�HEY NOSTRADAMUS!�
by DOUGLAS COUPLAND
Should you want piss-funny action-comedy-thrillers, Texan novelist Joe R. Lansdale is your man. If free-spirited world travel courtesy of poetry in motion is your thing, you could do worse then read Jack Kerouac�s legendary legacy. If, however, you want to read true, life-affirming philosophy woven into fascinating, intriguing and compelling stories that are rooted in harsh reality yet manage to veer into fantasy, there are just two words that you need to remember, and they are Douglas and Coupland.
While Canadian Coupland was shot to fame with his highly creative and clever novel �Generation X,� �Hey Nostradamus!� is rooted much more firmly in reality when high school girl Cheryl Anway is gunned down by a bunch of school misfits, and her besotted boyfriend is left to cope without her. Insightfully, this novel is neatly presented from four different victims� perspectives, over a decade after the tragedy� courtesy of herself, from beyond the grave; her boyfriend Jason; his �new� girlfriend � and last-but-not-least his strict, God-obsessed father Reg.
The issue of faith and God�s relevance is central to their admissions, and while some of the novel is told in the style of diary entries and prayers, there is a distinct story to �Hey Nostradamus!,� which ultimately leaves us wondering where the hell Jason has gone once he cracks under the pressure and mysteriously disappears courtesy of its captivating climax.
Coupland is well known for his thoughtful, poetic hunches about life and love, Deadly serious in tone throughout (dealing as it does with mortality and all�), Coupland remarks � through his lead character in Cheryl � that �In the end, we are judged by our deeds, not our wishes. We�re the sum of our decisions.�
I thought this novel might have caused more controversy amongst those who firmly believe in God, as God�s existence, and his motives if he does exist, are both directly questioned. �One contradiction of the human heart is this: God refuses to see any one person as unique in his or her relationship to him, and yet we humans see each other as bottomless wells of creativity and uniqueness.� �To acknowledge God is to fully accept the sorrow of the human condition.� �What surprises me about humanity is that in the end such a narrow range of plights defines our moral lives.� �A world of continuous miracles would be a cartoon, not a world.� �In the end, I think the relationships that survive in this world are the ones where two people can finish each other�s sentences. Forget drama and torrid sex and the clash of opposites. Give me banter any day of the week.� �These days I think everybody�s just one spit away from being a mall bomber. People say sugary nice things all the time, but believe none of it.�
True. But I�m a dog-gone sucker for believing every last word that Douglas Coupland writes, and there�s really no wonder when his writing style is so sincere and subtly affecting. So much so in fact, I can honestly say that this guy is my favourite author� and, in one respect, there is no need for the real God when this author is such a naturally compassionate humanitarian, desperate to change the world with his kind and considerate values.
(Steve Rudd)
ISBN 0-00-716250-2
www.heynostradamus.com
www.coupland.com