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24th out of 196 books
—
45 voters
Life After God
We are the first generation raised without God. We are creatures with strong religious impulses, yet they have nowhere to flow in this world of malls and TV, Kraft dinners and jets. How do we cope with loneliness? Anxiety? The collapse of relationships? How do we reach the quiet, safe layer of our lives? In this compellingly innovative collection of stories, bestselling au...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
July 1st 2002
by Scribner
(first published 1994)
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There's an obvious problem with a 5-star rating system (or any graded system, really) being used to rate god-damned BOOKS, you know? This has probably been brought up previously, but c'mon: I'm going to validate Virginia Woolf by giving her 5 stars, and also I really fucking loved Harry Potter so you know what, that's 5 stars too, so Harry Potter's 5 stars is on the same level as Woolf's 5 stars. And Comedy of Errors is only 4 stars, as is the entirety of Milton's work, but Trumpet of the Swan,...more
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I have been told—and have read—that this book will change my life. It did not. I do not doubt Coupland's ability to write. His prose is simple, but not spare, always divulging just enough to create the right impression—though his characters all sound alike as a result. But the pervasive road weary tone of voice, the wary (and hyperaware) disillusionment, began to grate on me. The self-consciously simplistic drawings troubled me, as well—they weren't irritating or distracting, but they didn't add...more
luckily i picked this book up just before finishing a book that made me dislike reading (haunted by "the author"). this book is why i like reading, because it takes you to a different place and helps you put perspective on your life or understand some things that you just couldnt grasp alone.
a book like this is like a friend. and i love my friends. additionally i think all of my friends should read this book. soon.
i was a bit unsure starting the book, i liked it from the start but it couldve gon...more
a book like this is like a friend. and i love my friends. additionally i think all of my friends should read this book. soon.
i was a bit unsure starting the book, i liked it from the start but it couldve gon...more
8 likes · like · see review
"Now: I believe that you've had most of your important memories by the time you're thirty. After that, memory becomes water overflowing into an already full cup. New experiences just don't register in the same way or with the same impact. I could be shooting heroin with the Princess of Wales, naked in a crashing jet, and the experience still couldn't compare to the time the cops chased us after we threw the Taylors' patio furniture into their pool in the eleventh grade. You know what I mean." (C...more
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Tried re-reading this the other day, and I just couldn't get myself back into it. All that Meaning-with-a-capital-M that seemed to be there when I was in my late teens/early 20s seemed a bit absent, so I stopped before I could completely ruin my good memories of this book. It's best to let angsty dogs lie, I suppose.
Come to think of it, maybe this is why I have such a hard time getting into a lot of Coupland's work that has come out since I graduated college. Maybe when you finally have some dir...more
Come to think of it, maybe this is why I have such a hard time getting into a lot of Coupland's work that has come out since I graduated college. Maybe when you finally have some dir...more
8 likes · like · see review
This one reads like a diary, kind of an aging Generation X. I strongly relate to it as I am slightly younger than Coupland. As Gen. X was exciting to read, being amazed by the connection of similar feelings and experiences of youth, L.A.G. was rather like comparing notes on the challenges of life at a high school reunion. The end has a little kernel of hope, and as with so many of the experiences and characters in the book, I had a remarkably similar naturo-mystical water thing only days before...more
whaooo how could everything about life that you thought was impossible to capture be captured so well in words!!!!!!!!!jiefjuej first ballot HOF for me.
A series of vignettes or short stories, rather than a stand alone novel, Life After God is not one of Douglas Coupland's greatest works. It is too disjointed, and that is saying something given that Coupland seems to specialize in the disjointed narrative.
Strangely enough, it is the most disjointed part of the book that is the strongest. There Coupland gives us an end of the world, nuclear apocalypse as seen through the eyes of those who are killed by it. Each part of this section of the book de...more
Strangely enough, it is the most disjointed part of the book that is the strongest. There Coupland gives us an end of the world, nuclear apocalypse as seen through the eyes of those who are killed by it. Each part of this section of the book de...more
Douglas Coupland is one of my all time favorite authors. I have all his books and while I was going through the Nerd Cave and decluttering I became a bit nostalgic and wanted to go back and read the books that meant the world to me growing up. I decided to read this book because I have this permanent memory of this book speaking to me during a certain phase in my life. I have not touched this book in over 10 years easily if not more.
After reading this book I don't know that it is always a good i...more
After reading this book I don't know that it is always a good i...more
Worth a quick read as some of the dialogue captures the spirit of a segment of a disenfranchised American culture.
"Some facts about me: I am a broken person. I seriously question the road my life has taken and I endlessly rehash the compromises I have made in my life. I have an unsecure and vaguely crappy job with an amoral corporation so I don't have to worry about money. I put up with half-way relationships so as not to have to worry about loneliness. I have lost the ability to recapture the p...more
"Some facts about me: I am a broken person. I seriously question the road my life has taken and I endlessly rehash the compromises I have made in my life. I have an unsecure and vaguely crappy job with an amoral corporation so I don't have to worry about money. I put up with half-way relationships so as not to have to worry about loneliness. I have lost the ability to recapture the p...more
This is the 8th book of Coupland's I've read and I wouldn't have read this many if I didn't think he was a great writer doing wonderful things with the novel. He's been on a roll recently starting with "Eleanor Rigby" up to his latest "Generation A" so I was interested enough to go back to those I've not read, his early books.
"Life After God" is a collection of short stories written in blocks of 2 or 3 paragraphs per page, large font, with a single child-like illustration accompanying it. The s...more
"Life After God" is a collection of short stories written in blocks of 2 or 3 paragraphs per page, large font, with a single child-like illustration accompanying it. The s...more
No matter how much I try, I think I'm just not a Douglas Coupland fan. I always feel like I should give him "one more chance" since I know so many people who really love his books, but it seems I'm always disappointed. I spent the past couple of days reading Life After God on the train, and yet again, it just didn't do anything for me.
I feel like Coupland's books have all the shape of being intellectual or philosophical without any of the substance. He acts like he's going to say something big b...more
I feel like Coupland's books have all the shape of being intellectual or philosophical without any of the substance. He acts like he's going to say something big b...more
Nothing to write home about-- but does express a sort of 90's generational malaise and anxiety in corporate and suburban existence.
"Now: I believe that you've had most of your important memories by the time you're thirty. After that, memoy becomes water overflowing into an already full cup. New experiences just don't register in the same way or with the same impact." (48)
"The parakeet made me realize how hard it is to learn anything in life, and even then, there's no guarantee that you might nee...more
"Now: I believe that you've had most of your important memories by the time you're thirty. After that, memoy becomes water overflowing into an already full cup. New experiences just don't register in the same way or with the same impact." (48)
"The parakeet made me realize how hard it is to learn anything in life, and even then, there's no guarantee that you might nee...more
I am admittedly a huge Coupland fan. I read absolutely everything he writes but I'm not blind in my devotion. He has hits and misses just like anyone. This book, however, is what started my fandom and makes me forgive his occasional misses. This book is full of short stories but where most short stories attempt to tell a small story from beginning to end these stories tell just the middle part of a much larger story. These stories leave just about -everything- to the imagination. They are just t...more
Life After God is a compilation of short stories; all related to the same idea of questioning one's stance, place, thoughts, emotions, etc. in this world in which we live. Coupland continues the themes he established in his past writings about the first generation growing up without God; however, the theme is quite tangled in this book, seeing as how most of the narrators end their stories by seeking God, or admitting that they need God or some similar conclusion.
I basically have three issues w...more
I basically have three issues w...more
Life after God is a collection of eight stories which continue Coupland's quest to discover forms of personal significance that comfort the citizens of an increasingly post-spiritual world. Each story's narrator attempts to construct meaning from the events of their life; varying from a divorced father taking a road trip with his child to a man searching for his long-last sister.
The characters are deeply flawed and introspective; Coupland makes no attempt to hide the vulnerabilities of human na...more
The characters are deeply flawed and introspective; Coupland makes no attempt to hide the vulnerabilities of human na...more
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that has polarized different aspects of my self as much as this one has, my first Douglas Coupland book. I experienced a wide variety of reactions from across the spectrum. There were times where I just wanted to give up reading it. There were times where I was pulled into trance at its beauty. All in all, reading it ended up being quite a memorable experience, and made my lunch breaks during this, the last week of the new month of the new decade, significantl...more
This is a hard one to read and to rate and to talk about. I was prepared to write a comment here about how all the character sound the same. How Coupland has just the one voice, and how frustrating it is (but then how much I like, love even, some of his other books even if the characters all sound the same) to read when I can't distinguish one story from the next. And how this whole book of stories is really just one story, told by different people in different circumstances and with different w...more
3 1/2 stars.
I liked this book. I enjoyed reading it. I personally disagree with a lot of his premise--the "ideas" he asserts--but I find it an interesting perspective nonetheless. It seems that this book--Coupland in general--really resonates with some people and they just love him; meanwhile, if the book doesn't resonate, many people just hate his stuff. Like I say, this book didn't really strike a chord with me in that I saw myself or anyone I know in it, but I feel like it is valuable in that...more
I liked this book. I enjoyed reading it. I personally disagree with a lot of his premise--the "ideas" he asserts--but I find it an interesting perspective nonetheless. It seems that this book--Coupland in general--really resonates with some people and they just love him; meanwhile, if the book doesn't resonate, many people just hate his stuff. Like I say, this book didn't really strike a chord with me in that I saw myself or anyone I know in it, but I feel like it is valuable in that...more
“Mom said people are interested in birds only inasmuch as they exhibit human behaviour—greed and stupidity and anger—and by doing so they free us from the unique sorrow of being human. She thinks humans are tired of having to take the blame all my themselves for all the badness in the world.
“I told Mom my own theory of why we like birds—of how birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain.”
I started reading the part about nucl...more
“I told Mom my own theory of why we like birds—of how birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain.”
I started reading the part about nucl...more
Deeply moving, and impressively depressing. In the end you're honestly left thinking about your own life and beliefs.
Very interesting read.
Very interesting read.
This is the perfect book for a quarter-/mid-life crisis, or if you are just generally feeling down about life. And if you aren't, but are paying even a bit of attention to this book, it will bring you down. And I mean this in the best possible way. I thought this was a great read--it was sad, yes; but more importantly, it was wise and honest. It's one of those books that makes you think the writer knows everything about you and your life, and the more you read, the more amazed you are at how the...more
Man, I was eating this Coupland shit up two summer's ago. It seems so long ago now, but also not too long ago. And I mean that to be as depressing as it sounds. I had just stopped working in March, and was still on a slacker high, which phases in and out to this dyin' day.
The greatest thing about this book was the packaging, and how quick it was to read. I think I even read it on an airplane maybe, must've been my flight to/back from Houston. But really, I believe 8 out of 10 of us have a journa...more
The greatest thing about this book was the packaging, and how quick it was to read. I think I even read it on an airplane maybe, must've been my flight to/back from Houston. But really, I believe 8 out of 10 of us have a journa...more
Coupland is at his best when he writes on the spiritual. This book is a collection of short stories about various Gen-Xers living a life after god, as part of the first generation raised without any religion. Each are very profound, and all of Coupland's weakenesses as a writer-the cutesiness and hipster lingo, the product placement in place of character development, the faux-Kerouac prose-are nowhere to be found. Just simple, melancholy stories about how we really do need god to connect to some...more
Stop what you are reading, and go read this. Over and over again.
COUPLAND - I love you.
COUPLAND - I love you.
Just because of this, it's worth it:
“And then I felt sad because I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can't ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when you are young and it never fails to surprise you as you grow older as you see the people in your life break one by one. You wonder when your turn is going to be, or if it's already happened.”
Or this...
“We are changed souls; we don't look at things the same way anymore. For there was a time when we expe...more
“And then I felt sad because I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can't ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when you are young and it never fails to surprise you as you grow older as you see the people in your life break one by one. You wonder when your turn is going to be, or if it's already happened.”
Or this...
“We are changed souls; we don't look at things the same way anymore. For there was a time when we expe...more
I used to read this book several times a year during the mid to late 1990s. It's a short book that presents a series of vignettes from the author's perspective as a college educated suburban kid grown up and still searching. Each captures certain feelings of loneliness, brokenness, and disconnection. Coupland is also famous for "Generation X", a book that popularized the now familiar term. I regard "Life After God" as a masterpiece. In fact, I liked this book so much I bought its Spanish transla...more
This is a splendid book that looks at how people try to explain the complexities of life and love without the usual religious context which pervades our thoughts. While it is a series of short stories, I was able to read this book at an unbroken pace, such did each vignette bleed into the next one. One of them, however, did stand out above the others. In 'Gettysburg' the narrator professes to another their belief that out-of-body spiritual experience can only be achieved through intimacy with an...more
A series of vignettes or short stories, rather than a stand alone novel, Life After God is not one of Douglas Coupland's greatest works. It is too disjointed, and that is saying something given that Coupland seems to specialize in the disjointed narrative.
Strangely enough, it is the most disjointed part of the book that is the strongest. There Coupland gives us an end of the world, nuclear apocalypse as seen through the eyes of those who are killed by it. Each part of this section of the book de...more
Strangely enough, it is the most disjointed part of the book that is the strongest. There Coupland gives us an end of the world, nuclear apocalypse as seen through the eyes of those who are killed by it. Each part of this section of the book de...more
2007 wrote: Here Coupland follows many impressive characters through the last days of the world. It is his short prose that makes this work so appealing. A very easy read, but intensely powerful emotions are evoked. It begs to make the reader question where he or she will be when it's all done. What state physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually will one be. The characters run the gambit of possibilities and most having reflected back after death tell their stories rather calmy, for all th...more
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Douglas Coupland is Canadian, born on a Canadian Air Force base near Baden-Baden, Germany, on December 30, 1961. In 1965 his family moved to Vancouver, Canada, where he continues to live and work. Coupland has studied art and design in Vancouver, Canada, Milan, Italy and Sapporo, Japan. His first novel, Generation X, was published in March of 1991. Since then he has published nine novels and sever...more
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“And then I felt sad because I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can't ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when you are young and it never fails to surprise you as you grow older as you see the people in your life break one by one. You wonder when your turn is going to be, or if it's already happened.”
—
1,103 people liked it
“When you're young, you always feel that life hasn't yet begun -- that "life" is always scheduled to begin next week, next month, next year, after the holidays -- whenever. But then suddenly you're old and the scheduled life didn't arrive. You find yourself asking, 'Well then, exactly what was it I was having -- that interlude -- the scrambly madness -- all that time I had before?”
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197 people liked it
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