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A review by veelaughtland
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland
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.