�GENERATION X�
by DOUGLAS COUPLAND
�Generation X� is one of the most important and resolutely fascinating books ever written. Surely.
Its author Douglas Coupland may be hard at work promoting his latest trail-blazing novel in 2003�s �Hey Nostradamus,� though I�ve only just got round to reading �Generation X� (which was first published in 1991) for the first time � and it blew my mind.
An exquisite exploration of 3 friends and their charmingly laid-back approach to their lives, this is rooted in contemporary reality but goes one stage further with its psychedelic anchors of sheer fantasy and whimsy.
Sexily set in the ever-sunny California, the three friends in Andy (whose dissatisfied character narrates the story), Dag and Claire cynically live their lives as free from routine and clich� as possible and actively make time to tell each other surreal stories. Above all, they try to be honest and spontaneous� and unlike any other people they know.
Coupland�s writing style is a major, quirky attraction to his masterpiece of forward-thinking imagination, and the �dictionary�-styled footnotes and illustrations at the bottom of most pages have a definite �pop-art� feel. Coupland indeed has made up his own terms for various types of people and modern-day practices that they may undertake. �A group of people given to chronic travelling,� for example,� at the expense of long-term stability or a permanent residence (which is something that sooooo appeals to me) is also known as a �poverty jet set� on his terms.
Throughout, �Generation X� (a visually stand-out book on any book shop shelf given its distinctive �killer pink� cover) is eminently quotable.
�We spend our youth attaining wealth, and our wealth attaining youth.�
�When you see photos you can�t help but wonder at just how sweet and innocent all moments of life are rendered by the tripping of a camera�s shutter, for at that point the future is still unknown and has yet to hurt us and our poses are accepted as honest� begins the �I Am Not A Target Market� chapter and reads like sheer, harshly cutting poetry. An �Emotional Ketchup Burst,� meanwhile is �the bottling up of opinions and emotions inside oneself so that they explosively burst forth all at once, shocking and confusing employers and friends.�
�There is no shame in impulse.�
Projecting their wildest dreams into the unique and collective emotional playground they�ve created for themselves, that ensures the relationships between these 3 life friends simply get stronger and stronger and stronger, and once escapist chit-chat turns to the mountains, the poetic prose reigns sublime� �There is so little pollution that perspective is warped; the mountains want to smash themselves into my face. I want to slit open my stomach and rip out my eyes and cram these sights inside me.�
But what�s a �Personality Tithe� you wonder? Ah that�s simple� and a term invented by the hugely visionary Coupland to describe �a price paid for becoming a couple� when �previously amusing human beings become boring.� A-ha � so that told YOU!
As it says on the cover itself, these are �Tales for An Accelerated Culture� surreally wound around general disquiet. Equipped with an uplifting �surprise� ending reminiscent of Paul Auster�s outstanding epic masterpiece of self-discovery �Moon Palace� and Michael Dibdin�s seriously affecting �Thanksgiving,� there�s no wonder that �Generation X� is known and loved so widely.
So if you haven�t already read this beauty, go find and remember � you are what you read�
(STEVE RUDD)
www.coupland.com