Sep 20, 20 since his hugely influential 1991 debut generation x, canadian author douglas coupland has proven himself an expert at appraising the life and culture of the affluent, technologyinfused west with. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. If this critique of mass culture is satirical, it hides it well. Follow douglas coupland and explore their bibliography from s douglas coupland author page. City of glass is a book by canadian author douglas coupland, published by douglas and mcintyre in 2000, featuring short essays and photographs of his home town of vancouver, british columbia. His new book of short stories and drawings describes the mental framework of someone who grew up in a secular environment. Raymond gunt, in the words of the author, is a living, walking, talking. Douglas coupland has 71 books on goodreads with 311932 ratings. Laughing at disaster, coupland s postpostbabyboomers rationalize the culture of constant change, selfreinvention, and immediate gratification. Ever, couplands keenly offkilter observations on the minute futilities of.
In 1991, before the internet, canadian coupland wrote about historical overdosing in his novel generation x to live in a period of time when too much seems to happen. Of the former, the critic rex reed wrote, perhaps this film will find its target audience in hell. Raymond gunt is profane, rude, heartless and truly the worst. Author douglas coupland says hes not exactly sure how the character, with.
To comment on this article please post below, or email magazineletters. The man who gave the world generation x looks back at the oftmaligned 1990s. The plot is little more than scaffolding to display couplands cultural insight. A remembrance of things past that turns inexplicably into a harbinger of the apocalypseas well as couplands hey nostradamus. The website of canadian author and artist douglas coupland. Tales for an accelerated culture, and the gum thief, and more on. Oct 03, 20 it is hard to describe, out of context, quite how funny couplands novel can be.
Whats impressive about wpewhatever your feeling for its lewd sense of humoris the confidence with which the hits. Coupland is a frequent contributor for the new republic, the new york times, and wired. Raymond gunt, in the words of the author, is a living, walking, talking, hot steaming pile of pure id. Generation x, shampoo planet, and most recently, life after god. Novels are no longer about thinking, theyre just vortices of cliche. See all books authored by douglas coupland, including generation x. I love douglas couplands older books but have been sorely.
A razorsharp portrait of a morally bankrupt and gleefully wi. Douglas coupland books list of books by author douglas coupland. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. His newest novel, beautiful you, will be released in october.
Author douglas coupland tells nprs arun rath that hes not exactly sure how the lead character of his new novel entered his mind. In total, palahniuk has written fourteen novels and two books of nonfiction. Buy this book raymond gunt, the narrator of coupland s. The book was an immediate commercial success, and coupland became a sometimes. Coupland is an officer of the order of canada, and a member of the order of british columbia. Douglas coupland born 1961 is a canadian novelist, visual artist and designer. Douglas coupland has been, and remains, an idea guy, and he seems to be having the most fun. Douglas coupland s gloriously filthy, sidesplittingly funny and unforgettable new novel, his first fulllength work of fiction in four years. We here at litreactor are happy to report that the author has announced the title and release month of his next book, via twitter. Ever douglas couplands latest popculture satire is. A razorsharp portrait of a morally bankrupt and gleefully wicked modern man, worst. Juicy characters are easy to write, according to douglas coupland, who revelled in creating raymond gunt, the despicable protagonist of his latest novel worst. Mar 21, 2014 douglas couplands most recent novel is worst. But some of its most celebrated books are rooted in harder times, as it struggled to find its place in the world, and to deal with racial tensions.
A lot of its humour springs from the relentless hideousness of gunt. Instead of laughter, however, he elicits frowns, annoyance and. Liz dunn, unmarried and unattached, works as a cubicle clone at some communications firm in vancouver and appears to have few passions, obsessions. Everything theyve been saying about generation x theyre now saying about millennials.
What the critics thought of in it together by matthew dancona, worst. Sure, he can be foulmouthed, occasionally misogynistic, and can just generally rub people the wrong. Douglas coupland has a gift for folding popular culture. Author and artist douglas coupland at the museum of canadian contemporary. Irish times, books of the year there are gloriously unquotable remarks and fantastically lurid images on every page. Dezember 1961 in rheinmunstersollingen ist ein kanadischer. Douglas coupland announces new novel via twitter litreactor. Douglas coupland was born on a canadian nato base in badensollingen, west germany, on 30 december, 1961.
Check out douglas couplands bestselling novel worst. The book is written in the first person, in what is known as the unreliable narrator style. Douglas couplands most popular book is generation x. A razorsharp portrait of a morally bankrupt, gleefully wicked modern man, worst. Douglas coupland is nothing if not contemporary, and so his books are best consumed in a single sitting in advance of any best before date. From the careermaking superhit of his first novel, generation x, through books like microserfs and jpod and the gum thief to his latest, worst.
A deeply unworthy book about a dreadful human being with absolutely no redeeming social value, its guaranteed to brighten up your day. Unfortunately, coupland doesnt seem to have any insight left into human nature. His novels and visual work synthesize high and low culture, web technology, religion, and changes in human existence caused by modern technologies. Unlike in some of coupland s earlier novels, no attempt is made at deeper social commentary in worst. As the title implies, the main character, raymond gunt, is not a nice person. Sep 05, 20 a razorsharp portrait of a morally bankrupt and gleefully wicked modern man, worst. Coupland offers an excessonexcess satire of what he may see as the worst culture ever a judgment both expressed by and embodied in raymond gunt, its wholly. Gunt is a human hydrant of casual rage and profanity his last name close to one of the book s most common words. Mar 25, 20 douglas coupland is in the news once again. Thats not necessarily badvonnegut made a career out of that sort of novel. He writes, the new novel is finished and comes out in october.
Douglas coupland was born on a nato base in germany in 1961. Tales for an accelerated culture 1991, literally named a generation. He also released an updated version of city of glass and a biography of marshall mcluhan for penguin canada in their extraordinary canadians series, called extraordinary canadians. In it, raymond is an english cameraman, on the jerk. Douglas couplands gloriously filthy, sidesplittingly funny and unforgettable new novel, his first fulllength work of fiction in four years. Still a cultural pulsetaker, coupland generation x, 1991 organizes his hip bromides and nextwave sententiousness into a rather humdrum narrative thats long on posturing, short on plot. A deeply unworthy audiobook about a dreadful human being with absolutely no redeeming social value, its guaranteed to brighten up your day.
He is the author of the international bestsellers generation a and jpod, and nine other novels, among them the gum thief, hey nostradamus. Douglas couplands gloriously filthy, sidesplittingly funny, and unforgettable new novel, his first. Mixing the bizarre and the mundane, douglas couplands novels explore social change and the texture of the times. His art has appeared in the vancouver art gallery, the royal. Douglas coupland takes his sparkling literary talent in a new direction with this crackling collection of takes on life and death in north america from his sweeping portrait of grateful dead culture to the deaths of kurt cobain, marilyn monroe and. Raymond gunt likes to think of himself as a pretty decent guy. Douglas coupland chuck palahniuk the new york public library.
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