Douglas Coupland

Eomer · 03-29-2007, 12:39 PM

Soooooo, anyone read his stuff? Anyone heard of him? I'd heard his name on and off over the years, he's written such books as Generation X and Microserfs, amongst several others. He's often credited with coining both the terms Generation X and McJobs. He's Canadian, but unlike most Canadian artists, he's actually managed to sell more than 5 copies of his work outside of the country, and his works aren't particularly distinctly Canadian in nature. They often deal with technology, people in the industry, and so on.

So I was cruising through the airport bookstore on Thursday, looking for something to read on the plane, and stumbled across JPod (JPod) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Basically I liked the cover design, and immediately upon flipping open the book, I loved how fucked up the formatting is. It's often in the form of emails, letters, computer code, and at one point from what I can tell 30 pages of random numbers.

The basic plot of the book, as far as I can tell, is that there is no plot. I'm nearly 200 pages in, and while lots of crazy stuff has happened, there's no real unifying storyline that I'm looking forward to a conclusion of. Not really, anyway. I suspect the main character or some of the main supporting ones will die, but god knows.

Basically it centers around six employees of a huge game design company in Vancouver, Electronic Arts in everything but name. They're stuck in the "jPod" which is basically a section of the company where people start out in if their last name starts with J, even though the people's jobs have nothing to do with each other. And that's about it, so far.

It reminds me of a cross between a Chuck Palaniuk book, and a Seinfeld episode. Morality does not exist, within the first 20 pages of the book the main character helps his mother dispose of the body of a biker that she electrocuted in her basement because he was trying to extort money from her giant grow-op. And he doesn't seem to have a problem with this. His brother is apparently a go-for for a Chinese human smuggler. His dad is a failed actor and enthusiast ballroom dancer (and coincidentally, so is the human smuggler). And on it goes.

One of the funnier books I've read in awhile. At one point the 6 main characters all write letters to Ronald McDonald explaining why they'd make the best lover (after a protracted discussion of clowns, clown school, and so on). At another, they write ebay auctions for themselves. Or character descriptions. And all are presented in that form in the book. It's really kind of neat. I'll post a half-assed review whenever I get around to finishing the book, but so far I'm really enjoying it.

edit - hah, noticed in the Wiki link that CBC will be making it into a TV series next year. That could be really awesome, or really bad.

Flinch · 03-29-2007, 09:39 PM

Pick up Microserfs, it's along the same lines as jPod, but more, I don't know, serious? emotional?

I love Coupland. One of the few authors where I've loved every single book I've picked up from.

Other books of his I'll vouch for:

Girlfriend In A Coma
Hey Nostradomus!
All Families Are Psychotic
Eleanor Rigby

Another book I'd recommend from another Canadian is Still Life With June by Darren Greer. His style is vaguely similar to Coupland's, and it's got some funny moments with a, quote, 'fucking retard'.

Lusiphur · 03-30-2007, 12:08 AM

I can give a thumbs up to Microserfs too. Was a pretty interesting read at the time it came out.

Murr · 04-02-2007, 10:33 AM

i'm a big fan in general, though I haven't touched jPod or eleanor rigby yet.

my favorites: generation x, shampoo planet, microserfs
"girlfriend in a coma" was okay, but he got a little weird with the god stuff.

Eomer · 07-16-2007, 12:47 PM

CBC.ca Arts - Coupland's JPod to become TV comedy series

This has the potential to be quite good, considering Mike Clattenburg is on board. And Alan Thicke as Ethan's dad? Perfect!

mek · 07-17-2007, 01:49 AM

Microserfs is very much like jPod, yes, so move onto that. It also gives you an interesting (albeit dated) look into Microsoft, much like jPod is a look into EA (didja figure that out? lawl). My favourite book of his is Hey Nostradamus! but it's really heavy and depressing subject matter. I also really enjoyed Girlfriend in a Coma's weirdness, though.

If you enjoy his light and hip wit, then stick with Microserfs and Generation X, the latter will expose you to the emotional/philosophical side of his writings as well; if you enjoyed that, go to Girlfriend in a Coma and finally Hey Nostradamus! If you still want more, go with Life After God; it's a collection of shorts that's very good but again a bit of the god stuff obviously creeps in. (He's not officially religious, FYI.)

Leave Eleanor Rigby, Miss Wyoming, and All Families are Psychotic for last or never (in that order), they're all more "mainstream" novels which left me with the feeling they were written for the paycheck.

03-29-2007, 12:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
Eomer You mean I can change this? Neat! Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 9,810 +29 Internets	Douglas Coupland Soooooo, anyone read his stuff? Anyone heard of him? I'd heard his name on and off over the years, he's written such books as Generation X and Microserfs, amongst several others. He's often credited with coining both the terms Generation X and McJobs. He's Canadian, but unlike most Canadian artists, he's actually managed to sell more than 5 copies of his work outside of the country, and his works aren't particularly distinctly Canadian in nature. They often deal with technology, people in the industry, and so on. So I was cruising through the airport bookstore on Thursday, looking for something to read on the plane, and stumbled across JPod (JPod) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Basically I liked the cover design, and immediately upon flipping open the book, I loved how fucked up the formatting is. It's often in the form of emails, letters, computer code, and at one point from what I can tell 30 pages of random numbers. The basic plot of the book, as far as I can tell, is that there is no plot. I'm nearly 200 pages in, and while lots of crazy stuff has happened, there's no real unifying storyline that I'm looking forward to a conclusion of. Not really, anyway. I suspect the main character or some of the main supporting ones will die, but god knows. Basically it centers around six employees of a huge game design company in Vancouver, Electronic Arts in everything but name. They're stuck in the "jPod" which is basically a section of the company where people start out in if their last name starts with J, even though the people's jobs have nothing to do with each other. And that's about it, so far. It reminds me of a cross between a Chuck Palaniuk book, and a Seinfeld episode. Morality does not exist, within the first 20 pages of the book the main character helps his mother dispose of the body of a biker that she electrocuted in her basement because he was trying to extort money from her giant grow-op. And he doesn't seem to have a problem with this. His brother is apparently a go-for for a Chinese human smuggler. His dad is a failed actor and enthusiast ballroom dancer (and coincidentally, so is the human smuggler). And on it goes. One of the funnier books I've read in awhile. At one point the 6 main characters all write letters to Ronald McDonald explaining why they'd make the best lover (after a protracted discussion of clowns, clown school, and so on). At another, they write ebay auctions for themselves. Or character descriptions. And all are presented in that form in the book. It's really kind of neat. I'll post a half-assed review whenever I get around to finishing the book, but so far I'm really enjoying it. edit - hah, noticed in the Wiki link that CBC will be making it into a TV series next year. That could be really awesome, or really bad.

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03-29-2007, 09:39 PM	#2 (permalink)
Flinch SWEDGEN! Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 418 -5 Internets	Pick up Microserfs, it's along the same lines as jPod, but more, I don't know, serious? emotional? I love Coupland. One of the few authors where I've loved every single book I've picked up from. Other books of his I'll vouch for: Girlfriend In A Coma Hey Nostradomus! All Families Are Psychotic Eleanor Rigby Another book I'd recommend from another Canadian is Still Life With June by Darren Greer. His style is vaguely similar to Coupland's, and it's got some funny moments with a, quote, 'fucking retard'.

03-30-2007, 12:08 AM	#3 (permalink)
Lusiphur Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bonny Scotland Posts: 364 -3 Internets	I can give a thumbs up to Microserfs too. Was a pretty interesting read at the time it came out.

04-02-2007, 10:33 AM	#4 (permalink)
Murr Token Gnome Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Chapel Hill, NC Posts: 1,787 +8 Internets	i'm a big fan in general, though I haven't touched jPod or eleanor rigby yet. my favorites: generation x, shampoo planet, microserfs "girlfriend in a coma" was okay, but he got a little weird with the god stuff.

07-16-2007, 12:47 PM	#5 (permalink)
Eomer You mean I can change this? Neat! Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 9,810 +29 Internets	CBC.ca Arts - Coupland's JPod to become TV comedy series This has the potential to be quite good, considering Mike Clattenburg is on board. And Alan Thicke as Ethan's dad? Perfect!

07-17-2007, 01:49 AM	#6 (permalink)
mek homosexual Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Posts: 1,299 -17 Internets	Microserfs is very much like jPod, yes, so move onto that. It also gives you an interesting (albeit dated) look into Microsoft, much like jPod is a look into EA (didja figure that out? lawl). My favourite book of his is Hey Nostradamus! but it's really heavy and depressing subject matter. I also really enjoyed Girlfriend in a Coma's weirdness, though. If you enjoy his light and hip wit, then stick with Microserfs and Generation X, the latter will expose you to the emotional/philosophical side of his writings as well; if you enjoyed that, go to Girlfriend in a Coma and finally Hey Nostradamus! If you still want more, go with Life After God; it's a collection of shorts that's very good but again a bit of the god stuff obviously creeps in. (He's not officially religious, FYI.) Leave Eleanor Rigby, Miss Wyoming, and All Families are Psychotic for last or never (in that order), they're all more "mainstream" novels which left me with the feeling they were written for the paycheck.