A review by alfyasmeen
The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland

4.0

Wonderful balance of deep and funny (more like dark comedy, which I love). Overall, it was very witty and clever.

This is the first book by Douglas Coupland that I picked up, and I don't know why I chose it. It's not even among his top 7 most popular books and his fans don't seem to love it; nonetheless, it was addictive. Cynical at times, but there were deep thoughts that usually linger in my brain, so I liked it. I'm giving this a five-star rating now, but I might change it after I read his other books and find them to be better - like his fans said. I am definitely getting his other books, because when you find a writer so good that you feel like you're reading a diary of a close smart friend, you buy all his books.

Oh, the story, right. It's about two employees who work at Staples. Roger, a middle-aged loser, and Bethany, the 20-something year old goth. The whole novel consists of diary entries, and letters, AND another novel inside this novel which contains another novel in which the characters are like the original novel characters. Whoa, right? Not so confusing when you read it, actually.

I wanted to quote a few things I loved from the book, but I'm too lazy. Just read it if it sounded good to you.