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erincait's review against another edition
2.0
i literally forgot i read this. boring but kinda funny.
sarahfbaker2's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
breanna_morgan's review against another edition
1.0
If there was a way to scrape this travesty of a book out of my brain, I would do it.
My biggest problem were the characters. Without fail, every single one of them had the same voice, what I can only assume is Coupland's voice, because it wasn't a believable voice for anyone. The characters are also incredibly one dimensional: bored goth, alcoholic loser, alcoholic loser #2, alcoholic loser #3, pretty idiot boy.
Plot wise, Coupland seems to have decided that one terrible book wasn't enough, so he made a book within a book so that he could doubly torture his readers.
I can't fathom why anyone would write this, much less a publisher who'd be willing to take it on
My biggest problem were the characters. Without fail, every single one of them had the same voice, what I can only assume is Coupland's voice, because it wasn't a believable voice for anyone. The characters are also incredibly one dimensional: bored goth, alcoholic loser, alcoholic loser #2, alcoholic loser #3, pretty idiot boy.
Plot wise, Coupland seems to have decided that one terrible book wasn't enough, so he made a book within a book so that he could doubly torture his readers.
I can't fathom why anyone would write this, much less a publisher who'd be willing to take it on
lanikei's review against another edition
2.0
Sorry Coupland, I just don't get it. I had read Microserfs and was kinda meh about it, but I figured, hey, it's about a decade too early for my appreciation of that particular part of industry drudgery. But retail, depression, and being a 20-something goth girl? These are things I'm intimately familiar with, THIS, surely, I can relate to.
And I suppose I did relate to it, sorta. But I didn't care about it, I found the conceit of an awkward novel about an aging academic and his alcoholic wife to be just stupid, and I didn't find that it revealed much about the particular sadness of doing what these Staples employees do every day. I mean, isn't that the point of Coupland?
I can't put a finger on what it is that I don't enjoy about Coupland's books. Something about the writing style? The sort of detached narration and low key climaxes? The kind of generic characters that I'm supposed to recognize? I'm not sure, I know I have friends that are big fans of his, and I just haven't figured it out yet.
And I suppose I did relate to it, sorta. But I didn't care about it, I found the conceit of an awkward novel about an aging academic and his alcoholic wife to be just stupid, and I didn't find that it revealed much about the particular sadness of doing what these Staples employees do every day. I mean, isn't that the point of Coupland?
I can't put a finger on what it is that I don't enjoy about Coupland's books. Something about the writing style? The sort of detached narration and low key climaxes? The kind of generic characters that I'm supposed to recognize? I'm not sure, I know I have friends that are big fans of his, and I just haven't figured it out yet.
thelibrarianmom's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book so much. I didn't want it to end. Also they way that grief is written about is so spot on. Earned its place on my desert island bookshelf.
splendidlyimperfect's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite Douglas Coupland novel. I didn't feel the immediate connection with the characters, and the plot wasn't as intriguing as the others. Still, a decent read.
litdoes's review against another edition
4.0
Douglas Coupland of 'Generation X' fame can be relied on to create disgruntled, misanthropic lead characters with a bit of heart and soul that allows the reader to love them nonetheless, because they see a little of their flawed selves in these characters.
Coupland does just that in this novel. The storyline revolves around a girl, Bethany, who discovers that her middle-aged colleague in an office-supply superstore, Roger, has been writing mock diary entries about her. More incredulous is the ensuing correspondence that ensues between them, while they pretend they are invisible to each other at work. As loopy as it sounds, the novel works, amazingly.
The structure of the novel is interesting, because it is made up of diary entries, correspondences and a work-in-progress novel by Roger. Dealing with metafiction can be a dangerous exercise for any author because it means you are drawing attention to your work as fiction, and being intentionally self-conscious about its relation to reality. When an author allows his character to write a novel, he needs to make sure it sounds convincing as the character's work, rather than the author's - very tricky business. The reader detects some tongue-in-cheek smugness when a creative writing instructor comments on Roger's work and comments that "a truly good author creates a novel so true it loses the voice of its individual author".
Thankfully, Coupland succeeds somewhat, in having Roger, a disillusioned middle-aged store associate (who is light years older than his college-aged colleagues)imitate unsuccessfully a Cheever-era domestic siting room drama.
What is captivating about this book is how successful Coupland manages to capture failure, a very self-reflexive venture that can overwhelm a less-confident writer. In the correspondence between Roger and his goth-maiden wannabe colleague, Bethany, Coupland manages to capture the distinction between the two voices and personalities.
Coupland does just that in this novel. The storyline revolves around a girl, Bethany, who discovers that her middle-aged colleague in an office-supply superstore, Roger, has been writing mock diary entries about her. More incredulous is the ensuing correspondence that ensues between them, while they pretend they are invisible to each other at work. As loopy as it sounds, the novel works, amazingly.
The structure of the novel is interesting, because it is made up of diary entries, correspondences and a work-in-progress novel by Roger. Dealing with metafiction can be a dangerous exercise for any author because it means you are drawing attention to your work as fiction, and being intentionally self-conscious about its relation to reality. When an author allows his character to write a novel, he needs to make sure it sounds convincing as the character's work, rather than the author's - very tricky business. The reader detects some tongue-in-cheek smugness when a creative writing instructor comments on Roger's work and comments that "a truly good author creates a novel so true it loses the voice of its individual author".
Thankfully, Coupland succeeds somewhat, in having Roger, a disillusioned middle-aged store associate (who is light years older than his college-aged colleagues)imitate unsuccessfully a Cheever-era domestic siting room drama.
What is captivating about this book is how successful Coupland manages to capture failure, a very self-reflexive venture that can overwhelm a less-confident writer. In the correspondence between Roger and his goth-maiden wannabe colleague, Bethany, Coupland manages to capture the distinction between the two voices and personalities.
nickelini's review
dark
funny
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
4.0