Andreas's review of Shampoo Planet

Shampoo Planet
by Douglas Coupland

Andreas's review

rating:

status: Read in January, 2008

I tried to read Generation X when I was 13 or so and, frankly, I just didn't get it. I don't think at that age we can truly grasp the bleak future that is a never ending parade of strip malls and McJobs shrouded in a neon disposable culture. Unfortunately another 5 to 10 years make these realities seem all too possible. I'm sure I would get a lot more out of it now, but instead I moved on to Douglas Coupland's sophomore effort Shampoo Planet.

Like all great Canadians, Coupland has a much keener sense of American culture then the average American. I guess it must have something to do with growing up next to a monolithic imperial country like the USA while trying to protect your own emerging national identity. The simultaneous proximity and detachment allows writers like Coupland to infiltrate the BS and get to the heart of the matter.

What is the heart of the matter you ask? Thanks to a culture based on mass marketing targeted at our every insecurity, we now live on a Shamp...more I tried to read Generation X when I was 13 or so and, frankly, I just didn't get it. I don't think at that age we can truly grasp the bleak future that is a never ending parade of strip malls and McJobs shrouded in a neon disposable culture. Unfortunately another 5 to 10 years make these realities seem all too possible. I'm sure I would get a lot more out of it now, but instead I moved on to Douglas Coupland's sophomore effort Shampoo Planet.

Like all great Canadians, Coupland has a much keener sense of American culture then the average American. I guess it must have something to do with growing up next to a monolithic imperial country like the USA while trying to protect your own emerging national identity. The simultaneous proximity and detachment allows writers like Coupland to infiltrate the BS and get to the heart of the matter.

What is the heart of the matter you ask? Thanks to a culture based on mass marketing targeted at our every insecurity, we now live on a Shampoo Planet. Our hair care products have become both the manifestation of our psychological instability and the key to our spiritual salvation. Every new product allows us one more chance at enlightenment, moving us towards our ultimate goal: the perfect hair day.

The main character of the novel, Tyler, is a fascinating study of a young American male in modern times. The son of aging hippies, he has rejected their "homespun" ways to embrace the security of modernity and mass consumerism (He insists on only buying brand-name products). Facing an uncertain future in a dead-end town, he drifts through University while dreaming of a high powered position at the Bechtol corporation (Coupland's version of Haliburton one would assume). The book follows Tyler's life as it slowly unravels in large part do to his amoral approach to the world around him.

Shampoo Planet is a very quick and engaging read. It raises a lot issues about modern society and even offers a few solutions. Tyler's letter to the CEO of Bechtol about HistoryWorld is a classic and could easily be the platform of any progressive politician wishing to remain in perpetual obscurity. ...less

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message 1: by Natalie

02/01/2008 07:09AM

Where do I get a copy? Sounds great!

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Andreas's review of Shampoo Planet

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