I’m super excited about the new upcoming novel by Douglas Coupland. The new novel is titled “Generation A” and it’s expected to be published in September 2009. The title indicates a connection with the first novel written by Coupland “Generation X”. Here is the book blurb from the official website:

In the near future bees are extinct—until one autumn when five unconnected individuals, in Iowa, New Zealand, Paris, Ontario, and Sri Lanka, are stung. Immediately snatched up by ominous figures in hazmat suits, interrogated separately in neutral Ikea-like chambers, and then released as 15-minute-celebrities into a world driven almost entirely by the internet, these five unforgettable people endure a barrage of unusual and highly 21st-century circumstances. A charismatic scientist with dubious motives eventually brings the quintet together on a remote Canadian island. But their shared experience unites them in a way they could never have imagined.

Generation A mirrors the structure of 1991’s Generation X as it champions the act of reading and storytelling as one of the few defenses we still have against the constant bombardment of the senses in a digital world.

I find it a little bit scary that Coupland has gone back to his first novel, I hope this has nothing to do with retirement or an intention to quit. 

It looks like this story will be a mix of Generation X and jPod. Can’t wait for September to come!

I recently finished reading Generation X by Douglas Coupland. The plot of the novel revolves around three characters who decided to depart away from their old lives, families and possessions to start a life away from the noise of the city. This is the very first book Douglas wrote and it was the novel that popularized the term “Generation X”. 

I enjoyed the book a lot, but I guess I’m biased because I am a sucker for everything Douglas has written. It’s just amazing how Douglas always had the same themes in all the books he wrote in the past 15 or so years.

I now have read every single “novel” Douglas has ever written in English. There is a short stories collection which I haven’t read yet though… and there is a book which he supposedly wrote in Japanese? 

Anyway, Douglas has written a new book called Generation A, which is is expected to be released in August/September 2009!

It’s been four months since I read my last Douglas Coupland novel. I finished Miss Wyoming a couple of days ago, this is a quirky love novel about an beauty pageant who survives an airplane crash and a film director who decides to decides to become a vagrant upon seeing a vision.  The storytelling runs back and forth as it starts by the meeting of the two main characters and then swings back and forth in parallel to tell the background story of each character and what happens next at the same time.  It was fun to read and had amazing characters. I was not crazy about the ending as much as I was about other Douglas Coupland novels. 

I am not sure if I should start reading my next Douglas Coupland novel Generation X. This is the first book he has ever written and will by reading it I would have read every single novel he has written in English (he has one written in Japanese, but I can’t read that). I’m afraid of what I would do in my life after completing all Douglas Coupland books .

I discovered recently that Coupland is going to publish a new book in August 2009! The book is called “Generation A”, it obviously has a link with his first book, but I’m praying that it’s not an indication that he’s gone full circle and would stop writing afterwards. That will not be cool at all!!

1- The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas

The End of Mr Y is a novel about an English literature PhD student who stumbles on a cursed book and her exploration of a parallel universe called the ‘troposphere’. This is not a fantasy book about dungeons and dragons, but an awesome philosophical tale about fate, life, and the realm of thoughts. Had one of the best endings I’ve ever read. I’m extremely bummed about the fact that Scarlett Thomas does not have many books out there.

2- Girlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland

I read a number of books by Coupland this year, but the one I liked the most was surely Girlfriend in a Coma, the themes and characters were just overwhelming. The story is about a girl who falls into a 17 years coma, the struggle of her family and boyfriend through this period, and then their life after she comes back to life.  The story gets quite dark in certain parts. 

 In the UK, The Guardian described the book as Coupland “becoming extraordinary” (25 April 1998) and The Times as “a disturbing, thought-provoking and moving novel. Girlfriend in a Coma has something of the quality of a fairytale, but it contains a sharp realism that makes the book scarily contemporary” (15 May 1999).

3- The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman

The World is Flat is one hell of a book that describes in detail the impact of globalisation and the internet on our daily lives, business, politics, society, education and just every aspect of our life. It is funny how any topic I get to talk about with my friends can always be diverted into something related mentioned in the World is Flat.

Another month and another Douglas Coupland novel. Shampoo Planet is the second book Coupland wrote, it originally came out in 1992. The book title is mock at mad consumerism at the start of the 90s.

I like the character’s depth in Coupland novels, but at the same time he freaks me out with the cynical messages about life many of his characters express throughout his books. 

I still need to read Generation X  - the first book he has even written, and Miss Wyoming – a novel he published in 2000, then I would have read every single novel he wrote in English (he has one written in Japanese, so I think I’ll skip that!!!).

In the UK, The Guardian described the book as Coupland “becoming extraordinary” (25 April 1998) and The Times as “a disturbing, thought-provoking and moving novel. Girlfriend in a Coma has something of the quality of a fairytale, but it contains a sharp realism that makes the book scarily contemporary”. 

 

I finished reading another book by Douglas Coupland today, I bought a pile of books from Amazon recently, but I couldn’t wait longer to read this book by Coupland. I am addicted to books by Coupland, they are amazingly personal and touching.

Hey Nostradamus! is an emotional story about a school massacre that happened in 1988 in Vancouver (inspired by the Columbine School Massacre of 1999). The story is divided into four chapters, each told by a different character in a different time period. The amazing thing about the book is how this event and its consequences is told through those four characters who are connected, but yet had completely different experiences of it. I love the way the book tackles issues such as religion, family, and miracles.

This book is more like Douglas Coupland “Eleanor Rigby” than “jPod”. Recommended for anyone interested in contemporary fiction.

Amazon.com: Hey Nostradamus!: A Novel
Amazon.co.uk: Hey Nostradamus!

(This is the eighth Coupland book I’ve read so far, I’ll probably read everything he has ever written within two years!!)

This book has been on my Amazon wish list for a while and it is finally out, I’m going to get this the next time I order from Amazon by the end of this month. I Can’t wait.

You can watch the other two promotional videos on this link.

Check out the Gum Thief at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

4/5

PS. I bought the book from Amazon.co.uk and got it delivered by Al Manahil.

All Families Are Psychotic – Amazon.co.uk
All Families Are Psychotic – Amazon.com

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Thankfully, MMK has recommended the book Anonymous Lawyer to me, which I now ordered. (I couldn’t help it but order another book Douglas along with it though!)

Life after God is not blasphemous the way the title makes it sound, or to say the least, not as much, the book is a collection of eight short stories of individuals who were raised without religion living in a fastforward society and then have reached a hopeless point in their life. The book explores how each of these characters tries to survive through their sate of despair while trying to understand the meaning of life, love, and hope.

The book is really short, less than 300 pages, with a quarter of each page filled with a small drawing illustrating the scene. I really enjoyed the scene-based storytelling narration. This story is a must-read for fans of contemporary literature.

5/5

PS. I bought the book from Amazon.co.uk and got it delivered by Al Manahil.

Life after God – Amazon.co.uk
Life after God – Amazon.com