Set in an airport cocktail lounge during five hours of a global disaster, Coupland's latest work asks readers: At what point do humans stop being h...
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Sep 17, 2011
Sam
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The Massey Lectures are an annual event in Canada where noted scholars give week long lectures on political, social, cultural, or philosophical topics. Douglas Coupland's contributions to these lectures is, rather than a standard long essay, the novel "Player One". The novel is divided up into 5 "hours" where the novel happens in real time and during the lecture week Doug will read 1 "hour" a day. For the rest of us who aren't going to the Massey Lectures we have th
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Feb 15, 2012
Xox
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The book is almost finished. So I better write this before I forgot how I feel about it.
First, the characters building.
He is a master of this. No pages of pages of description, just name and some background so that the reader could have enough input to formulate an image of a person.
It covers some pop culture, the self-help guru. The give me your money and go through the training to feel better. With only a few pages of appearance, it already established how a per More...
First, the characters building.
He is a master of this. No pages of pages of description, just name and some background so that the reader could have enough input to formulate an image of a person.
It covers some pop culture, the self-help guru. The give me your money and go through the training to feel better. With only a few pages of appearance, it already established how a per More...
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Oct 10, 2010
Mon
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It's hard to write about any of Coupland's novel because they are much more than mere plots and characters smudged together. This hits its peak in Player One, possibly the clearest manifestation of Couplandism: where do we go after Postmodernism. When was Generation X published? Let's Google that. 1991. Will the future generation remember a time when information required more physical labour? Look, I can't even get to my review without quoting Coupland, this is how much I love him. So it has bee
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Aug 01, 2011
Matt
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I've been a Coupland fan since I picked up a copy of Microserfs a few years back, and I've subsequently read everything the man has put out - he is right up there with Cory Doctorow in my opinion.
Player One is, similar to Girlfriend In A Coma, a postapocalyptic book, but deals with the first five hours of the fallout after oil passes $300 a barrel.
That said, Player One is not necessarily about the events that take place, these being merely a catalyst to examine the human More...
Player One is, similar to Girlfriend In A Coma, a postapocalyptic book, but deals with the first five hours of the fallout after oil passes $300 a barrel.
That said, Player One is not necessarily about the events that take place, these being merely a catalyst to examine the human More...
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Jan 22, 2012
Tim
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The story starts simply enough: five individuals trapped for five hours in an airport hotel lounge, which coincidently corresponds to five chapters, which each neatly correspond to an hour in real time.
But no sooner does Douglas Coupland set up Player One’s orderly world than he relinquishes that simple world to chaos.
It comes in the form of a news ticker on the lounge’s television – and things go downhill at the speed of cable news: a bomb is detonated at the OPEC summit, c More...
But no sooner does Douglas Coupland set up Player One’s orderly world than he relinquishes that simple world to chaos.
It comes in the form of a news ticker on the lounge’s television – and things go downhill at the speed of cable news: a bomb is detonated at the OPEC summit, c More...
Sep 02, 2011
Darrell
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Alright, so I lied — or spoke too soon, at any rate. After Generation A I was determined to never again pick up another Douglas Coupland novel. But then the CBC announced Coupland as last year's Massey Lecturer; to clinch any potential listener disappointment, they immediately added that Coupland would be “lecturing” in a novel format. Well . . . I suppose that was indeed a “novel” approach to take, if only by CBC standards.
The Massey Lectures are a platform for a Canadian blowhard- More...
The Massey Lectures are a platform for a Canadian blowhard- More...
May 25, 2011
Cori
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Where were you the day oil hit $250 a barrel? Oh wait - it hasn't happened yet. Just in the mind of Douglas Coupland and shared in his latest book "Player One". In this book, the story centres around the unique experience of 4 people, each at an airport bar for a different reason and how they came together when facing what might have seemed like the end of the world the day the price of oil skyrocketed and things began to go terribly wrong.
Rick is the bartender in the loun More...
Rick is the bartender in the loun More...
Mar 09, 2011
Michele
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As part of the Massey Lecture series, this novel is already an unusual kind of creature. But. In addition to being a lecture and a novel, there's also a trailer for the book! A TRAILER for a BOOK. I've never heard of that before. You can check it out on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4fAmOZs9...
Of course because it's a lecture it's also a 'big ideas' kind of novel, but don't let that fool you. The ideas are presented in a fascinating way without being didactic. I read a lot More...
Of course because it's a lecture it's also a 'big ideas' kind of novel, but don't let that fool you. The ideas are presented in a fascinating way without being didactic. I read a lot More...
Mar 03, 2011
Ryan
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 20, 2011
Jean
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Too bad books don't get remakes like films sometimes do. This book deserves one. The ideas, questions and characters in this novel are remarkable, confrontational and thought-provoking and the book is sprinkled with wit and good-to-know facts. Did you know that for every living person, there are only 19 dead people? But this book is like the Singapore sling Karen is drinking: too many ingredients for such a small container. 246 Pages is just not enough to offer more than a sketch of the issues a
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Dec 11, 2010
Sharon
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I wouldn't have believed it myself, but Douglas Coupland, one of my favorite writers in his heyday, makes a strong and moving return to form in "Player One". I first heard the ending of this, possibly the most stirring and poetic part, broadcast as the radio lecture one night while driving around, and went on a desperate search for the book at a Borders within the next few days when I found out the beautiful passages I was hearing were from my once-beloved Coupland!
The scenar More...
The scenar More...
Nov 30, 2010
Mike
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This was a good one. I listened to the podcast of the live CBC Massey lectures, which was slightly abridged, and perhaps not for the better -- it sometimes felt like relevant materials was left out.
Anyway: The novel uses a seemingly apocalyptic scenario to address the question "What is it that makes us human?" I've kind of got a boner for that question, because I think it's important to our getting along peaceably on planet Earth, so my reaction to the novel was probably skew More...
Anyway: The novel uses a seemingly apocalyptic scenario to address the question "What is it that makes us human?" I've kind of got a boner for that question, because I think it's important to our getting along peaceably on planet Earth, so my reaction to the novel was probably skew More...
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Nov 13, 2010
Chad
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Although for years I've avoided Douglas Coupland (though I'll admit to loving GENERATION X when it first came out, and finding LIFE AFTER GOD *profound* when I was in college--which is most likely an untrustworthy endorsement), I decided to pick this up because of this (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/opinio...) interesting "Dictionary of the Near Future," and this (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nati...) "Radical Pessimist's Guide to the Next Ten Years." Not to mentio
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Nov 08, 2010
Eric
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Douglas Coupland has this way of using his fiction to advance sociological and existential concepts in this utterly facile and casual way that always makes me wonder: is it that he's really, really smart and he's trying to dumb it down to make it accessible to me, the common reader, or is it that he really isn't all that bright? (I have the same question about the Matrix movies, if that helps you to understand - brilliant idea, dumbed down for the masses, or just really banal, obvious idea?) He'
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Sep 01, 2011
Sylvied
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I enjoyed it. The characters were engaging and the lifestyles and interactions portrayed were insightful and gave an intersting picture of what life really is like in the early 21st century in the industrialized world. Lots of varying perspectives, geekiness, fanaticism, isolation and detachment and a healthy dose of paranoia. Early on one character reflects that they think the witness protection program is a massive cover-up, people are just killed by the government. It's a clever cover up thou
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Jan 21, 2012
Steev
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This book reminds me of Generation X, Coupland's first novel, which I read when i came out just about exactly 20 years ago. Like Generation X, it's full of characters who most of the time don't do much but are full of profound thoughts. All the characters are similarly smart and introspective and philosophical, and their thoughts are super super interesting. In this, Coupland's writing is pretty unrealistic, as I don't believe very many people really are this way. But I think much of his fic
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Apr 20, 2011
Nicole
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This book would make a horrible movie. Mainly because of how fantastic the writing is! The character development, the expression on life...ah, it's fantastic. I would say this is a thinking book. If you need an escape---and I can understand that feeling --- this book wouldn't be for you at that moment. But if you want a book that will make you think about life, the after-life and the "fallen angel" in all of us. To summarize it's plot: it's a post-apocalyptic type theme with humor twis
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Dec 26, 2010
Ann-Marie
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I believe that Coupland has quite a strong following. However, it was the premise of the story that encouraged me in picking up one of his books.
It's something of a realistic scenario, though perhaps ramped up in a caricature of a more likely event. The characters contained in the story are a little Stephen-King-checklist, but with enough quirks to make them interesting without being crushing weird.
If I were to be fair, it wasn't until I reached the glossary at the end of the book, d More...
It's something of a realistic scenario, though perhaps ramped up in a caricature of a more likely event. The characters contained in the story are a little Stephen-King-checklist, but with enough quirks to make them interesting without being crushing weird.
If I were to be fair, it wasn't until I reached the glossary at the end of the book, d More...
Feb 05, 2012
Sandra
rated it:
FICTION
A real-time five-hour story set in an airport cocktail lounge during a global disaster. Five disparate people are trapped inside: Karen, a single mother waiting for her online date; Rick, the down-on-his-luck airport lounge bartender; Luke, a pastor on the run; Rachel, a cool Hitchcock blonde incapable of true human contact; and finally a mysterious voice known as Player One. Slowly, each reveals the truth about themselves while the world as they know it comes to an end.
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A real-time five-hour story set in an airport cocktail lounge during a global disaster. Five disparate people are trapped inside: Karen, a single mother waiting for her online date; Rick, the down-on-his-luck airport lounge bartender; Luke, a pastor on the run; Rachel, a cool Hitchcock blonde incapable of true human contact; and finally a mysterious voice known as Player One. Slowly, each reveals the truth about themselves while the world as they know it comes to an end.
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Jun 21, 2011
Jaron
rated it:
Three and a half stars. The sub-sub title of this book is "a novel in 5 hours" and I liked the way the story was presented in hour-long chapters, which actually felt like they each took about an hour to read. That was a nice touch. Another nice touch was the "Future Legend" at the end of the book, which was a kind of glossary that cataloged many of the "big ideas" within the novel. I think my favorite term was "Poetic Side Effects," which was defined as "
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Nov 27, 2011
Conan
rated it:
I really wanted to like this book. Partly because he is Canadian, as well as his involvement in the art scene here.
The book's premise is good, it's told from point of view of 5 different characters all at the same airport cocktail lounge.
The books reminds me of someone I know, who grew up in a bad city (all auto plants and steel mills) and comes from a lower-middle class family, and now majors in English and Philosophy. Like him, this book is blocks of shit rhetoric str More...
The book's premise is good, it's told from point of view of 5 different characters all at the same airport cocktail lounge.
The books reminds me of someone I know, who grew up in a bad city (all auto plants and steel mills) and comes from a lower-middle class family, and now majors in English and Philosophy. Like him, this book is blocks of shit rhetoric str More...
Aug 10, 2011
Paul
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Player One is a novel that Douglas Coupland wrote as a series of one hour lectures to be given at the CBC Massey Lectures. Because of this, I believe there are probably different ways of approaching this story from a critical point of view, either as a lecture (meant to inform) or as a novel (meant to entertain). I read it as a novel, so that’s the basis of my review.
The premise of Player One is about five people who have converged in an airport hotel bar in Toronto, all for differen More...
The premise of Player One is about five people who have converged in an airport hotel bar in Toronto, all for differen More...
Feb 06, 2011
Idleprimate
rated it:
the primary thing i felt reading this book was embarrassment. It's almost entirely recycled (sometimes literally) ideas and sentiments from his previous works. it's sock puppet theatre, a cast of characters who all sound like robot versions of Coupland himself. And the audacity at turning real world concerns (oil shocks, civilization collapse) into not just a trite, but flimsy trope to serve as backdrop for another episode of Clever People Talking With Hip Indifference is positively shameful.
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Jan 17, 2012
Siskoid
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Player One (or What Is To Become of Us) is another apocalyptic novel from the Canadian writer, more successful than his previous effort, Generation A, but nowhere near the perfection that is Hey Nostradamus. Written as part of the CBC Massey Lectures (read in university halls and broadcast on the radio), each of five chapters can be read in just an hour. The book paints the portrait of four people trapped in an airport hotel lounge as the world seems to come to an end. As usual, Coupland's writi
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Mar 30, 2011
Myles
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Title aside, Player One: What is to Become of Us, a Novel in Five Hours is an almost-perfect synthesis of what Coupland's writing has to offer.
Ever since a savvy librarian recommended me Generation X in high school, I've been a fan of Coupland's. His ironic commentary on modern life suited my sensibilities, which were jaded as only an introverted teenager's can be. What's kept me with him though are his metaphysical and spiritual meditations, his characters' search for meaning in our i More...
Ever since a savvy librarian recommended me Generation X in high school, I've been a fan of Coupland's. His ironic commentary on modern life suited my sensibilities, which were jaded as only an introverted teenager's can be. What's kept me with him though are his metaphysical and spiritual meditations, his characters' search for meaning in our i More...
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Jan 19, 2012
William
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A group of strangers are trapped together in an airport cocktail lounge as oil prices skyrocket and society descends into chaos. We learn about their lives as they learn about each other and struggle to find understanding.
Admittedly, I didn't enjoy this much while I was reading it as I did after I was done. It sort of felt like and updated Generation X, except instead of telling stories to illustrate their lives, the characters are obsessed with living their lives like a story. More...
Admittedly, I didn't enjoy this much while I was reading it as I did after I was done. It sort of felt like and updated Generation X, except instead of telling stories to illustrate their lives, the characters are obsessed with living their lives like a story. More...
Aug 31, 2011
Raina
rated it:
What a great book to read on a plane. :)
A group of people is trapped in an airport hotel's bar when peak oil hits. The world goes into chaos and the group must defend themselves against a sniper.
As usual, I dug Coupland's characters - a very-recently-former pastor, an affair-seeking soccer mom, an Asperger's-spectrum beauty, and more. His writing dovetails well with my voyeuristic/people-watching tendancies because his characters are so dang detailed.
It was More...
A group of people is trapped in an airport hotel's bar when peak oil hits. The world goes into chaos and the group must defend themselves against a sniper.
As usual, I dug Coupland's characters - a very-recently-former pastor, an affair-seeking soccer mom, an Asperger's-spectrum beauty, and more. His writing dovetails well with my voyeuristic/people-watching tendancies because his characters are so dang detailed.
It was More...
Feb 21, 2011
Shannon
rated it:
Player One is a book set in the exact moments when the world is changed forever by the price of oil skyrocketing to over $900 a barrel after a large number of oil sights are blown up. Player One gives us five points of view: Luke, Rick, Rachel, Karen and Player One, and we get to see how events unfold in a hotel airport bar as the world comes crashing down around them.
For the most part I really enjoyed this book. Every character has found themselves in this airport hotel b More...
For the most part I really enjoyed this book. Every character has found themselves in this airport hotel b More...
Nov 11, 2011
Psychophant
rated it:
This is not a typical novel, but an exploration of mind states and moods, taking the pulse of the North American culture that somehow we globally share, something that Coupland does comfortably.
The characters are quite archetypical, reality is flexible, and the unbelievable apocalypsis becomes something else, more believable, by the end, getting an almost-happy ending that feels like this century rather than the last one.
The true richness of the book are the ideas on our cult More...
The characters are quite archetypical, reality is flexible, and the unbelievable apocalypsis becomes something else, more believable, by the end, getting an almost-happy ending that feels like this century rather than the last one.
The true richness of the book are the ideas on our cult More...
Jul 30, 2011
Moira
rated it:
Pushed my every apocalypse narrative button. The floating, omniscient narrator so frequently found in Coupland's novels is here, of course, as are the long monologues that veer from consumer foodstuffs to the sorrow of physical loneliness to the elasticity of time. Compact and tightly told, it ...
...Ach, I can't really be objective about Douglas Coupland. I think I've read Microserfs half a dozen times, and Girlfriend in a Coma at least thrice. Hey Nostradamus, Generation X, Eleanor R More...
...Ach, I can't really be objective about Douglas Coupland. I think I've read Microserfs half a dozen times, and Girlfriend in a Coma at least thrice. Hey Nostradamus, Generation X, Eleanor R More...
