Great review in the January 2018 edition of IndiePicks Magazine!
Keelan Cavanaugh has been sentenced to a very different kind of prison. Uncomfortably installed at the Calorie Reduction Centre (CRC) – also known as the Fatness, or the Girth Gulag – he will lose weight, whether he wants to or not. In Rayner’s newest work of satire, anyone with a “few extra” must go to the CRC or lose their insurance, their jobs, or worse. There’s a bright spot for Keelan, though, for it is at the CRC that he meets Jacinda, an activist attorney looking to expose the CRC. Ironically, she gives Keelan a reason to make the program work – he now wants to look his best. But it’s not as easy as counting calories. Here, even personal weight loss is mired in bureaucracy and miles of red tape. The story holds up mirrors for social issues including the basic respect due all people and the need to cast a wary eye to the further privatization of health care. There’s humor and heart resident in Keelan’s story, as well as a sly inclusion of actual science. The Fatness is an ideal suggestion for fans of Christopher Moore’s absurdist delights, or for readers of dystopian fiction who could use a side of levity with their otherwise totalitarian buffet.
You can check out their online issue here.