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elianne2's review against another edition
3.0
Het duurde een tijdje om er iets over te kunnen zeggen, maar nu denk ik toch met een prettig gevoel terug aan het boek. Ik kan er af en toe nog wat van herlezen, zo hier en daar, en het maakt niet uit dat je dan vergeten bent wat er precies was gebeurd. Er was niets gebeurd.
emily_stimmel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
danburn's review against another edition
3.0
More interesting than Life of Pi, but still a bit painful to read, Generation X (by Douglas Coupland) is a novel about a group of friends who are trying a bit too hard to be cool. The novel itself tries a bit too hard to be cool, though that is probably by design rather than by accident. It's a brutally spot-on portrait of the slightly older part of my generation (about ten years older - I'm in that younger end of Generation X that sometimes gets left out of definitions of Gen X, but are way too old to be put into Gen Y), caught up in a cultural whirlwind, and unable (by choice or nature, depending on the character) to participate fully in the consumerist lifestyle that is expected of them.
Coupland is always very dryly witty, and has an amazing eye for people and how they interact with their culture. I've always enjoyed his work, and I'm surprised it's taken me this long to get around to reading Generation X. It is after all, the book that defined my generation.
Definitely worth reading, especially if you're my age, or a bit older.
Coupland is always very dryly witty, and has an amazing eye for people and how they interact with their culture. I've always enjoyed his work, and I'm surprised it's taken me this long to get around to reading Generation X. It is after all, the book that defined my generation.
Definitely worth reading, especially if you're my age, or a bit older.
shari_billops's review against another edition
3.0
Generation X : Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland (1991)
msmoth's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
olddatainadeadmachine's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
reread pile
kjboldon's review against another edition
3.0
Groundbreaking at the time, but more a relic now. The side matter has aged well, the central novel crumbles under the weight of it. And a good reminder that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Now that Gen X are the oldsters, Millennials and Gen Z have some of the same complaints about their elders. 5 stars for the history, 2 for the central novel, averaging out to a generous 3.
catarina_fernandes's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
veelaughtland's review against another edition
3.0
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture is the first novel published by Douglas Coupland in 1991. It follows the lives of three friends - Andy, Dag, and Claire - who live in rented bungalows in Palm Springs, California. They all work 'McJobs' - jobs that are underpaid, that they are over-educated for, and that have no real prospects - and spend the rest of their time drinking and telling each other stories, in order to vent their frustrations with the current climate.
I enjoyed this read, although I don't think I ever became fully immersed in it. I've read two books so far by Douglas Coupland (I'm not counting Girlfriend in a Coma here, which I never finished), and this has definitely been my favourite of the two, but both times I have found Coupland's writing style a little alienating. I can't quite put my finger on why this is - at times his writing seems almost clinical, like you will never truly be accepted into his characters' worlds, but at others his writing is very beautiful and you can really become deeply involved in it. So to me, there is always the oddly jarring feeling of going between these two extremes.
There was no real plot to Generation X - just Andy and his friends going through the motions of their everyday lives, venting over their various annoyances and telling each other the aforementioned odd stories. There was also the inclusion in each chapter of footnotes of a sort - they weren't directly tagged onto any words or phrases from the chapters in particular, but were just there. They tended to be little catchphrases that fit in with the characters and the 90s time period they embodied and lived in. There was also sometimes the odd slogan or pop art Lichtenstein style picture included here and there. Although I sometimes found the 'footnotes' distracting (as I never knew when to detach myself from the narrative to read or look at them), I enjoyed their inclusion for the most part as they were often insightful and/or humorous.
It wasn't a difficult book to read, but if you are a fan of fast-paced novels with lots of action, I would avoid this like the plague. However, if you like droll, witty penmanship and novels where there is more thinking than doing, I would easily recommend this. I will still be reading more of Coupland's work in the future.
I enjoyed this read, although I don't think I ever became fully immersed in it. I've read two books so far by Douglas Coupland (I'm not counting Girlfriend in a Coma here, which I never finished), and this has definitely been my favourite of the two, but both times I have found Coupland's writing style a little alienating. I can't quite put my finger on why this is - at times his writing seems almost clinical, like you will never truly be accepted into his characters' worlds, but at others his writing is very beautiful and you can really become deeply involved in it. So to me, there is always the oddly jarring feeling of going between these two extremes.
There was no real plot to Generation X - just Andy and his friends going through the motions of their everyday lives, venting over their various annoyances and telling each other the aforementioned odd stories. There was also the inclusion in each chapter of footnotes of a sort - they weren't directly tagged onto any words or phrases from the chapters in particular, but were just there. They tended to be little catchphrases that fit in with the characters and the 90s time period they embodied and lived in. There was also sometimes the odd slogan or pop art Lichtenstein style picture included here and there. Although I sometimes found the 'footnotes' distracting (as I never knew when to detach myself from the narrative to read or look at them), I enjoyed their inclusion for the most part as they were often insightful and/or humorous.
It wasn't a difficult book to read, but if you are a fan of fast-paced novels with lots of action, I would avoid this like the plague. However, if you like droll, witty penmanship and novels where there is more thinking than doing, I would easily recommend this. I will still be reading more of Coupland's work in the future.