 "certainly groundbreaking, but what is it exactly?!?" | 2009-08-26 |
| - Reviewed By mrreadmostanything |
'Generation X' is certainly an unusual read, and a masterful first novel by Douglas Coupland. Well in truth it really isn't much of a novel, just glimpses into the lives of young-ish slackers living in Palm Springs. Nothing much happens. But I suppose like some fine Japanese cuisine, it's not the content that matters so much but rather the presentation. The author stages his novel as some sort Generation X lifestyle handbook or bible. Most of the pages contain explanatory snippets on how this generation views life. Often hilarious but more often painfully true.
Bottom line: worthy of the hype. Strongly recommended. |
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| "A great book for deadheads or anyone..." | 2009-08-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3FHSUIIAFIUI3 |
| Douglas Coupland is my favorite author and I think this book sums up his writing style very well. This book chronicles (fictional) experiences of a cross section of people who end up at Grateful Dead concerts. I personally am not a Deadhead, but Coupland's writing style so perfectly draws the reader in, and puts them in the place of the myriad of concert-goers. An interesting read for anyone who loves Coupland! |
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 "Worth reading" | 2008-12-20 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2IO6EOW1J0Y42 |
Being of the generation that inspired this book, I have always meant to read it and I finally did.
First off, let me say that the book isn't very long and it won't take much of your time to read. Because of that and the fact that this is a famous and often referenced book, it is worth the time to read.
The characters are self-righteous and they pretend to be so deep and caring about the world but they are really just afraid of failure and success. They are very whiney as I am and as are many of the same generation. Reading this made me think that "the world isn't perfect and never will be, but there is no sense in whining about everything".
As I said, it is worth the time to read. It may be a bit pessimistic at times, but that is part of its charm and it is written pretty well. |
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| "very funny " | 2008-12-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1FUATPMC0UCOK |
| I thought this book was hilarious! The little "cartoons" on the edges of the pages were priceless! It had the sarcastic kind of humor that I personally enjoy. |
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| "Coupland writes on growing up (these are my scattered thoughts)" | 2008-08-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3A1IQGOLJA1UA |
The first Douglas Coupland book I ever read was Hey Nostradamus, which is such an amazingly compiled story and one of my favorites of Coupland's novels. I just kept looking for his books at random used bookstores across the U.S., so the next book I found was Miss Wyoming, not great but worth the read. Then Shampoo Planet. Next I found Eleanor Rigby and really enjoyed it. Then I finally went to Amazon to purchase Life After God and the last book of his I've read is none other than Generation X.
I think Coupland says a lot about this generation "raised without religion" in Life After God and I really couldn't agree more with his ponderings and realizations about living and growing up and being in that awkward stage of immaturity in your 20s. It's true, we need God. He's our source of strength and hope. I've lived without God and I've lived with God, and I definitely see how our souls long for relationship WITH God.
The format of Generation X is really neat, Coupland definitely thinks outside the box of other authors and really creates something for his readers to look over, read, and then think about and talk about long after they finish the book. Amazing first novel. I think my generation of twentysomethings that was born in the 80s still struggles with some of the same issues Andy, Dag and Claire struggle with in the book. It's interesting to see how they handle it and their hunger for life and the dissatisfaction they experience with love and jobs and everything else. Definitely worth the read. |
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 "I get it, but that doesn't mean I agree" | 2008-07-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: ATZ1LTONGHOP6 |
"Generation X" is best described as a cross between the philosophy of Chuck Palahniuk's "Fight Club" and the pointlessness of Bret Easton Ellis's "Less Than Zero". But, whereas I enjoyed "Less Than Zero" and consider "Fight Club" to be one of my all-time favourite books, I do not feel the same way about "Generation X".
In "Generation X", after rejecting a culture based on money and commercialism, a group of twenty-somethings move to Palm Springs and spend their time telling each other stories of the world they left, while trying to live the life that they want.
Being about the same age as the characters in this book, I could understand a lot of what author Douglas Coupland is trying to say, and probably much better than I would have 5 or 10 years earlier. I get "mid-20's crises". I get the fact that housing is no longer affordable to younger people. However, even though I do understand these things, I think that the way that Coupland's characters go about dealing with these issues is unrealistic. Coupland creates an ideal lifestyle for his characters that I find difficult to believe would actually work in the real world. I don't want to be a wage slave any more than the next person, and I don't feel the need to buy stuff just for the sake of acquiring possessions, but at the same time, I do need to live somewhere, eat, buy clothes etc and acquire enough savings so that I don't have to eat dog food in my old age, and that is a whole lot easier for me to achieve as an office worker than if I were to quit my job and take one of the "McJobs" that Coupland's protagonists all hold. To make matters worse, I found Coupland, through his characters, to be extremely condescending towards people who do not share his beliefs, and worst of all, the book is just plain dull. As I said before, philosophically, "Generation X" and "Fight Club" are very similar, but interesting stuff happens in "Fight Club". It doesn't in "Generation X".
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