false 3378 18 <I>Generation X</I> should feel dated--its title is no longer a part of the zeitgeist, and the generation it defined has been irrevocably changed. Gen Xers--the post-boomers born in the 1960s and even the late '50s--are no longer the socially terrified twentysomethings that populate Douglas Coupland's first and finest novel. The economic boom of the late 1990s dragged them out of their McJobs and back into the corporate world, transforming them into younger versions of the yuppies that Coupland lampoons so well. Surprisingly, though, the culture that is described in <I>Generation X</I> has not changed all that much; it has simply been passed on, in an Internet-friendly form, to the latest crop of bright young things. <P> Those who missed <I>Generation X</I> when it first appeared may be surprised to find that most of the associations that have been tacked on to its catchphrase title are not present in the novel. Coupland's characters--Dag, Claire, and Andy, three young neurotics from "good" upper-middle-class homes--are not financially ambitious, but they are not slackers either. Rather than drearily complaining that there is nothing worth doing, they are trying very hard to make sense of their lives and their culture. They do this by telling stories to each other, desperately and sincerely. Andy likens his friends' need for storytelling to the proceedings of an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting:<blockquote> "Never be afraid to cough up a bit of diseased lung for the spectators," said a man who sat next to me at a meeting once, a man with skin like a half-cooked pie crust and who had five grown children who would no longer return his phone calls: "How are people ever going to help themselves if they can't grab onto a fragment of your own horror? People want that little fragment, they <I>need</I> it. That little piece of lung makes their own fragments less scary." I'm still looking for a description of storytelling as vital as this.</blockquote> Storytelling is an ancient invention; Coupland simply restates its importance in a world of short attention spans and jump-cutting media. This side of <I>Generation X</I> hasn't aged at all and isn't likely to. And the other, better-known side of the novel--Coupland's razor-sharp cultural field guide--will remain relevant as long as university graduates still have to choose between economic uncertainty and corporate monoculture and still respond by refusing to grow up in conventional ways. Anyone who has avoided <I>Generation X</I> because of its unfortunate association with a few demographic buzzwords should consider giving Coupland a second look. <I>--Jack Illingworth</I> 2851520 book 1991 Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture total:4554|5:968|4:1648|3:1458|2:386|1:94| 4554 16672 5679 300 5 9 false false Sat May 26 19:53:53 -0700 2007 Sun Dec 07 08:01:49 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1 4 false false Thu Jun 28 16:16:45 -0700 2007 Thu Jun 28 16:18:07 -0700 2007 5 5 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Oct 30 08:12:57 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 01 11:27:49 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 3 false false Sat Oct 06 14:35:49 -0700 2007 Sat Oct 13 17:18:01 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 2 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 16:10:21 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 10 06:29:22 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 2 false false Sun Dec 30 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Thu Nov 06 12:12:34 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 06 12:13:39 -0800 2008 Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture has little conflict until the end of the book. Thing is, I think the author intended it to be that way.

The novel is told in three parts, revolving around three friends, Dag, Claire, and the narrator, Andy. Other characte...more...]]> 1 3 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed May 14 14:47:48 -0700 2008 Fri May 23 10:39:55 -0700 2008
What I really don't like about it is the glorified loser culture of the early 90s and nearly 18 years later it hasn't aged well and just...more...]]> 1 2 false false Tue Dec 11 12:29:41 -0800 2007 Tue Jan 13 10:31:19 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 3 false false Sat Sep 08 13:22:29 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 08 13:28:32 -0700 2007 more...]]> 1 1 false false Tue Jun 09 08:21:17 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 11:50:09 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 09 08:21:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 true false Thu Jan 10 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 01 12:35:54 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 01 13:25:30 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Jul 04 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 01 05:08:14 -0700 2007 Thu Jan 31 18:18:42 -0800 2008
It's no wonder Coupland saw literary success after this book. It really is a triumph on all the scales that authors and their critics measure each other. It's devilishly clever, rife with scythe-like word-play, well-paced... It's everything a...more...]]> 4 2 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 17 16:45:06 -0800 2007 Thu Jan 03 22:11:44 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Tue Nov 27 08:28:49 -0800 2007 Tue Nov 27 08:42:33 -0800 2007
some favorites:

Now Denial: to tell oneself that the only time worth living in is the past and that the only time that may ever be interesting again is the f...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Fri Jan 02 09:44:44 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 09:47:17 -0800 2009
There were many things I liked about this book, and just a few things I didn't. I think I would have liked it better without the stories the three friends t...more...]]> 2 0 false true Wed Mar 04 12:29:35 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 10 15:01:13 -0700 2009 Phew, I'm glad that's over

Upon finishing what appears to be the last chapter of Generation X, if not including the statistics section entitled Numbers, I am only slightly surprised by my loud and spontaneous outpouring of the chorus to All You Need Is Love.

I’m not sure how ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon May 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 12 10:12:55 -0700 2009 Mon May 18 09:57:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1992 Tue Aug 14 07:34:52 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 14 07:36:53 -0700 2007
The story of 3 young people who give up their high tech jobs and move out to the desert in Palm Springs to work in marginal "McJobs" that allow them time for a quality of life that they would not have if chained inside of a cubicle at a large corporation.

S...more...]]> 2 1 false false Sat Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 1991 Tue Jul 31 23:11:27 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 01 15:55:17 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Feb 02 06:56:35 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 06:56:35 -0800 2009
I have never felt a book speak to me -- and speak from m...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3378