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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
I got 52% of the way through this, goodreads tells me. This book is about two people who work at staples. one is a 40 something year old guy, old for his age, and one is a 20 something year old woman. they both feel they're in a loser job and write back and forth in a shared diary, while at the same time, the man also writes his novel in there too. at some point, the girl's mom, who the guy went to highschool with, starts contributing letters to the diary too. the people are depressing. it sounds like a typical indie movie, the way they talk, the way nothing happens, the way it's so gloomy and 'intellectual'. it sounds like it's trying and trying..i realized this from the first, but kept reading, thinking maybe itll change. at 52% of the book through, i thought hey, WHY am i reading this? i dont like the characters, i DONT CARE what happens to them, and also since this is one of those indie type books, i'm pretty sure even if i DID care, it's not going to come to any sort of real resolution. these things always just end randomly. so i decided to end it randomly first. i have so many other books to read. dont read this.
liked it better than jpod AND eleanor rigby. no girlfriend in a coma or microserfs though.
I feel like there should be a fanfare as I finish this book after almost two years of reading it. [a:Coupland|1886|Douglas Coupland|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1264509011p2/1886.jpg] is one of my favorite authors and has been ever since I was assigned to read him at the Oregon Extension my junior year of college. And I did keep reading this in between all my library books.
This is a quiet story. The story of a couple of employees at a Staples. One of them is writing a book about some college professors. It's all kinds of depressing, but at the same time, it's soothing in its suburban angst. It's nice for me to know that there are people out there with this perspective who still like to write about it. Not sure if that makes any sense. But yes. Good book. Even better author.
This is a quiet story. The story of a couple of employees at a Staples. One of them is writing a book about some college professors. It's all kinds of depressing, but at the same time, it's soothing in its suburban angst. It's nice for me to know that there are people out there with this perspective who still like to write about it. Not sure if that makes any sense. But yes. Good book. Even better author.
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.
As I've said before, I have very little distance from Douglas Coupland as a writer. I imprinted on him as a young reader and there's nothing to be done. That said, this was a minor (but true) pleasure.
A style could be a bit tiring, but it had it's moments.
Not my favourite Coupland book...but then I started out with Generation X and Girlfriend in a Coma so it was going to take something special to top those. This, whilst being totally readable and peppered with the spot-on observations of modern life that Coupland makes so well, is not that special.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked it, but it may have been because it is a Coupland book.
good, but not the best from coupland. to be fair, i don't really like epistolary novels. and i don't really like to think about life losing all meaning in middle age.
i love, love, LOVED roger's story "glove pond." it was amazing. and hilarious. the letter from his writing instructor at the end also totally killed me.
i love, love, LOVED roger's story "glove pond." it was amazing. and hilarious. the letter from his writing instructor at the end also totally killed me.