He has written and performed for the royal shakespeare company in stratford, england, and in 2001 resumed his practice as a. Founded in 1997, has become a leading book price comparison site. Douglas coupland is a canadian novelist, visual artist and designer. Notably, bees are extinct making fresh fruit and vegetables prized and rare and most of the world. A raucous tale of four academics, two malfunctioning. He has written and performed for the royal shakespeare company in stratford, england, and in 2001 resumed his practice as a visual artist, with exhibitions worldwide. Their shared experience unites them in ways they never could have imagined. A novel of life in the nineties explores the world of computer giant. Douglas coupland is canadian, born on a canadian air force base near badenbaden, germany, on december 30, 1961. His first novel, generation x, was published in march of 1991. As coupland writes, bit rot also describes the way my brain has been feeling since 2000, as i shed older and weaker neurons and connections and enhance new and unexpected ones.
Interestingly though, when couplands on stage as he was last week in discussion with new york. They are microserfssix codecrunching computer whizzes who spend upward of sixteen hours a day coding and eating flat foods food which, like kraft singles, can be passed underneath closed doors as they fearfully scan company email to learn whether the great bill is going to flame one of them. Andy, claire, and dag, each in their twenties, have quit pointless jobs done grudgingly to little applause in their respective hometowns and cut themselves adrift on the california desert. Watch as their lives unfold alongside rogers workinprogress, the oddly titled glove pond. His thoughts are funneled into the book through the epistolary format of the novel, and also as he records stream of consciousness lists of terms. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk delivery on orders over. The kitchen is stocked with ramshackle 1970s avocado green appliances. Since then he has published nine novels and several nonfiction books in 35 languages and most countries on earth. Buy microserfs by coupland, douglas from amazons fiction books store. Jpod, douglas couplands most acclaimed novel to date, is a lethal joyride into todays new breed of tech worker.
Douglas coupland shopping in jail by douglas coupland. A hilarious but frighteningly real look at geek life in the 90s, couplands book. Douglas coupland books list of books by author douglas coupland. Nov 11, 2008 microserfs by douglas coupland, 9780061624261, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author. Bit rot the book explores the ways humanity tries to make sense of our shifting consciousness. A celebrated novelist, visual artist, and designer, douglas coupland has been making work about popular culture and the effects of the technological revolution on the human brain for more than 20 years.
Microserfs, published by harpercollins in 1995, is an epistolary novel by douglas coupland. Some practical writing advice from douglas coupland. He is the third of four sons of douglas charles thomas who is a doctor and c. He has published thirteen novels, two collections of short.
Buy microserfs new edition by coupland, douglas isbn. In 1965 his family moved to vancouver, canada, where he continues to live and work. Douglas coupland chuck palahniuk the new york public library. A nonfiction book was published in america this month which is essential reading. Microserfs by douglas coupland, 9780061624261, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. My wife read couplands 2004 novel, eleanor rigby and found it to be pretty good. Set in the early 1990s, it captures the state of the technology industry before windows 95, and anticipates the dotcom bubble of the late 1990s. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. But now theres a chance to become innovators instead of cogs in the gargantuan microsoft. Like much of couplands writing, it occupies the perplexing hinterland between optimism about the future and everyday apocalyptic paranoia.
I was meeting a friend for dinner in london, but first he wanted to go to blackwells books on the strand to hear coupland read from his new novel, girlfriend in a coma. Hes designed for roots and hes created sculptures for a new toronto park. He is the author of the international bestsellers generation a and jpod and nine other novels, including the gum thief, hey nostradamus. Generation x 1991 shampoo planet 1992 life after god 1994 microserfs 1995 polaroids from the dead 1996 girlfriend in a coma 1998. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. His first novel, generation x, was published in march of. He is the author of the international bestsellers generation a and jpod, and nine other novels, among them the gum thief, hey nostradamus. Generation a is a weird one, but then again, all of couplands novels are weird to some extent or another. I often see douglas coupland books in the scifi section of the bookstore. Douglas coupland books list of books by author douglas. Jpod, douglas coupland s most acclaimed novel to date, is a lethal joyride into todays new breed of tech worker. He has published thirteen novels, a collection of short stories, seven nonfiction books, and a number of dramatic works and screenplays for. Summarizing coupland s novel microserfs is both an easy and a difficult task.
Ethan jarlewski and five coworkers whose names start with j are bureaucratically marooned in jpod. Like much of couplands writing, it occupies the perplexing hinterland between optimism about the future and everyday. Generation a mirrors the structure of 1991s generation x as it champions the act of reading and storytelling as one of the few defences we still have against the constant bombardment of the senses in a digital world. Generation x is douglas coupland s acclaimed salute to the generation born in the late 1950s and 1960sa generation known vaguely up to then as twentysomething. In fact, the man who claims to have become an author only by accidenthis book jacket lists his occupation as designer and sculptor, a reference to his artschool education and favorite hobbyseems to have something. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Douglas coupland is currently considered a single author. My first reallife encounter with douglas coupland was a reluctant one. The stand by stephen king, harry potter reread sixth time, the way of kings by the illustrious brandon sanderson, 1984, and the very hungry caterpillar will probably read it to my son. Douglas coupland was born on a canadian nato base in badensollingen, west germany, on 30 december, 1961. Like much of coupland s writing, it occupies the perplexing hinterland between optimism about the future and everyday.
It first appeared in short story form as the cover article for the january 1994 issue of wired magazine and was subsequently expanded to full novel length. Its only the second book of couplands ive read, the first being life after god, which i much enjoyed and made me expect more from generation a. Tales for an accelerated culture, popularized terms such as mcjob and generation x. Tales for an accelerated culture 1991, literally named a generation.
Generation a by douglas coupland raspberry magazine. You can almost hear the ghost of emily hartley yelling hi, bob. Find signed collectible books by douglas coupland english. Douglas coupland born 1961 is a canadian novelist, visual artist and designer. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller generation x. I did manage to finish it, and the story was relevant to the times and not really so bad, but it wasnt as great as i expected. Douglas coupland chuck palahniuk the new york public. I learnt that he is both an author and a postmodern artist. Microsklaven, englischer originaltitel microserfs, ist ein roman des kanadischen schriftstellers douglas coupland. Jun 21, 2011 they are microserfssix codecrunching computer whizzes who spend upward of sixteen hours a day coding and eating flat foods food which, like kraft singles, can be passed underneath closed doors as they fearfully scan company email to learn whether the great bill is going to flame one of them.
Coupland explores some of these concerns in this novel with reallife characters who could mirror those folks in tech cultures irvine, silicon valley, seattle, andor portlanda culture that is both oddly familiar yet cubicled in silencenameless shadows who input code and. His fiction is complemented by recognized works in design and visual art arising from his early formal training. Douglas coupland oc obc born 1961 is a canadian novelist and artist. The novel opens on a globalized and overwhelming consumercapitalismdriven world that looks remarkably like our current one, with a few key differences thrown in. Isbn 9781582346434 9781582346434 softcover, bloomsbury usa, 2006. Todds pile of books on how to change your life to win. Google zeitgeist is a collection of talks by people who are changing the world. Getting past ok, 7 habits of highly effective people. For those qualities alone, this is worth a look, though its hipperthanthou selfsatisfaction runs close to the surface of a superficial book.
Douglas couplands inventive novelthink clerks meets whos afraid of virginia woolf. Books mortality bytes microserfs by douglas coupland 371pp, flamingo. However, later on, the story started to drag a bit for me. Generation x is douglas couplands acclaimed salute to the generation born in the late 1950s and 1960sa generation known vaguely up to then as twentysomething. Coupland, just like the internet, mixes forms to achieve his ends. It explores new ways of storytelling in a digital world. All families are psychotic by douglas coupland waterstones.
Douglas coupland was born on a nato base in germany in 1961. Narrated in the form of a powerbook entry by dan underwood, a computer programmer for microsoft, this stateoftheart novel about life in the 90s follows the. Mixing the bizarre and the mundane, douglas couplands novels explore social change and the texture of the times. Hear entrepreneurs, ceos, storytellers, scientists, and dreamers share their visions of. In 1991, before the internet, canadian coupland wrote about historical overdosing in his novel generation x to live in a period of time when too much seems to happen. Hes the author of jpod, girlfriend in a coma, and over a dozen other books that capture the zeitgeist. He has published nine novels and several nonfiction books in 35 languages.
Douglas coupland is the author of twelve novels, including generation x and microserfs, and several works of nonfiction, including polaroids from the dead. Generation a mirrors couplands debut novel, 1991s generation x. If the plotline was the focus of the summary, it could probably be stated in a few lines. See all books authored by douglas coupland, including generation x. His novels and visual work synthesize high and low culture, web technology, religion, and changes in human existence caused by modern technologies. Buy all families are psychotic by douglas coupland from waterstones today. His art has appeared in the vancouver art gallery, the royal. Ethan jarlewski and five coworkers whose surnames begin with j are bureaucratically marooned in jpod, a noescape architectural limbo on the fringes of a massive vancouver game design company. Coupland has studied art and design in vancouver, canada, milan, italy and sapporo, japan. Fortunately, douglas coupland is the kind of author who has a lot on his mind and needs very little prompting to divulge it. Buy douglas coupland shopping in jail by douglas coupland from waterstones today.
The six workers daily confront the forces that define our era. Summarizing couplands novel microserfs is both an easy and a difficult task. Douglas coupland was born december 30, 1961 on a canadian military base in badensollingen, germany. He says he tweets two to three times a day, which is not exactly compulsive. Coupland offers an excessonexcess satire of what he may see as the worst culture ever a judgment both expressed by and embodied in raymond gunt, its wholly dominant title character. Tales for an accelerated culture, and the gum thief, and more on. Generation a is set in the near future in a world where bees are extinct, until five unconnected people all around the world in the united states, canada, france, new zealand, and sri lankaare all stung. Janet campbell coupland who originally came from winnipeg no remaining relatives there. Narrated in the form of a powerbook entry by dan underwood, a computer. Mar 30, 2014 coupland offers an excessonexcess satire of what he may see as the worst culture ever a judgment both expressed by and embodied in raymond gunt, its wholly dominant title character. Jun 02, 2006 jpod 449pp by douglas coupland 449pp bloomsbury. Life after god books collection fiction a thoughtprovoking collection of stories explores the nature of spirituality in a fastmoving modern culture and its impact on human nature, beliefs, relationships, attitudes, hopes, fears, and dreams. Douglas coupland primary author only author division.
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