24602

Philip C. Barragan II. Branch Hill, $18.95 trade paper (364p) ISBN 978-0-692-37829-8

Barragan’s debut, despite occasional moments of wit, is at its core a polemic unfortunately saddled with the unsubtlety and logical complexity of Ayn Rand. In the future, the Office of Size Compliance (OSC) tracks down obese people to enforce the Endomorphic Laws (for example, the obese aren’t allowed to purchase high-calorie foods) and, in extreme cases, reeducates them in Calorie Camps. Delilah Palladino has a BMI of 41.8 and is thus one of the titular Fatizens taken to a reeducation camp. She and her son Mark get involved in the revolution against the OSC and its leader, the fatphobic and shrill Mimi Masters. Barragan recognizes elements that are ripe for satire (N.Y.C. mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ban on large sodas is clearly a target), but seems content to focus on less-common governmental programs instead of the social-shaming stigma that’s common and dangerous. This story is neither compelling nor original, with characters who are barely realized, and it leans too hard on tepid satire that can't carry such a long work. [em](BookLife) [/em]