Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11139 in Books
• Published on: 1996-11-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 217 pages

Synopsis
Andy, Dag and Claire have been handed a society beyond their means. Twentysomethings, brought up with divorce, Watergate and Three Mile Island, and scarred by the 80s fallout of yuppies, recession, crack and Ronald Reagan, they represent the new generation- Generation X. Fiercely suspicious of being lumped together as an advertiser's target market, they have quit dreary careers and cut themselves adrift in the California desert. Unsure of their futures, they immerse themselves in a regime of heavy drinking and working in no future Mc Jobs in the service industry. Underemployed, overeducated and intensely private and unpredicatable, they have nowhere to direct their anger, no one to assuage their fears, and no culture to replace their anomie. So they tell stories: disturbingly funny tales that reveal their barricaded inner world. A world populated with dead TV shows, 'Elvis moments' and semi-disposible Swedish furniture.

Customer Reviews

Uneventful, But Interseting
This is a book I did not particularly enjoy, and I must admit to at times being completely bored rigid, yet some parts were rather interesting.

By the end of the book I must admit I was pleased to be rid of it, but I think this was partly to do witht the fact that I was born the year it was released, therefore cannot realate to the generation.

Another reason for my dislike was that i chose this book based on the author. I was given a copy of All Families Are Psycotic and fell in love with it, so decided to look up Coupland's other books.

It hasn't put me off Coupland, but i sincerely hope his other works are more AFAP, less Generation X

"Adventure Without Risk is Disneyland"
I was mildly disappointed when I read this for the first time recently as I was expecting something a little more fast-paced, a little edgier. Perhaps this was because I - erroneously, as it turns out - associated the title with grunge music, a hybrid of punk, indie-rock and heavy metal that reached its peak in the early nineties - right about the time Generation X was first published. In fact, the title refers to a generation slightly older than me and the majority of grunge fans, and there is no mention of Nirvana et al in this, Douglas Coupland's debut novel.

The story itself is a gentle, somewhat uneventful tale of three friends who, having become increasingly disillusioned with the soulless pursuits of the yuppie/baby boom generation, relocate to the Mojave desert, in California. Here, they tell each other stories ("memories of Earth") not merely as a way of passing the time but in an attempt to re-discover their humanity. If the topics of these stories seem lofty and language employed to tell them pretentious, then it's entirely deliberate, Coupland capturing the "overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable" nature of his characters in a touching and wonderfully ironic style.

What intrigued me most about this book, however, was the impressive glossary of terms and slogans found at the foot of the pages. Wryly observed, and for the most part, searingly funny, they reveal as much (if not more) about the generation Coupland is concerned with. And if you recognise yourself in any these descriptions, fear not! You are surely not alone. I for one have been guilty of "Ultra Short Term Nostalgia" and "Musical Hairsplitting" in my time, and have come pretty close to a "Mid-twenties Breakdown" once or twice...

In conclusion, Generation X isn't an overly thrilling read, but it is a lyrical, insightful and romantic book that remains an iconic and culturally significant work of fiction.

Matt Pucci

Wry and sad - a masterpiece for the nineties.
Coupland is a master of these kind of fin de siecle novels. Generation X is not plot or character driven - it is really just a collection of rambling thoughts on what it means to be twenty something in the early nineties. It is packed with wry observations and simple truths. It is hugely analytical and shows the complex thoughts of the so called apathetic young people of today - for although this is aimed at twenty somethings in the early nineties it is just as relevant today. Another author could have made this seem overly cynical but Couplands masterful use of irony pulls off the subject spectacularly. One of the novels major plus points is the newly coined phrases and definitions set across the bottom of some of the pages - they were all so clever and true and many people of a certain age and state of mind will be able to relate to them so easily. I think this book would appeal to deep thinkers and people who don't need to read something fast paced in order to keep their interest.