use of English, 08 Nov 2008
I read City of Glass years ago, but my son re-introduced me to Coupland through this book - this guy has an extraordinary ability to conjure up images/impressions with the minimum of words - amazing use of the English language. I will go on to read his other books, and highly recommend this one.

cynical and soulless just like the yuppies it describes, 27 Sep 2008
Too much self indulgence, too much cynicism, too much... I don't know. Too clever for it's own good. It just did nothing for me at a gut level. And you don't have to be either a yuppie or retreat to a desert! The bit with the hummingbird- that's a very evocative, disturbing image however. That and the character telling that story are the only things that make this book memorable for me. I just read another reviewer calling this book 'smug' and full of 'nihilistic self posturing'. I think I agree.

Uneventful, But Interseting, 13 Aug 2007
This is a book I did not particularly enjoy, and I must admit to at times being completely bored rigid, yet some parts were rather interesting.

By the end of the book I must admit I was pleased to be rid of it, but I think this was partly to do witht the fact that I was born the year it was released, therefore cannot realate to the generation.

Another reason for my dislike was that i chose this book based on the author. I was given a copy of All Families Are Psycotic and fell in love with it, so decided to look up Coupland's other books.

It hasn't put me off Coupland, but i sincerely hope his other works are more AFAP, less Generation X

"Adventure Without Risk is Disneyland", 06 Aug 2007
I was mildly disappointed when I read this for the first time recently as I was expecting something a little more fast-paced, a little edgier. Perhaps this was because I - erroneously, as it turns out - associated the title with grunge music, a hybrid of punk, indie-rock and heavy metal that reached its peak in the early nineties - right about the time Generation X was first published. In fact, the title refers to a generation slightly older than me and the majority of grunge fans, and there is no mention of Nirvana et al in this, Douglas Coupland's debut novel.

The story itself is a gentle, somewhat uneventful tale of three friends who, having become increasingly disillusioned with the soulless pursuits of the yuppie/baby boom generation, relocate to the Mojave desert, in California. Here, they tell each other stories ("memories of Earth") not merely as a way of passing the time but in an attempt to re-discover their humanity. If the topics of these stories seem lofty and language employed to tell them pretentious, then it's entirely deliberate, Coupland capturing the "overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable" nature of his characters in a touching and wonderfully ironic style.

What intrigued me most about this book, however, was the impressive glossary of terms and slogans found at the foot of the pages. Wryly observed, and for the most part, searingly funny, they reveal as much (if not more) about the generation Coupland is concerned with. And if you recognise yourself in any these descriptions, fear not! You are surely not alone. I for one have been guilty of "Ultra Short Term Nostalgia" and "Musical Hairsplitting" in my time, and have come pretty close to a "Mid-twenties Breakdown" once or twice...

In conclusion, Generation X isn't an overly thrilling read, but it is a lyrical, insightful and romantic book that remains an iconic and culturally significant work of fiction.

Matt Pucci


Wry and sad - a masterpiece for the nineties. , 24 Apr 2007
Coupland is a master of these kind of fin de siecle novels. Generation X is not plot or character driven - it is really just a collection of rambling thoughts on what it means to be twenty something in the early nineties. It is packed with wry observations and simple truths. It is hugely analytical and shows the complex thoughts of the so called apathetic young people of today - for although this is aimed at twenty somethings in the early nineties it is just as relevant today. Another author could have made this seem overly cynical but Couplands masterful use of irony pulls off the subject spectacularly. One of the novels major plus points is the newly coined phrases and definitions set across the bottom of some of the pages - they were all so clever and true and many people of a certain age and state of mind will be able to relate to them so easily. I think this book would appeal to deep thinkers and people who don't need to read something fast paced in order to keep their interest.

use of English, 08 Nov 2008
I read City of Glass years ago, but my son re-introduced me to Coupland through this book - this guy has an extraordinary ability to conjure up images/impressions with the minimum of words - amazing use of the English language. I will go on to read his other books, and highly recommend this one.

cynical and soulless just like the yuppies it describes, 27 Sep 2008
Too much self indulgence, too much cynicism, too much... I don't know. Too clever for it's own good. It just did nothing for me at a gut level. And you don't have to be either a yuppie or retreat to a desert! The bit with the hummingbird- that's a very evocative, disturbing image however. That and the character telling that story are the only things that make this book memorable for me. I just read another reviewer calling this book 'smug' and full of 'nihilistic self posturing'. I think I agree.

Uneventful, But Interseting, 13 Aug 2007
This is a book I did not particularly enjoy, and I must admit to at times being completely bored rigid, yet some parts were rather interesting.

By the end of the book I must admit I was pleased to be rid of it, but I think this was partly to do witht the fact that I was born the year it was released, therefore cannot realate to the generation.

Another reason for my dislike was that i chose this book based on the author. I was given a copy of All Families Are Psycotic and fell in love with it, so decided to look up Coupland's other books.

It hasn't put me off Coupland, but i sincerely hope his other works are more AFAP, less Generation X

"Adventure Without Risk is Disneyland", 06 Aug 2007
I was mildly disappointed when I read this for the first time recently as I was expecting something a little more fast-paced, a little edgier. Perhaps this was because I - erroneously, as it turns out - associated the title with grunge music, a hybrid of punk, indie-rock and heavy metal that reached its peak in the early nineties - right about the time Generation X was first published. In fact, the title refers to a generation slightly older than me and the majority of grunge fans, and there is no mention of Nirvana et al in this, Douglas Coupland's debut novel.

The story itself is a gentle, somewhat uneventful tale of three friends who, having become increasingly disillusioned with the soulless pursuits of the yuppie/baby boom generation, relocate to the Mojave desert, in California. Here, they tell each other stories ("memories of Earth") not merely as a way of passing the time but in an attempt to re-discover their humanity. If the topics of these stories seem lofty and language employed to tell them pretentious, then it's entirely deliberate, Coupland capturing the "overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable" nature of his characters in a touching and wonderfully ironic style.

What intrigued me most about this book, however, was the impressive glossary of terms and slogans found at the foot of the pages. Wryly observed, and for the most part, searingly funny, they reveal as much (if not more) about the generation Coupland is concerned with. And if you recognise yourself in any these descriptions, fear not! You are surely not alone. I for one have been guilty of "Ultra Short Term Nostalgia" and "Musical Hairsplitting" in my time, and have come pretty close to a "Mid-twenties Breakdown" once or twice...

In conclusion, Generation X isn't an overly thrilling read, but it is a lyrical, insightful and romantic book that remains an iconic and culturally significant work of fiction.

Matt Pucci


Wry and sad - a masterpiece for the nineties. , 24 Apr 2007
Coupland is a master of these kind of fin de siecle novels. Generation X is not plot or character driven - it is really just a collection of rambling thoughts on what it means to be twenty something in the early nineties. It is packed with wry observations and simple truths. It is hugely analytical and shows the complex thoughts of the so called apathetic young people of today - for although this is aimed at twenty somethings in the early nineties it is just as relevant today. Another author could have made this seem overly cynical but Couplands masterful use of irony pulls off the subject spectacularly. One of the novels major plus points is the newly coined phrases and definitions set across the bottom of some of the pages - they were all so clever and true and many people of a certain age and state of mind will be able to relate to them so easily. I think this book would appeal to deep thinkers and people who don't need to read something fast paced in order to keep their interest.

Kiss my face. This is a great read., 20 Jun 2008
Ignore all the doommongers and beardstrokers. 'Its not as good as this, its not as long as that, it does quite smell like the last one'. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda. The Gum Thief is truly excellent. If you read it and don't enjoy it, you were probably killed last year or at the very least paralysed from the neck up in a horrific lawnmower accident.

Live to work - no ... work to live., 10 Apr 2008
Coupland is back writing about normal people with mind-numbing jobs - this time at a stationery superstore. The main characters are Roger, a 40-something alcoholic divorcee, is writing a Cheeveresque novel, and Bethany, a 20 year old goth who's biding time waiting for something to happen with her life.
They don't talk to each other at work, but after Bethany discovers Roger's journal she starts writing him letters.
This modern take on a classic 'roman des lettres' manages to keep the plot moving well, alternating between the voices, and adding Bethany's mum, another letter writer later. Interspersed between the letters are the chapters of Roger's awful novel (imagine an American 'Abigail's party').
Enjoyable, but the ending is rushed and you feel slightly short-changed by it.

The Gum Thief, 27 Feb 2008
Not entirely sure what I thought of this book! I liked the characters and the diary/letter format. I also enjoyed the cringeworthy novel within a novel. However, I'm not convinced that it all worked together or why the book was written in such a way. The ending seemed to arrive very abruptly as well. Maybe I just didn't get it.

Disappointing direction for Coupland, 01 Feb 2008
I quite liked JPod, it wasn't anywhere near Coupland's best work but it felt familiar. What I didn't like about it was the inclusion of himself as a character, and I feel this book takes that premise to another level. Written entirely as notes written by an author, it feels unfinished and amateur, and I can't help feel that Coupland came up with the idea and wrote it within the space of a couple of weeks. Not to spoil the ending but it summed up my thoughts of the entire book to a tee.

Back on form, 04 Jan 2008
I didn't rate jPod, thought Coupland was rehashing old ground when he is particularly good at pushing the boundaries. But with this book, he's back on form. Great plot device to have a novel within a novel and I thought Glove Pond was brilliant! Spot on reading this towards the end of the year, Christmas can be so tiring and Coupland's book hits the mark.

use of English, 08 Nov 2008
I read City of Glass years ago, but my son re-introduced me to Coupland through this book - this guy has an extraordinary ability to conjure up images/impressions with the minimum of words - amazing use of the English language. I will go on to read his other books, and highly recommend this one.

cynical and soulless just like the yuppies it describes, 27 Sep 2008
Too much self indulgence, too much cynicism, too much... I don't know. Too clever for it's own good. It just did nothing for me at a gut level. And you don't have to be either a yuppie or retreat to a desert! The bit with the hummingbird- that's a very evocative, disturbing image however. That and the character telling that story are the only things that make this book memorable for me. I just read another reviewer calling this book 'smug' and full of 'nihilistic self posturing'. I think I agree.

Uneventful, But Interseting, 13 Aug 2007
This is a book I did not particularly enjoy, and I must admit to at times being completely bored rigid, yet some parts were rather interesting.

By the end of the book I must admit I was pleased to be rid of it, but I think this was partly to do witht the fact that I was born the year it was released, therefore cannot realate to the generation.

Another reason for my dislike was that i chose this book based on the author. I was given a copy of All Families Are Psycotic and fell in love with it, so decided to look up Coupland's other books.

It hasn't put me off Coupland, but i sincerely hope his other works are more AFAP, less Generation X

"Adventure Without Risk is Disneyland", 06 Aug 2007
I was mildly disappointed when I read this for the first time recently as I was expecting something a little more fast-paced, a little edgier. Perhaps this was because I - erroneously, as it turns out - associated the title with grunge music, a hybrid of punk, indie-rock and heavy metal that reached its peak in the early nineties - right about the time Generation X was first published. In fact, the title refers to a generation slightly older than me and the majority of grunge fans, and there is no mention of Nirvana et al in this, Douglas Coupland's debut novel.

The story itself is a gentle, somewhat uneventful tale of three friends who, having become increasingly disillusioned with the soulless pursuits of the yuppie/baby boom generation, relocate to the Mojave desert, in California. Here, they tell each other stories ("memories of Earth") not merely as a way of passing the time but in an attempt to re-discover their humanity. If the topics of these stories seem lofty and language employed to tell them pretentious, then it's entirely deliberate, Coupland capturing the "overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable" nature of his characters in a touching and wonderfully ironic style.

What intrigued me most about this book, however, was the impressive glossary of terms and slogans found at the foot of the pages. Wryly observed, and for the most part, searingly funny, they reveal as much (if not more) about the generation Coupland is concerned with. And if you recognise yourself in any these descriptions, fear not! You are surely not alone. I for one have been guilty of "Ultra Short Term Nostalgia" and "Musical Hairsplitting" in my time, and have come pretty close to a "Mid-twenties Breakdown" once or twice...

In conclusion, Generation X isn't an overly thrilling read, but it is a lyrical, insightful and romantic book that remains an iconic and culturally significant work of fiction.

Matt Pucci


Wry and sad - a masterpiece for the nineties. , 24 Apr 2007
Coupland is a master of these kind of fin de siecle novels. Generation X is not plot or character driven - it is really just a collection of rambling thoughts on what it means to be twenty something in the early nineties. It is packed with wry observations and simple truths. It is hugely analytical and shows the complex thoughts of the so called apathetic young people of today - for although this is aimed at twenty somethings in the early nineties it is just as relevant today. Another author could have made this seem overly cynical but Couplands masterful use of irony pulls off the subject spectacularly. One of the novels major plus points is the newly coined phrases and definitions set across the bottom of some of the pages - they were all so clever and true and many people of a certain age and state of mind will be able to relate to them so easily. I think this book would appeal to deep thinkers and people who don't need to read something fast paced in order to keep their interest.

Kiss my face. This is a great read., 20 Jun 2008
Ignore all the doommongers and beardstrokers. 'Its not as good as this, its not as long as that, it does quite smell like the last one'. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda. The Gum Thief is truly excellent. If you read it and don't enjoy it, you were probably killed last year or at the very least paralysed from the neck up in a horrific lawnmower accident.

Live to work - no ... work to live., 10 Apr 2008
Coupland is back writing about normal people with mind-numbing jobs - this time at a stationery superstore. The main characters are Roger, a 40-something alcoholic divorcee, is writing a Cheeveresque novel, and Bethany, a 20 year old goth who's biding time waiting for something to happen with her life.
They don't talk to each other at work, but after Bethany discovers Roger's journal she starts writing him letters.
This modern take on a classic 'roman des lettres' manages to keep the plot moving well, alternating between the voices, and adding Bethany's mum, another letter writer later. Interspersed between the letters are the chapters of Roger's awful novel (imagine an American 'Abigail's party').
Enjoyable, but the ending is rushed and you feel slightly short-changed by it.

The Gum Thief, 27 Feb 2008
Not entirely sure what I thought of this book! I liked the characters and the diary/letter format. I also enjoyed the cringeworthy novel within a novel. However, I'm not convinced that it all worked together or why the book was written in such a way. The ending seemed to arrive very abruptly as well. Maybe I just didn't get it.

Disappointing direction for Coupland, 01 Feb 2008
I quite liked JPod, it wasn't anywhere near Coupland's best work but it felt familiar. What I didn't like about it was the inclusion of himself as a character, and I feel this book takes that premise to another level. Written entirely as notes written by an author, it feels unfinished and amateur, and I can't help feel that Coupland came up with the idea and wrote it within the space of a couple of weeks. Not to spoil the ending but it summed up my thoughts of the entire book to a tee.

Back on form, 04 Jan 2008
I didn't rate jPod, thought Coupland was rehashing old ground when he is particularly good at pushing the boundaries. But with this book, he's back on form. Great plot device to have a novel within a novel and I thought Glove Pond was brilliant! Spot on reading this towards the end of the year, Christmas can be so tiring and Coupland's book hits the mark.

Microserfs, 22 Feb 2008
I was very disappointed with this book - I loved JPod and several of the reviews suggested that Microserfs was better. Not so. Both books involve techno geeks, but JPod also had a really good plot, fantastic characters and a lot of humour. Microserfs was just a boring series of random observations without any plot to hold the whole thing together - the balance was just completely wrong. The only bits I really enjoyed were the parts with Dan's parents, and Dan's girlfriend, (whose name I've forgotten already) was OK. I've given it 2 points because the ending was quite poignant, but overall I didn't really enjoy this book. Next stop Shampoo Planet...

Coupland's best, 23 Nov 2007
In my opinion, this is Coupland's best, probably because I personally related to the main character most.

But a great story, well written and genuinely funny. Really funny. Not those kind of small wry smile kind of laughs, but the ones out loud where you get embarrassed on the train kind of laughs.

You'll not regret reading this book.

Techies of the world unite, 03 Nov 2005
Despite been a bit dated this book is still a classic, a very funny and almost poignant look at the tech industry. As a geek its very easy to relate to Dan and the others living the techy dream. Every geeky bloke (like myself) will fall in love with Karla the coolest geek girl ever!

Fun book, 17 Jul 2005
I really enjoyed this book and was surprised to find that it hadn't really dated (except of course, it was written back in the days when option grants really were worth money and didn't just leave you marooned for years with worthless underwater options). Anyway I loved the eccentricity of the characters: the fads for "flat" foods, the long hours work, the familiar, god-like worship of the CEO (I've worked in at least one company with a similar mentality), and the emerging angst from the emptiness of it all.

Geek novel that is very readable, 02 Feb 2005
Although written in 1995, the book is very readable and not dated even after a decade. The book is a tale of a communal house of Microsoft coders who all want more that the work/sleep/work routine. They join a start up software company aimed at making a software Lego modelling program. Slowly their real lives develop. Plenty of non-tech humour as well as a few computer jokes. Written as though it is a diary some parts are moving which means the author managed to reel you into his imaginary world enough that you care about the characters. It is that good it makes me want to read his other books.

In All Families Are Psychotic, Coupland combines Anne Tyler's compassionate command of family relationships with a world-view that probably hails from a distant galaxy. His latest work of genius is fast-paced, blisteringly funny and the literary equivalent of electric-shock therapy.

NASA Astronauts must be the healthiest people on the planet, and Sarah Drummond, preparing for her debut launch from Cape Canaveral, is no exception. Unfortunately, Sarah's family, gathered in Florida to witness the take-off, is sick--in every sense. Her brother Wade, a low-rent hockey star whose only real talent is bedding women, is performing an elaborate tango with terminal illness and the Federal Penitentiary system. Her mother Janet is a devotee of Internet porn and outlawed medication. Then there's Bryan, who has nothing wrong with him except a highly contradictory desire to have children and kill himself. And Bryan's girlfriend, who really is called Shaw, and really doesn't care about much except renting her womb to the highest bidder.

While Sarah patiently prepares for outer space, Wade glimpses a lucrative, if desperate remedy to his family's manifold miseries. And as the countdown begins, the dysfunctional Drummonds--a family who have hitherto been unable to meet up without sustaining gunshot wounds--find themselves united in a last, labyrinthine quest for personal salvation. It's a journey punctuated by medication schedules, peppered with sleazy trailer-parks and even sleazier characters, a Disneyworld scented with dirty money and encroaching death. But somewhere along the way, the Drummonds are about to discover that they're not much different to any other family.

--Matthew Baylis

use of English, 08 Nov 2008
I read City of Glass years ago, but my son re-introduced me to Coupland through this book - this guy has an extraordinary ability to conjure up images/impressions with the minimum of words - amazing use of the English language. I will go on to read his other books, and highly recommend this one.

cynical and soulless just like the yuppies it describes, 27 Sep 2008
Too much self indulgence, too much cynicism, too much... I don't know. Too clever for it's own good. It just did nothing for me at a gut level. And you don't have to be either a yuppie or retreat to a desert! The bit with the hummingbird- that's a very evocative, disturbing image however. That and the character telling that story are the only things that make this book memorable for me. I just read another reviewer calling this book 'smug' and full of 'nihilistic self posturing'. I think I agree.

Uneventful, But Interseting, 13 Aug 2007
This is a book I did not particularly enjoy, and I must admit to at times being completely bored rigid, yet some parts were rather interesting.

By the end of the book I must admit I was pleased to be rid of it, but I think this was partly to do witht the fact that I was born the year it was released, therefore cannot realate to the generation.

Another reason for my dislike was that i chose this book based on the author. I was given a copy of All Families Are Psycotic and fell in love with it, so decided to look up Coupland's other books.

It hasn't put me off Coupland, but i sincerely hope his other works are more AFAP, less Generation X

"Adventure Without Risk is Disneyland", 06 Aug 2007
I was mildly disappointed when I read this for the first time recently as I was expecting something a little more fast-paced, a little edgier. Perhaps this was because I - erroneously, as it turns out - associated the title with grunge music, a hybrid of punk, indie-rock and heavy metal that reached its peak in the early nineties - right about the time Generation X was first published. In fact, the title refers to a generation slightly older than me and the majority of grunge fans, and there is no mention of Nirvana et al in this, Douglas Coupland's debut novel.

The story itself is a gentle, somewhat uneventful tale of three friends who, having become increasingly disillusioned with the soulless pursuits of the yuppie/baby boom generation, relocate to the Mojave desert, in California. Here, they tell each other stories ("memories of Earth") not merely as a way of passing the time but in an attempt to re-discover their humanity. If the topics of these stories seem lofty and language employed to tell them pretentious, then it's entirely deliberate, Coupland capturing the "overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable" nature of his characters in a touching and wonderfully ironic style.

What intrigued me most about this book, however, was the impressive glossary of terms and slogans found at the foot of the pages. Wryly observed, and for the most part, searingly funny, they reveal as much (if not more) about the generation Coupland is concerned with. And if you recognise yourself in any these descriptions, fear not! You are surely not alone. I for one have been guilty of "Ultra Short Term Nostalgia" and "Musical Hairsplitting" in my time, and have come pretty close to a "Mid-twenties Breakdown" once or twice...

In conclusion, Generation X isn't an overly thrilling read, but it is a lyrical, insightful and romantic book that remains an iconic and culturally significant work of fiction.

Matt Pucci


Wry and sad - a masterpiece for the nineties. , 24 Apr 2007
Coupland is a master of these kind of fin de siecle novels. Generation X is not plot or character driven - it is really just a collection of rambling thoughts on what it means to be twenty something in the early nineties. It is packed with wry observations and simple truths. It is hugely analytical and shows the complex thoughts of the so called apathetic young people of today - for although this is aimed at twenty somethings in the early nineties it is just as relevant today. Another author could have made this seem overly cynical but Couplands masterful use of irony pulls off the subject spectacularly. One of the novels major plus points is the newly coined phrases and definitions set across the bottom of some of the pages - they were all so clever and true and many people of a certain age and state of mind will be able to relate to them so easily. I think this book would appeal to deep thinkers and people who don't need to read something fast paced in order to keep their interest.

Kiss my face. This is a great read., 20 Jun 2008
Ignore all the doommongers and beardstrokers. 'Its not as good as this, its not as long as that, it does quite smell like the last one'. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda. The Gum Thief is truly excellent. If you read it and don't enjoy it, you were probably killed last year or at the very least paralysed from the neck up in a horrific lawnmower accident.

Live to work - no ... work to live., 10 Apr 2008
Coupland is back writing about normal people with mind-numbing jobs - this time at a stationery superstore. The main characters are Roger, a 40-something alcoholic divorcee, is writing a Cheeveresque novel, and Bethany, a 20 year old goth who's biding time waiting for something to happen with her life.
They don't talk to each other at work, but after Bethany discovers Roger's journal she starts writing him letters.
This modern take on a classic 'roman des lettres' manages to keep the plot moving well, alternating between the voices, and adding Bethany's mum, another letter writer later. Interspersed between the letters are the chapters of Roger's awful novel (imagine an American 'Abigail's party').
Enjoyable, but the ending is rushed and you feel slightly short-changed by it.

The Gum Thief, 27 Feb 2008
Not entirely sure what I thought of this book! I liked the characters and the diary/letter format. I also enjoyed the cringeworthy novel within a novel. However, I'm not convinced that it all worked together or why the book was written in such a way. The ending seemed to arrive very abruptly as well. Maybe I just didn't get it.

Disappointing direction for Coupland, 01 Feb 2008
I quite liked JPod, it wasn't anywhere near Coupland's best work but it felt familiar. What I didn't like about it was the inclusion of himself as a character, and I feel this book takes that premise to another level. Written entirely as notes written by an author, it feels unfinished and amateur, and I can't help feel that Coupland came up with the idea and wrote it within the space of a couple of weeks. Not to spoil the ending but it summed up my thoughts of the entire book to a tee.

Back on form, 04 Jan 2008
I didn't rate jPod, thought Coupland was rehashing old ground when he is particularly good at pushing the boundaries. But with this book, he's back on form. Great plot device to have a novel within a novel and I thought Glove Pond was brilliant! Spot on reading this towards the end of the year, Christmas can be so tiring and Coupland's book hits the mark.

Microserfs, 22 Feb 2008
I was very disappointed with this book - I loved JPod and several of the reviews suggested that Microserfs was better. Not so. Both books involve techno geeks, but JPod also had a really good plot, fantastic characters and a lot of humour. Microserfs was just a boring series of random observations without any plot to hold the whole thing together - the balance was just completely wrong. The only bits I really enjoyed were the parts with Dan's parents, and Dan's girlfriend, (whose name I've forgotten already) was OK. I've given it 2 points because the ending was quite poignant, but overall I didn't really enjoy this book. Next stop Shampoo Planet...

Coupland's best, 23 Nov 2007
In my opinion, this is Coupland's best, probably because I personally related to the main character most.

But a great story, well written and genuinely funny. Really funny. Not those kind of small wry smile kind of laughs, but the ones out loud where you get embarrassed on the train kind of laughs.

You'll not regret reading this book.

Techies of the world unite, 03 Nov 2005
Despite been a bit dated this book is still a classic, a very funny and almost poignant look at the tech industry. As a geek its very easy to relate to Dan and the others living the techy dream. Every geeky bloke (like myself) will fall in love with Karla the coolest geek girl ever!

Fun book, 17 Jul 2005
I really enjoyed this book and was surprised to find that it hadn't really dated (except of course, it was written back in the days when option grants really were worth money and didn't just leave you marooned for years with worthless underwater options). Anyway I loved the eccentricity of the characters: the fads for "flat" foods, the long hours work, the familiar, god-like worship of the CEO (I've worked in at least one company with a similar mentality), and the emerging angst from the emptiness of it all.

Geek novel that is very readable, 02 Feb 2005
Although written in 1995, the book is very readable and not dated even after a decade. The book is a tale of a communal house of Microsoft coders who all want more that the work/sleep/work routine. They join a start up software company aimed at making a software Lego modelling program. Slowly their real lives develop. Plenty of non-tech humour as well as a few computer jokes. Written as though it is a diary some parts are moving which means the author managed to reel you into his imaginary world enough that you care about the characters. It is that good it makes me want to read his other books.

Weird yet wonderful , 10 Oct 2008
This was a wonderfully bizarre and amusing book with some really insightful and profound sentiments: It would make a great film. I loved the whole bunch of varied and diverse characters but my favourites were Wade and Janet. The developing relationship and witty exchange between Florian and Janet was simply hilarious as was the family's darkly comic moments together. The Drummonds were crooked but utterly loveable. The ending was a bit fantastical; if only troubles in life were that easy to fix, but on the whole I enjoyed the book very much.

"And they'll think they've just seen a star.", 14 Aug 2007
Excellent book. Not much can be said about it other than it is a must read, funny, interesting, and believable... well, maybe just funny and interesting.

The completely over-the-top plot would usually put me off a book, but the hillarious situations and genuinely brilliant characters kept me hooked from start to finish.

The relationships in this book although downright bizzare, are also beautiful, and the last few lines between Janet and Sarah give the book the perfect ending.

Since reading this I have read Coupland's first book, Generation X, which was dissapionting in comparison to this, but I still look forward to reading some of his other work such as Girlfriend In A Coma and JPod.

Highly Recommended, 08 Jul 2007
This is a very funny book, but also moving and thought provoking. The twists and turns in the plot were fantastic - DC has the most amazing imagination to come up with these ideas, all of which are pulled effortlessly together. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book and am currently working my way through his entire back catalogue.

D.C devotee, 20 Mar 2006
Absolutely wonderfull.No other author can make you laugh as often as he can make you cry. The simple idealism that this book ends on is beautifull. If only the carrot Coupland often dangles was real enough to bite so we could have more than a teasing glimpse of his world. It kept me distracted at work, I couldn't put it down. By far worth a read, and should this be the first book you read by him order Girlfriend in a coma and Life after God as back up, because trust me you'll want to start it all over again.xx

Scarily amusing and relevant, 27 Jan 2005
I would urge people not to take some of the more scathing reviews here too seriously, this book is funny, warming, surreal, insane, and peppered with Couplands usual acts of miraculous metaphorical incident which have always made him compelling reading and one of the most relevant voices in modern literature. As always he is trying to make sense of the world and life through another of his strangely cooked set pieces enfusing his characters with dry wit and a wonderful sense of unreality that so closely shadows many peoples own experiences whilst often taking them to bizarre new realms. It's this Dali like twist on what he sees around him that make his characters so relevant and help to combat what could be self indulgent musing by giving the voice a character, like Coupland almost understands the complete irrelevance of what he tries to do book after book. Whilst Girlfriend in a Coma still stands as his most wonderfully immersive work so far, do not write this one off as a mere shadow, revel in its insolence, it's almost conspiracy theorist plotline and its wonderful flights of fantasy that bring such joy to characters that deserve to be part of the imaginitive miracle that Coupland concocts. Heartily recommended, especially to those whose own family lives haven't always been sweetness and bliss- that would be most of us wouldn't it?

use of English, 08 Nov 2008
I read City of Glass years ago, but my son re-introduced me to Coupland through this book - this guy has an extraordinary ability to conjure up images/impressions with the minimum of words - amazing use of the English language. I will go on to read his other books, and highly recommend this one.

cynical and soulless just like the yuppies it describes, 27 Sep 2008
Too much self indulgence, too much cynicism, too much... I don't know. Too clever for it's own good. It just did nothing for me at a gut level. And you don't have to be either a yuppie or retreat to a desert! The bit with the hummingbird- that's a very evocative, disturbing image however. That and the character telling that story are the only things that make this book memorable for me. I just read another reviewer calling this book 'smug' and full of 'nihilistic self posturing'. I think I agree.

Uneventful, But Interseting, 13 Aug 2007
This is a book I did not particularly enjoy, and I must admit to at times being completely bored rigid, yet some parts were rather interesting.

By the end of the book I must admit I was pleased to be rid of it, but I think this was partly to do witht the fact that I was born the year it was released, therefore cannot realate to the generation.

Another reason for my dislike was that i chose this book based on the author. I was given a copy of All Families Are Psycotic and fell in love with it, so decided to look up Coupland's other books.

It hasn't put me off Coupland, but i sincerely hope his other works are more AFAP, less Generation X

"Adventure Without Risk is Disneyland", 06 Aug 2007
I was mildly disappointed when I read this for the first time recently as I was expecting something a little more fast-paced, a little edgier. Perhaps this was because I - erroneously, as it turns out - associated the title with grunge music, a hybrid of punk, indie-rock and heavy metal that reached its peak in the early nineties - right about the time Generation X was first published. In fact, the title refers to a generation slightly older than me and the majority of grunge fans, and there is no mention of Nirvana et al in this, Douglas Coupland's debut novel.

The story itself is a gentle, somewhat uneventful tale of three friends who, having become increasingly disillusioned with the soulless pursuits of the yuppie/baby boom generation, relocate to the Mojave desert, in California. Here, they tell each other stories ("memories of Earth") not merely as a way of passing the time but in an attempt to re-discover their humanity. If the topics of these stories seem lofty and language employed to tell them pretentious, then it's entirely deliberate, Coupland capturing the "overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable" nature of his characters in a touching and wonderfully ironic style.

What intrigued me most about this book, however, was the impressive glossary of terms and slogans found at the foot of the pages. Wryly observed, and for the most part, searingly funny, they reveal as much (if not more) about the generation Coupland is concerned with. And if you recognise yourself in any these descriptions, fear not! You are surely not alone. I for one have been guilty of "Ultra Short Term Nostalgia" and "Musical Hairsplitting" in my time, and have come pretty close to a "Mid-twenties Breakdown" once or twice...

In conclusion, Generation X isn't an overly thrilling read, but it is a lyrical, insightful and romantic book that remains an iconic and culturally significant work of fiction.

Matt Pucci


Wry and sad - a masterpiece for the nineties. , 24 Apr 2007
Coupland is a master of these kind of fin de siecle novels. Generation X is not plot or character driven - it is really just a collection of rambling thoughts on what it means to be twenty something in the early nineties. It is packed with wry observations and simple truths. It is hugely analytical and shows the complex thoughts of the so called apathetic young people of today - for although this is aimed at twenty somethings in the early nineties it is just as relevant today. Another author could have made this seem overly cynical but Couplands masterful use of irony pulls off the subject spectacularly. One of the novels major plus points is the newly coined phrases and definitions set across the bottom of some of the pages - they were all so clever and true and many people of a certain age and state of mind will be able to relate to them so easily. I think this book would appeal to deep thinkers and people who don't need to read something fast paced in order to keep their interest.

Kiss my face. This is a great read., 20 Jun 2008
Ignore all the doommongers and beardstrokers. 'Its not as good as this, its not as long as that, it does quite smell like the last one'. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda. The Gum Thief is truly excellent. If you read it and don't enjoy it, you were probably killed last year or at the very least paralysed from the neck up in a horrific lawnmower accident.

Live to work - no ... work to live., 10 Apr 2008
Coupland is back writing about normal people with mind-numbing jobs - this time at a stationery superstore. The main characters are Roger, a 40-something alcoholic divorcee, is writing a Cheeveresque novel, and Bethany, a 20 year old goth who's biding time waiting for something to happen with her life.
They don't talk to each other at work, but after Bethany discovers Roger's journal she starts writing him letters.
This modern take on a classic 'roman des lettres' manages to keep the plot moving well, alternating between the voices, and adding Bethany's mum, another letter writer later. Interspersed between the letters are the chapters of Roger's awful novel (imagine an American 'Abigail's party').
Enjoyable, but the ending is rushed and you feel slightly short-changed by it.

The Gum Thief, 27 Feb 2008
Not entirely sure what I thought of this book! I liked the characters and the diary/letter format. I also enjoyed the cringeworthy novel within a novel. However, I'm not convinced that it all worked together or why the book was written in such a way. The ending seemed to arrive very abruptly as well. Maybe I just didn't get it.

Disappointing direction for Coupland, 01 Feb 2008
I quite liked JPod, it wasn't anywhere near Coupland's best work but it felt familiar. What I didn't like about it was the inclusion of himself as a character, and I feel this book takes that premise to another level. Written entirely as notes written by an author, it feels unfinished and amateur, and I can't help feel that Coupland came up with the idea and wrote it within the space of a couple of weeks. Not to spoil the ending but it summed up my thoughts of the entire book to a tee.

Back on form, 04 Jan 2008
I didn't rate jPod, thought Coupland was rehashing old ground when he is particularly good at pushing the boundaries. But with this book, he's back on form. Great plot device to have a novel within a novel and I thought Glove Pond was brilliant! Spot on reading this towards the end of the year, Christmas can be so tiring and Coupland's book hits the mark.

Microserfs, 22 Feb 2008
I was very disappointed with this book - I loved JPod and several of the reviews suggested that Microserfs was better. Not so. Both books involve techno geeks, but JPod also had a really good plot, fantastic characters and a lot of humour. Microserfs was just a boring series of random observations without any plot to hold the whole thing together - the balance was just completely wrong. The only bits I really enjoyed were the parts with Dan's parents, and Dan's girlfriend, (whose name I've forgotten already) was OK. I've given it 2 points because the ending was quite poignant, but overall I didn't really enjoy this book. Next stop Shampoo Planet...

Coupland's best, 23 Nov 2007
In my opinion, this is Coupland's best, probably because I personally related to the main character most.

But a great story, well written and genuinely funny. Really funny. Not those kind of small wry smile kind of laughs, but the ones out loud where you get embarrassed on the train kind of laughs.

You'll not regret reading this book.

Techies of the world unite, 03 Nov 2005
Despite been a bit dated this book is still a classic, a very funny and almost poignant look at the tech industry. As a geek its very easy to relate to Dan and the others living the techy dream. Every geeky bloke (like myself) will fall in love with Karla the coolest geek girl ever!

Fun book, 17 Jul 2005
I really enjoyed this book and was surprised to find that it hadn't really dated (except of course, it was written back in the days when option grants really were worth money and didn't just leave you marooned for years with worthless underwater options). Anyway I loved the eccentricity of the characters: the fads for "flat" foods, the long hours work, the familiar, god-like worship of the CEO (I've worked in at least one company with a similar mentality), and the emerging angst from the emptiness of it all.

Geek novel that is very readable, 02 Feb 2005
Although written in 1995, the book is very readable and not dated even after a decade. The book is a tale of a communal house of Microsoft coders who all want more that the work/sleep/work routine. They join a start up software company aimed at making a software Lego modelling program. Slowly their real lives develop. Plenty of non-tech humour as well as a few computer jokes. Written as though it is a diary some parts are moving which means the author managed to reel you into his imaginary world enough that you care about the characters. It is that good it makes me want to read his other books.

Weird yet wonderful , 10 Oct 2008
This was a wonderfully bizarre and amusing book with some really insightful and profound sentiments: It would make a great film. I loved the whole bunch of varied and diverse characters but my favourites were Wade and Janet. The developing relationship and witty exchange between Florian and Janet was simply hilarious as was the family's darkly comic moments together. The Drummonds were crooked but utterly loveable. The ending was a bit fantastical; if only troubles in life were that easy to fix, but on the whole I enjoyed the book very much.

"And they'll think they've just seen a star.", 14 Aug 2007
Excellent book. Not much can be said about it other than it is a must read, funny, interesting, and believable... well, maybe just funny and interesting.

The completely over-the-top plot would usually put me off a book, but the hillarious situations and genuinely brilliant characters kept me hooked from start to finish.

The relationships in this book although downright bizzare, are also beautiful, and the last few lines between Janet and Sarah give the book the perfect ending.

Since reading this I have read Coupland's first book, Generation X, which was dissapionting in comparison to this, but I still look forward to reading some of his other work such as Girlfriend In A Coma and JPod.

Highly Recommended, 08 Jul 2007
This is a very funny book, but also moving and thought provoking. The twists and turns in the plot were fantastic - DC has the most amazing imagination to come up with these ideas, all of which are pulled effortlessly together. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book and am currently working my way through his entire back catalogue.

D.C devotee, 20 Mar 2006
Absolutely wonderfull.No other author can make you laugh as often as he can make you cry. The simple idealism that this book ends on is beautifull. If only the carrot Coupland often dangles was real enough to bite so we could have more than a teasing glimpse of his world. It kept me distracted at work, I couldn't put it down. By far worth a read, and should this be the first book you read by him order Girlfriend in a coma and Life after God as back up, because trust me you'll want to start it all over again.xx

Scarily amusing and relevant, 27 Jan 2005
I would urge people not to take some of the more scathing reviews here too seriously, this book is funny, warming, surreal, insane, and peppered with Couplands usual acts of miraculous metaphorical incident which have always made him compelling reading and one of the most relevant voices in modern literature. As always he is trying to make sense of the world and life through another of his strangely cooked set pieces enfusing his characters with dry wit and a wonderful sense of unreality that so closely shadows many peoples own experiences whilst often taking them to bizarre new realms. It's this Dali like twist on what he sees around him that make his characters so relevant and help to combat what could be self indulgent musing by giving the voice a character, like Coupland almost understands the complete irrelevance of what he tries to do book after book. Whilst Girlfriend in a Coma still stands as his most wonderfully immersive work so far, do not write this one off as a mere shadow, revel in its insolence, it's almost conspiracy theorist plotline and its wonderful flights of fantasy that bring such joy to characters that deserve to be part of the imaginitive miracle that Coupland concocts. Heartily recommended, especially to those whose own family lives haven't always been sweetness and bliss- that would be most of us wouldn't it?

Deliciously infectious, 07 Nov 2008
I only picked this book up because I ran out of books in my dad's book shelf and it was the last one left. My dad warned me that he found it poor, it was lacking a certain "something"...

So, knowing my dad's taste is the other extreme to mine I tried it. I couldn't put the book down - I kept google-ing everything they mentioned in the book from edible staplers (they don't exist - shame, I want one from Santa this year) to hug machines. Yes, I am a geekette!!!!

This is a book for the younger generations; I did start getting annoyed with the spam emails within the book, but when finishing the book it all clicked into place.

Clever, witty and by far superior to Ben Elton - but no where near Terry Prattchet level (but then again, who is?!?!?!)

Recommended for people my age (women's age - 21 to 25; men's age - 21 to 38; Geek/Computer Programmers age - 6 to 40+) oh and you have to have some idea about geeks (stereotypical or otherwise - not that there's a difference!!!!)


disappointing Coupland, 06 Sep 2008
Coupland's self-consciously post modern novel about a group of games developers starts off entertainingly enough but becomes something of a trial as it lumbers through a catalogue of bizarre incidents. Although occasionally funny the novel ends up feeling like a clever and entertaining dinner party guest who has overstayed their welcome - the laughs become forced, the anecdotes irritating and you suddenly realise that you don't like this person that much after all.
I've read most of Coupland's books and like the equally poor, "All Families Are Psychotic" this is dragged down by thin charcterisation and ludicrous storylines.

Great - Loved it, 10 Aug 2008
The logical follow up to Microserfs. Much darker but very funny and insightful. Very well written with Coupland's distinctive outlook on life laid out on a much larger and more expansive canvas than usual. I absolutely loved it.

A good insight into Coupland, 04 Aug 2008
Very funny and quite clever. The first Coupland novel I have read, but will definitely be going back for more.

I like it!, 15 Jul 2008
After reading some poor reviews on this one, comparing it to Microserfs, (which for me was the only DC book I have read that disappointed) I was going to pass on JPod. However someone bought it for me as a present so with a heavy heart I reluctantly started to plough through and what do you know I LOVED it. Quirky, funny, lots of superb character analysis which I found occasionally worrying, DC's style is unique and always has characters that I would love to know in real life. And including himself in the story wasn't cheesy at all.

use of English, 08 Nov 2008
I read City of Glass years ago, but my son re-introduced me to Coupland through this book - this guy has an extraordinary ability to conjure up images/impressions with the minimum of words - amazing use of the English language. I will go on to read his other books, and highly recommend this one.

cynical and soulless just like the yuppies it describes, 27 Sep 2008
Too much self indulgence, too much cynicism, too much... I don't know. Too clever for it's own good. It just did nothing for me at a gut level. And you don't have to be either a yuppie or retreat to a desert! The bit with the hummingbird- that's a very evocative, disturbing image however. That and the character telling that story are the only things that make this book memorable for me. I just read another reviewer calling this book 'smug' and full of 'nihilistic self posturing'. I think I agree.

Uneventful, But Interseting, 13 Aug 2007
This is a book I did not particularly enjoy, and I must admit to at times being completely bored rigid, yet some parts were rather interesting.

By the end of the book I must admit I was pleased to be rid of it, but I think this was partly to do witht the fact that I was born the year it was released, therefore cannot realate to the generation.

Another reason for my dislike was that i chose this book based on the author. I was given a copy of All Families Are Psycotic and fell in love with it, so decided to look up Coupland's other books.

It hasn't put me off Coupland, but i sincerely hope his other works are more AFAP, less Generation X

"Adventure Without Risk is Disneyland", 06 Aug 2007
I was mildly disappointed when I read this for the first time recently as I was expecting something a little more fast-paced, a little edgier. Perhaps this was because I - erroneously, as it turns out - associated the title with grunge music, a hybrid of punk, indie-rock and heavy metal that reached its peak in the early nineties - right about the time Generation X was first published. In fact, the title refers to a generation slightly older than me and the majority of grunge fans, and there is no mention of Nirvana et al in this, Douglas Coupland's debut novel.

The story itself is a gentle, somewhat uneventful tale of three friends who, having become increasingly disillusioned with the soulless pursuits of the yuppie/baby boom generation, relocate to the Mojave desert, in California. Here, they tell each other stories ("memories of Earth") not merely as a way of passing the time but in an attempt to re-discover their humanity. If the topics of these stories seem lofty and language employed to tell them pretentious, then it's entirely deliberate, Coupland capturing the "overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable" nature of his characters in a touching and wonderfully ironic style.

What intrigued me most about this book, however, was the impressive glossary of terms and slogans found at the foot of the pages. Wryly observed, and for the most part, searingly funny, they reveal as much (if not more) about the generation Coupland is concerned with. And if you recognise yourself in any these descriptions, fear not! You are surely not alone. I for one have been guilty of "Ultra Short Term Nostalgia" and "Musical Hairsplitting" in my time, and have come pretty close to a "Mid-twenties Breakdown" once or twice...

In conclusion, Generation X isn't an overly thrilling read, but it is a lyrical, insightful and romantic book that remains an iconic and culturally significant work of fiction.

Matt Pucci


Wry and sad - a masterpiece for the nineties. , 24 Apr 2007
Coupland is a master of these kind of fin de siecle novels. Generation X is not plot or character driven - it is really just a collection of rambling thoughts on what it means to be twenty something in the early nineties. It is packed with wry observations and simple truths. It is hugely analytical and shows the complex thoughts of the so called apathetic young people of today - for although this is aimed at twenty somethings in the early nineties it is just as relevant today. Another author could have made this seem overly cynical but Couplands masterful use of irony pulls off the subject spectacularly. One of the novels major plus points is the newly coined phrases and definitions set across the bottom of some of the pages - they were all so clever and true and many people of a certain age and state of mind will be able to relate to them so easily. I think this book would appeal to deep thinkers and people who don't need to read something fast paced in order to keep their interest.

Kiss my face. This is a great read., 20 Jun 2008
Ignore all the doommongers and beardstrokers. 'Its not as good as this, its not as long as that, it does quite smell like the last one'. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda. The Gum Thief is truly excellent. If you read it and don't enjoy it, you were probably killed last year or at the very least paralysed from the neck up in a horrific lawnmower accident.

Live to work - no ... work to live., 10 Apr 2008
Coupland is back writing about normal people with mind-numbing jobs - this time at a stationery superstore. The main characters are Roger, a 40-something alcoholic divorcee, is writing a Cheeveresque novel, and Bethany, a 20 year old goth who's biding time waiting for something to happen with her life.
They don't talk to each other at work, but after Bethany discovers Roger's journal she starts writing him letters.
This modern take on a classic 'roman des lettres' manages to keep the plot moving well, alternating between the voices, and adding Bethany's mum, another letter writer later. Interspersed between the letters are the chapters of Roger's awful novel (imagine an American 'Abigail's party').
Enjoyable, but the ending is rushed and you feel slightly short-changed by it.

The Gum Thief, 27 Feb 2008
Not entirely sure what I thought of this book! I liked the characters and the diary/letter format. I also enjoyed the cringeworthy novel within a novel. However, I'm not convinced that it all worked together or why the book was written in such a way. The ending seemed to arrive very abruptly as well. Maybe I just didn't get it.

Disappointing direction for Coupland, 01 Feb 2008
I quite liked JPod, it wasn't anywhere near Coupland's best work but it felt familiar. What I didn't like about it was the inclusion of himself as a character, and I feel this book takes that premise to another level. Written entirely as notes written by an author, it feels unfinished and amateur, and I can't help feel that Coupland came up with the idea and wrote it within the space of a couple of weeks. Not to spoil the ending but it summed up my thoughts of the entire book to a tee.

Back on form, 04 Jan 2008
I didn't rate jPod, thought Coupland was rehashing old ground when he is particularly good at pushing the boundaries. But with this book, he's back on form. Great plot device to have a novel within a novel and I thought Glove Pond was brilliant! Spot on reading this towards the end of the year, Christmas can be so tiring and Coupland's book hits the mark.

Microserfs, 22 Feb 2008
I was very disappointed with this book - I loved JPod and several of the reviews suggested that Microserfs was better. Not so. Both books involve techno geeks, but JPod also had a really good plot, fantastic characters and a lot of humour. Microserfs was just a boring series of random observations without any plot to hold the whole thing together - the balance was just completely wrong. The only bits I really enjoyed were the parts with Dan's parents, and Dan's girlfriend, (whose name I've forgotten already) was OK. I've given it 2 points because the ending was quite poignant, but overall I didn't really enjoy this book. Next stop Shampoo Planet...

Coupland's best, 23 Nov 2007
In my opinion, this is Coupland's best, probably because I personally related to the main character most.

But a great story, well written and genuinely funny. Really funny. Not those kind of small wry smile kind of laughs, but the ones out loud where you get embarrassed on the train kind of laughs.

You'll not regret reading this book.

Techies of the world unite, 03 Nov 2005
Despite been a bit dated this book is still a classic, a very funny and almost poignant look at the tech industry. As a geek its very easy to relate to Dan and the others living the techy dream. Every geeky bloke (like myself) will fall in love with Karla the coolest geek girl ever!

Fun book, 17 Jul 2005
I really enjoyed this book and was surprised to find that it hadn't really dated (except of course, it was written back in the days when option grants really were worth money and didn't just leave you marooned for years with worthless underwater options). Anyway I loved the eccentricity of the characters: the fads for "flat" foods, the long hours work, the familiar, god-like worship of the CEO (I've worked in at least one company with a similar mentality), and the emerging angst from the emptiness of it all.

Geek novel that is very readable, 02 Feb 2005
Although written in 1995, the book is very readable and not dated even after a decade. The book is a tale of a communal house of Microsoft coders who all want more that the work/sleep/work routine. They join a start up software company aimed at making a software Lego modelling program. Slowly their real lives develop. Plenty of non-tech humour as well as a few computer jokes. Written as though it is a diary some parts are moving which means the author managed to reel you into his imaginary world enough that you care about the characters. It is that good it makes me want to read his other books.

Weird yet wonderful , 10 Oct 2008
This was a wonderfully bizarre and amusing book with some really insightful and profound sentiments: It would make a great film. I loved the whole bunch of varied and diverse characters but my favourites were Wade and Janet. The developing relationship and witty exchange between Florian and Janet was simply hilarious as was the family's darkly comic moments together. The Drummonds were crooked but utterly loveable. The ending was a bit fantastical; if only troubles in life were that easy to fix, but on the whole I enjoyed the book very much.

"And they'll think they've just seen a star.", 14 Aug 2007
Excellent book. Not much can be said about it other than it is a must read, funny, interesting, and believable... well, maybe just funny and interesting.

The completely over-the-top plot would usually put me off a book, but the hillarious situations and genuinely brilliant characters kept me hooked from start to finish.

The relationships in this book although downright bizzare, are also beautiful, and the last few lines between Janet and Sarah give the book the perfect ending.

Since reading this I have read Coupland's first book, Generation X, which was dissapionting in comparison to this, but I still look forward to reading some of his other work such as Girlfriend In A Coma and JPod.

Highly Recommended, 08 Jul 2007
This is a very funny book, but also moving and thought provoking. The twists and turns in the plot were fantastic - DC has the most amazing imagination to come up with these ideas, all of which are pulled effortlessly together. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book and am currently working my way through his entire back catalogue.

D.C devotee, 20 Mar 2006
Absolutely wonderfull.No other author can make you laugh as often as he can make you cry. The simple idealism that this book ends on is beautifull. If only the carrot Coupland often dangles was real enough to bite so we could have more than a teasing glimpse of his world. It kept me distracted at work, I couldn't put it down. By far worth a read, and should this be the first book you read by him order Girlfriend in a coma and Life after God as back up, because trust me you'll want to start it all over again.xx

Scarily amusing and relevant, 27 Jan 2005
I would urge people not to take some of the more scathing reviews here too seriously, this book is funny, warming, surreal, insane, and peppered with Couplands usual acts of miraculous metaphorical incident which have always made him compelling reading and one of the most relevant voices in modern literature. As always he is trying to make sense of the world and life through another of his strangely cooked set pieces enfusing his characters with dry wit and a wonderful sense of unreality that so closely shadows many peoples own experiences whilst often taking them to bizarre new realms. It's this Dali like twist on what he sees around him that make his characters so relevant and help to combat what could be self indulgent musing by giving the voice a character, like Coupland almost understands the complete irrelevance of what he tries to do book after book. Whilst Girlfriend in a Coma still stands as his most wonderfully immersive work so far, do not write this one off as a mere shadow, revel in its insolence, it's almost conspiracy theorist plotline and its wonderful flights of fantasy that bring such joy to characters that deserve to be part of the imaginitive miracle that Coupland concocts. Heartily recommended, especially to those whose own family lives haven't always been sweetness and bliss- that would be most of us wouldn't it?

Deliciously infectious, 07 Nov 2008
I only picked this book up because I ran out of books in my dad's book shelf and it was the last one left. My dad warned me that he found it poor, it was lacking a certain "something"...

So, knowing my dad's taste is the other extreme to mine I tried it. I couldn't put the book down - I kept google-ing everything they mentioned in the book from edible staplers (they don't exist - shame, I want one from Santa this year) to hug machines. Yes, I am a geekette!!!!

This is a book for the younger generations; I did start getting annoyed with the spam emails within the book, but when finishing the book it all clicked into place.

Clever, witty and by far superior to Ben Elton - but no where near Terry Prattchet level (but then again, who is?!?!?!)

Recommended for people my age (women's age - 21 to 25; men's age - 21 to 38; Geek/Computer Programmers age - 6 to 40+) oh and you have to have some idea about geeks (stereotypical or otherwise - not that there's a difference!!!!)


disappointing Coupland, 06 Sep 2008
Coupland's self-consciously post modern novel about a group of games developers starts off entertainingly enough but becomes something of a trial as it lumbers through a catalogue of bizarre incidents. Although occasionally funny the novel ends up feeling like a clever and entertaining dinner party guest who has overstayed their welcome - the laughs become forced, the anecdotes irritating and you suddenly realise that you don't like this person that much after all.
I've read most of Coupland's books and like the equally poor, "All Families Are Psychotic" this is dragged down by thin charcterisation and ludicrous storylines.

Great - Loved it, 10 Aug 2008
The logical follow up to Microserfs. Much darker but very funny and insightful. Very well written with Coupland's distinctive outlook on life laid out on a much larger and more expansive canvas than usual. I absolutely loved it.

A good insight into Coupland, 04 Aug 2008
Very funny and quite clever. The first Coupland novel I have read, but will definitely be going back for more.

I like it!, 15 Jul 2008
After reading some poor reviews on this one, comparing it to Microserfs, (which for me was the only DC book I have read that disappointed) I was going to pass on JPod. However someone bought it for me as a present so with a heavy heart I reluctantly started to plough through and what do you know I LOVED it. Quirky, funny, lots of superb character analysis which I found occasionally worrying, DC's style is unique and always has characters that I would love to know in real life. And including himself in the story wasn't cheesy at all.

Awesome, 21 Mar 2008
This is one of those books that I have wanted to review for a while, but was unsure of how to approach it. I love the book and have read it over a half dozen times in less than two years. Yet it is such an atypical book that it is difficult to review. I can just be blunt and state that the book will grab you and draw you back in again and again.

The book is published as fiction, yet rumors have it that Coupland will admit that it is at least partially autobiographical. It is a collection of recollections, thoughts, memories and drawings by Coupland. It is the recount a man's life, and as we find out he is telling the story to find out how his life got to where it is. He wants a record for his daughter so that maybe she will understand him better. My favorite of the individual entries is:

"Now -- here is my secret:
I tell it to you with an openness of heart I doubt I shall ever achieve again, so I pray that you are in a quiet room as you hear these words. My secret is that I need God - that I am sick and can no longer make it alone. I need God to help me give, because I no longer seem capable of giving; to help me to be kind, as I no longer seem capable of kindness; to help me love, as I seem beyond able to love." p.359

Every time I pick up this book, I get something more out of it. Sometimes I read it from beginning to end, and then at other times I just pick it up and read at random. This book deals with many of the 'big' questions all of us will have to deal with in our lives. Questions like: How do we deal with Loneliness? Anxiety? Failed relationships? How can we find quiet in our lives? It also deals with the question of being raised without a religion or belief system and how, as we age, we end up struggling with spiritual questions.

If you can track down the first edition hardcover it is worth it. It is in a different format and shape. With the dust jacket off, it looks like a prayer book or bible. If you read it without the jacket in public places people will often ask you what you are reading. This was intentional and the shape and design of this book are part of the art of the book, and part of the complexity Coupland has woven into it. The front cover of the hardback also has an outline of a hand, like a tracing of a child's hand. As we are all reaching out beyond ourselves in search of some greater meaning in life, we are reaching out like a child in search of a parent.

My hat is off to Coupland and this amazing work of art - on all the levels that it is art of the deepest level. Coupland has created a masterpiece that will become a classic, which will survive through the ages.

Awesome, 21 Mar 2008
This is one of those books that I have wanted to review for a while, but was unsure of how to approach it. I love the book and have read it over a half dozen times in less than two years. Yet it is such an atypical book that it is difficult to review. I can just be blunt and state that the book will grab you and draw you back in again and again.

The book is published as fiction, yet rumors have it that Coupland will admit that it is at least partially autobiographical. It is a collection of recollections, thoughts, memories and drawings by Coupland. It is the recount a man's life, and as we find out he is telling the story to find out how his life got to where it is. He wants a record for his daughter so that maybe she will understand him better. My favorite of the individual entries is:

"Now -- here is my secret:
I tell it to you with an openness of heart I doubt I shall ever achieve again, so I pray that you are in a quiet room as you hear these words. My secret is that I need God - that I am sick and can no longer make it alone. I need God to help me give, because I no longer seem capable of giving; to help me to be kind, as I no longer seem capable of kindness; to help me love, as I seem beyond able to love." p.359

Every time I pick up this book, I get something more out of it. Sometimes I read it from beginning to end, and then at other times I just pick it up and read at random. This book deals with many of the 'big' questions all of us will have to deal with in our lives. Questions like: How do we deal with Loneliness? Anxiety? Failed relationships? How can we find quiet in our lives? It also deals with the question of being raised without a religion or belief system and how, as we age, we end up struggling with spiritual questions.

If you can track down the first edition hardcover it is worth it. It is in a different format and shape. With the dust jacket off, it looks like a prayer book or bible. If you read it without the jacket in public places people will often ask you what you are reading. This was intentional and the shape and design of this book are part of the art of the book, and part of the complexity Coupland has woven into it. The front cover of the hardback also has an outline of a hand, like a tracing of a child's hand. As we are all reaching out beyond ourselves in search of some greater meaning in life, we are reaching out like a child in search of a parent.

My hat is off to Coupland and this amazing work of art - on all the levels that it is art of the deepest level. Coupland has created a masterpiece that will become a classic, which will survive through the ages.

Life after Plots, 22 Oct 2007
`Life after God' seems to have split people. Some love it, whilst others felt it was a bit of a con. I am afraid that I fall into the latter category as I did not think much of Coupland's pseudo cod psychological mumblings. At around 200+ pages you soon realise that most of these are full of white space or childlike drawings. This means that you are effectively paying full price for a book that would sit comfortably in the Quick Reads section of the book shop.

It is not the length of the book that really bothered me but the fact that there was absolutely nothing to it. There is no story as such and it is more about a man's crisis as he narrates how his life has unravelled. Each chapter jumps to a point in his life were he no longer feels connected to life. Personally I would tell him to get a clue - everyone feels like an outsider, it's called the human condition. It has always irritated me to see rich Westerners moaning about their place in life whilst other people live on the edge of starvation or in war zones. The richer you are the more inane your petty problems - but you still worry e.g. Owen Wilson.

Some people may find something deep and meaningful from this book, but personally I find it a bit of a short cynical cash-in that Coupland probably rushed out after his initial success with `Generation X'. I have read other books by Coupland and `All Families are Psychotic' proves that his explorations of psychology, family friction and depression do work - they just need some sort of coherent structure.


God is the teeth of a man who bites me on the back of the neck after a lucky night..., 15 Feb 2007
A lecturer of mine from university once gave me a list of books to read, which at first glance, had nothing to do with the module we were studying at the time. "These books are not designed to teach you anything as such" he began, "I have recommended them only to create a spirit of reflection". Having read all of the books on the list (sad life I lead), I asked him again whether there was some underlying common thread between all of the novels he had included. His answer: the only element that each book had in common was that you needed to embark upon a period of mourning after finishing each novel - the only mark of a truly wonderful read.

I include this story only because my lecturer discluded it from his list - "Life After God" is both thought-provoking and wonderful. Typical of Coupland's written prose, it is difficult to really summarise what the story is about. Quite simply, it is a series of biographical reflections penned by a man who never quite seems to come to terms with his own nihilistically, existentialistic reflections. Each page in itself is worthy of praise, every thought is both harrowing and revelationary. Never a word wasted, never a memory misplaced, this surely is Coupland at his very best.

more directed coupland, 13 Jul 2006
Anyone with a vague cerebral itch that their life is missing something should read this book. Anyone who feels that existence is a meaningless ritual of minutiae with an absence of narrative should seek it out and have Coupland once again have their suspicions confirmed.

Probably best not to do it on your own over Christmas and New Year though. Doesn't really put you in the party mood.

This is the third Coupland novel I've read (following Girlfriend in a Coma & Miss Wyoming). Once again Coupland proves his expertise at articulating the need for need that our generation occasionally suffers from. Told as sporadic journal entries and stream of conscious reminiscences, it makes its point more directly than the two later novels I read, but is maybe less memorable or enjoyable for eschewing narrative (though the absence of narrative in life is one of his main points).
Closure is once again however his weak point. Like Miss Wyoming and (especially) Girlfriend in a Coma, he ends with the vagaries of Easy Rider style escapism, where the 9-5 is rejected in order to just head off and, you know, do stuff. Just switch off your television set and go and do something less boring instead.
But then, by accurately portraying our questioning of how inconsequential work and life is, it's inevitable that he'll never be able to give us an answer.

In this latest novel from the poet laureate of Gen X--who is himself now a dangerously mature 36--boy does indeed meet girl. The year is 1979, and the lovers get right down to business in a very Couplandian bit of plein air intercourse: "Karen and I deflowered each other atop Grouse Mountain, among the cedars beside a ski slope, atop crystal snow shards beneath penlight stars. It was a December night so cold and clear that the air felt like the air of the Moon--lung-burning; mentholated and pure; hint of ozone, zinc, ski wax, and Karen's strawberry shampoo." Are we in for an archetypal '80s romance, played out against a pop-cultural backdrop? Nope. Only hours after losing her virginity, Karen loses consciousness as well--for almost two decades. The narrator and his circle soldier on, making the slow progression from debauched Vancouver youths to semi-responsible adults. Several end up working on a television series that bears a suspicious resemblance to The X-Files (surely a self-referential wink on the author's part). And then ... Karen wakes up. Her astonishment-- which suggests a 20th-century, substance-abusing Rip Van Winkle--dominates the second half of the novel, and gives Coupland free reign to muse about time, identity, and the meaning (if any) of the impending millennium. Alas, he also slaps a concluding apocalypse onto the novel. As sleeping sickness overwhelms the populace, the world ends with neither a bang nor a whimper, but a universal yawn--which doesn't, fortunately, outweigh the sweetness, oddity, and ironic smarts of everything that has preceded it.

use of English, 08 Nov 2008
I read City of Glass years ago, but my son re-introduced me to Coupland through this book - this guy has an extraordinary ability to conjure up images/impressions with the minimum of words - amazing use of the English language. I will go on to read his other books, and highly recommend this one.

cynical and soulless just like the yuppies it describes, 27 Sep 2008
Too much self indulgence, too much cynicism, too much... I don't know. Too clever for it's own good. It just did nothing for me at a gut level. And you don't have to be either a yuppie or retreat to a desert! The bit with the hummingbird- that's a very evocative, disturbing image however. That and the character telling that story are the only things that make this book memorable for me. I just read another reviewer calling this book 'smug' and full of 'nihilistic self posturing'. I think I agree.

Uneventful, But Interseting, 13 Aug 2007
This is a book I did not particularly enjoy, and I must admit to at times being completely bored rigid, yet some parts were rather interesting.

By the end of the book I must admit I was pleased to be rid of it, but I think this was partly to do witht the fact that I was born the year it was released, therefore cannot realate to the generation.

Another reason for my dislike was that i chose this book based on the author. I was given a copy of All Families Are Psycotic and fell in love with it, so decided to look up Coupland's other books.

It hasn't put me off Coupland, but i sincerely hope his other works are more AFAP, less Generation X

"Adventure Without Risk is Disneyland", 06 Aug 2007
I was mildly disappointed when I read this for the first time recently as I was expecting something a little more fast-paced, a little edgier. Perhaps this was because I - erroneously, as it turns out - associated the title with grunge music, a hybrid of punk, indie-rock and heavy metal that reached its peak in the early nineties - right about the time Generation X was first published. In fact, the title refers to a generation slightly older than me and the majority of grunge fans, and there is no mention of Nirvana et al in this, Douglas Coupland's debut novel.

The story itself is a gentle, somewhat uneventful tale of three friends who, having become increasingly disillusioned with the soulless pursuits of the yuppie/baby boom generation, relocate to the Mojave desert, in California. Here, they tell each other stories ("memories of Earth") not merely as a way of passing the time but in an attempt to re-discover their humanity. If the topics of these stories seem lofty and language employed to tell them pretentious, then it's entirely deliberate, Coupland capturing the "overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable" nature of his characters in a touching and wonderfully ironic style.

What intrigued me most about this book, however, was the impressive glossary of terms and slogans found at the foot of the pages. Wryly observed, and for the most part, searingly funny, they reveal as much (if not more) about the generation Coupland is concerned with. And if you recognise yourself in any these descriptions, fear not! You are surely not alone. I for one have been guilty of "Ultra Short Term Nostalgia" and "Musical Hairsplitting" in my time, and have come pretty close to a "Mid-twenties Breakdown" once or twice...

In conclusion, Generation X isn't an overly thrilling read, but it is a lyrical, insightful and romantic book that remains an iconic and culturally significant work of fiction.

Matt Pucci


Wry and sad - a masterpiece for the nineties. , 24 Apr 2007
Coupland is a master of these kind of fin de siecle novels. Generation X is not plot or character driven - it is really just a collection of rambling thoughts on what it means to be twenty something in the early nineties. It is packed with wry observations and simple truths. It is hugely analytical and shows the complex thoughts of the so called apathetic young people of today - for although this is aimed at twenty somethings in the early nineties it is just as relevant today. Another author could have made this seem overly cynical but Couplands masterful use of irony pulls off the subject spectacularly. One of the novels major plus points is the newly coined phrases and definitions set across the bottom of some of the pages - they were all so clever and true and many people of a certain age and state of mind will be able to relate to them so easily. I think this book would appeal to deep thinkers and people who don't need to read something fast paced in order to keep their interest.

Kiss my face. This is a great read., 20 Jun 2008
Ignore all the doommongers and beardstrokers. 'Its not as good as this, its not as long as that, it does quite smell like the last one'. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda. The Gum Thief is truly excellent. If you read it and don't enjoy it, you were probably killed last year or at the very least paralysed from the neck up in a horrific lawnmower accident.

Live to work - no ... work to live., 10 Apr 2008
Coupland is back writing about normal people with mind-numbing jobs - this time at a stationery superstore. The main characters are Roger, a 40-something alcoholic divorcee, is writing a Cheeveresque novel, and Bethany, a 20 year old goth who's biding time waiting for something to happen with her life.
They don't talk to each other at work, but after Bethany discovers Roger's journal she starts writing him letters.
This modern take on a classic 'roman des lettres' manages to keep the plot moving well, alternating between the voices, and adding Bethany's mum, another letter writer later. Interspersed between the letters are the chapters of Roger's awful novel (imagine an American 'Abigail's party').
Enjoyable, but the ending is rushed and you feel slightly short-changed by it.

The Gum Thief, 27 Feb 2008
Not entirely sure what I thought of this book! I liked the characters and the diary/letter format. I also enjoyed the cringeworthy novel within a novel. However, I'm not convinced that it all worked together or why the book was written in such a way. The ending seemed to arrive very abruptly as well. Maybe I just didn't get it.

Disappointing direction for Coupland, 01 Feb 2008
I quite liked JPod, it wasn't anywhere near Coupland's best work but it felt familiar. What I didn't like about it was the inclusion of himself as a character, and I feel this book takes that premise to another level. Written entirely as notes written by an author, it feels unfinished and amateur, and I can't help feel that Coupland came up with the idea and wrote it within the space of a couple of weeks. Not to spoil the ending but it summed up my thoughts of the entire book to a tee.

Back on form, 04 Jan 2008
I didn't rate jPod, thought Coupland was rehashing old ground when he is particularly good at pushing the boundaries. But with this book, he's back on form. Great plot device to have a novel within a novel and I thought Glove Pond was brilliant! Spot on reading this towards the end of the year, Christmas can be so tiring and Coupland's book hits the mark.

Microserfs, 22 Feb 2008
I was very disappointed with this book - I loved JPod and several of the reviews suggested that Microserfs was better. Not so. Both books involve techno geeks, but JPod also had a really good plot, fantastic characters and a lot of humour. Microserfs was just a boring series of random observations without any plot to hold the whole thing together - the balance was just completely wrong. The only bits I really enjoyed were the parts with Dan's parents, and Dan's girlfriend, (whose name I've forgotten already) was OK. I've given it 2 points because the ending was quite poignant, but overall I didn't really enjoy this book. Next stop Shampoo Planet...

Coupland's best, 23 Nov 2007
In my opinion, this is Coupland's best, probably because I personally related to the main character most.

But a great story, well written and genuinely funny. Really funny. Not those kind of small wry smile kind of laughs, but the ones out loud where you get embarrassed on the train kind of laughs.

You'll not regret reading this book.

Techies of the world unite, 03 Nov 2005
Despite been a bit dated this book is still a classic, a very funny and almost poignant look at the tech industry. As a geek its very easy to relate to Dan and the others living the techy dream. Every geeky bloke (like myself) will fall in love with Karla the coolest geek girl ever!

Fun book, 17 Jul 2005
I really enjoyed this book and was surprised to find that it hadn't really dated (except of course, it was written back in the days when option grants really were worth money and didn't just leave you marooned for years with worthless underwater options). Anyway I loved the eccentricity of the characters: the fads for "flat" foods, the long hours work, the familiar, god-like worship of the CEO (I've worked in at least one company with a similar mentality), and the emerging angst from the emptiness of it all.

Geek novel that is very readable, 02 Feb 2005
Although written in 1995, the book is very readable and not dated even after a decade. The book is a tale of a communal house of Microsoft coders who all want more that the work/sleep/work routine. They join a start up software company aimed at making a software Lego modelling program. Slowly their real lives develop. Plenty of non-tech humour as well as a few computer jokes. Written as though it is a diary some parts are moving which means the author managed to reel you into his imaginary world enough that you care about the characters. It is that good it makes me want to read his other books.

Weird yet wonderful , 10 Oct 2008
This was a wonderfully bizarre and amusing book with some really insightful and profound sentiments: It would make a great film. I loved the whole bunch of varied and diverse characters but my favourites were Wade and Janet. The developing relationship and witty exchange between Florian and Janet was simply hilarious as was the family's darkly comic moments together. The Drummonds were crooked but utterly loveable. The ending was a bit fantastical; if only troubles in life were that easy to fix, but on the whole I enjoyed the book very much.

"And they'll think they've just seen a star.", 14 Aug 2007
Excellent book. Not much can be said about it other than it is a must read, funny, interesting, and believable... well, maybe just funny and interesting.

The completely over-the-top plot would usually put me off a book, but the hillarious situations and genuinely brilliant characters kept me hooked from start to finish.

The relationships in this book although downright bizzare, are also beautiful, and the last few lines between Janet and Sarah give the book the perfect ending.

Since reading this I have read Coupland's first book, Generation X, which was dissapionting in comparison to this, but I still look forward to reading some of his other work such as Girlfriend In A Coma and JPod.

Highly Recommended, 08 Jul 2007
This is a very funny book, but also moving and thought provoking. The twists and turns in the plot were fantastic - DC has the most amazing imagination to come up with these ideas, all of which are pulled effortlessly together. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book and am currently working my way through his entire back catalogue.

D.C devotee, 20 Mar 2006
Absolutely wonderfull.No other author can make you laugh as often as he can make you cry. The simple idealism that this book ends on is beautifull. If only the carrot Coupland often dangles was real enough to bite so we could have more than a teasing glimpse of his world. It kept me distracted at work, I couldn't put it down. By far worth a read, and should this be the first book you read by him order Girlfriend in a coma and Life after God as back up, because trust me you'll want to start it all over again.xx

Scarily amusing and relevant, 27 Jan 2005
I would urge people not to take some of the more scathing reviews here too seriously, this book is funny, warming, surreal, insane, and peppered with Couplands usual acts of miraculous metaphorical incident which have always made him compelling reading and one of the most relevant voices in modern literature. As always he is trying to make sense of the world and life through another of his strangely cooked set pieces enfusing his characters with dry wit and a wonderful sense of unreality that so closely shadows many peoples own experiences whilst often taking them to bizarre new realms. It's this Dali like twist on what he sees around him that make his characters so relevant and help to combat what could be self indulgent musing by giving the voice a character, like Coupland almost understands the complete irrelevance of what he tries to do book after book. Whilst Girlfriend in a Coma still stands as his most wonderfully immersive work so far, do not write this one off as a mere shadow, revel in its insolence, it's almost conspiracy theorist plotline and its wonderful flights of fantasy that bring such joy to characters that deserve to be part of the imaginitive miracle that Coupland concocts. Heartily recommended, especially to those whose own family lives haven't always been sweetness and bliss- that would be most of us wouldn't it?

Deliciously infectious, 07 Nov 2008
I only picked this book up because I ran out of books in my dad's book shelf and it was the last one left. My dad warned me that he found it poor, it was lacking a certain "something"...

So, knowing my dad's taste is the other extreme to mine I tried it. I couldn't put the book down - I kept google-ing everything they mentioned in the book from edible staplers (they don't exist - shame, I want one from Santa this year) to hug machines. Yes, I am a geekette!!!!

This is a book for the younger generations; I did start getting annoyed with the spam emails within the book, but when finishing the book it all clicked into place.

Clever, witty and by far superior to Ben Elton - but no where near Terry Prattchet level (but then again, who is?!?!?!)

Recommended for people my age (women's age - 21 to 25; men's age - 21 to 38; Geek/Computer Programmers age - 6 to 40+) oh and you have to have some idea about geeks (stereotypical or otherwise - not that there's a difference!!!!)


disappointing Coupland,