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trin's review against another edition
2.0
From what I've read, this seems to be the least popular of Coupland's novels. (Although Coupland fans are weird: among his devotees, there's the least amount of agreement about what constitutes a good Coupland book that I've ever seen.) I can definitely see why, although there were things I enjoyed about it. The problem, I think, is that it feels like several books mushed together: there's the Jared-the-ghost plot (similar but less effective than dead!Cheryl's narration in [b: Hey Nostradamus!|3381|Hey Nostradamus!|Douglas Coupland|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436978883s/3381.jpg|919466]), the late '70s vs. '90s plot, the actual girlfriend-in-a-coma plot...and just when you're adjusting to all of that, there's the post-apocalyptic plot. It's too much, and it really fails to come together, not just logically (not something I'm looking for in a Coupland novel) but emotionally—and that is something at which he normally excels. So, yeah: it's a mess. Not a "I regret reading this" mess, but as all of the really good bits are pretty much replicated in his other works, it does feel kind of extraneous. I mean, Coupland's written something like ten novels and a bunch of non-fiction, so unless you're a completist (which I am) there's really no reason to read this particular book.
barbarab's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Del 1 och 2 av boken var OK, men del 3 var bara tråkig... och lite pretentiös...
pronkbaggins's review against another edition
5.0
4.75/5.o stars
I read this while I was recovering from surgery. It may have contributed to why this story felt surreal. Definitely went into this blind and got the unexpected storyline experience. It was an enjoyable read, although I wish I had connected to the characters more.
I read this while I was recovering from surgery. It may have contributed to why this story felt surreal. Definitely went into this blind and got the unexpected storyline experience. It was an enjoyable read, although I wish I had connected to the characters more.
coffeelitmama's review against another edition
3.0
I had a hard time getting into this one, then I couldn't stop reading for a while when Karen woke up. After that it was just strange, everyone was put to sleep so they could learn to question everything? I mean, I guess I can see that applying to society today? We don't question enough of what's around us. But the majority of the characters were boring, there wasn't much development with them or their personalities.
ebrakke's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
wldiv's review against another edition
3.0
remarkably difficult to put down in the first and third parts. i still have my issues with coupland and his over explanation of events and conversations, but this is a really special and unique novel.
edit: the final act of this book is not good. upon weeks of reflection i can’t stop thinking about how it really soured my whole opinion of the book.
edit: the final act of this book is not good. upon weeks of reflection i can’t stop thinking about how it really soured my whole opinion of the book.
songbirdsue's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
laurenboren's review against another edition
2.0
What. The. Fuck. I was expecting this book to be weird, but I wasn't expecting it to be this weird. It was pretty hard to finish once it got all preachy about how people shouldn't be so shitty or whatever.
jjcbelle's review against another edition
3.0
I started out really liking this book, but it just got weirder and weirder as it went on. I didn't know going in that it would have a sort of surrealistic vibe to it. I also found the dialogue to be fairly flat... There were many MANY times where I only knew that a character was stressed/upset when it followed with "So and so took a deep breath to calm down" or something to that effect. To be honest, I did not get that ending. In all, I enjoyed reading it and would read more books by Coupland, but wouldn't shout its praises from any mountains.