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Title: All Families are Psychotic : A Novel by Douglas Coupland ISBN: 1-58234-215-6 Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Pub. Date: 07 September, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.15 (40 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Good but disappointing. Could have been more.
Comment: This is a good book. I don't think it is possible for Douglas Coupland to write a bad book. Like in all of his novels, the characters are memorable and colorful, the dialogue witty, and clever pop-culture references are everywhere.
That being said, I had better hopes for this one. Books can be classified according to their driving force: what makes them work. Coupland has a habit of writing character-driven novels, such as Microserfs or Generation X. Better than that is the theme-driven novel, where all action says an underlying and coherent thing about life. His only work that comes close to this ideal is Miss Wyoming.
Dissapointing, then, that this book was primarily plot-driven, with the characters along for the ride. It is time for Coupland to write a indisputably great novel, and not just one that works and is fun to read.
The most irritating part of this book is the coincidences. Coupland knows that as the writer he can make anything happen, which is fine, but it happens too often. Imagine if separate characters run off in separate directions and they don't have any idea where the others are, or even what city, but then they enter a random restaurant on a whim, and hey! There's the rest of the family. Normally forgivable, if it's necessary to the plot. But this kind of coincidence happens over and over, making it feel as if the story was strung together, with no crafting or deliberation. At that point, suspension of disbelief becomes difficult.
The first few chapters are fantastic, and full of life. I was disappointed that by the end it didn't live up to the full, developed style that this author is so capable of.
Rating: 4
Summary: I'm surprised at the negative reviews . . .
Comment: . . .I found All Families Are Psychotic bizarre, entertaining, and touching, a unique mixture that kept me turning pages for an entire night until I had absorbed everything Coupland gave us on the Drummond family.
Coupland's style is straightforward and self-aware. Like in his other books (for some reason, Microserfs comes to mind immediately), he's very capable of quickly drawing in the reader with a complex cast of characters who are faulted, funny, and fully human.
Matriarch Janet is somewhat the focal point from which this novel spins, but all the members of the Drummond clan have their say in this comedy that is at turns disturbing and touching, sometimes at the same time. The plot, yes, is convaluted and too neatly woven, but the sheer energy of the novel makes up for it, in my opinion.
"Coupland's usual obsessions are trotted out in due order: disdain for pre-packaged culture, technophilia, contradictory character traits, and a wistful nostalgia for pop culture items," says another reviewer. But isn't that why we read Coupland? For me, this was another enjoyable foray into Coupland's head. It's not the next great American novel. But I highly doubt that's anywhere near what Coupland was aiming for.
Rating: 5
Summary: An utterly brilliant and manic read !
Comment: By the end of "All Families Are Psychotic (AFAP)", you'd know why Douglas Coupland is one writer Tom Wolfe has plenty of time for. His is a clarion voice of reason that speaks of the dysfunctionality permeating contemporary society today.
The Drummond family is a microcosm of a society that has gone to seed and needs to rediscover its own validity and direction. Apart from matriach Janet whose worst sin may be to accept without question the poor hand of cards life has dealt her, the others (notably ex-husband Ted, sons Wade and Bryan, and their respective spouses Nickie, Beth and Shw) are lowlifes, fanatics or nuts temporarily out of touch with their own humanity. Of course, there's also Sarah, the crippled-by-thalidomide but high achiever daughter whose participation in the historic space shuttle launch is the occasion that brings this sleazy, crazy family together in Orlando, Florida. Their other common denominator is disease - HIV mainly - a topical metaphor for society's ills.
AFAP is a non-stop action packed slapstick comedy told through side-splitting scenes of witty, wacky and wise cracking dialogue that literally brings tears to your eyes. Tears of laughter at their crazy manic exploits and the absurdity of situations the Drummonds find themselves in. But there are also shining moments of genuine sadness, poignance and wisdom that stayed with me long after the book has ended. Most touching of all is the primal unconditional love that survives between mother and son. My favourite lines in the novel are "Blame is just a lazy person's way of making sense of chaos" and "We're the untended garden, the garden that lost its gardeners".
Some readers have complained about Coupland's undue obsession with action and plot. They have a point. There are a couple of creaky moments in AFAP that strain credibility, like Janet hooking up suddenly with rogue millionaire Florian after a chummy telephone conversation. But that's a minor lapse. AFAP is a fast paced, zany, crackerjack of a novel that'll enthral you because it's funny and touching and it manages to transcend its nasty subject and farcical plot with oodles of charm, honesty and realism. I enjoyed the book tremendously. I'm sure you will too.
I also see AFAP translating brilliantly to film, so if it's not already optioned, the studios should start talking to Coupland.
Highly recommended.
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Title: Hey Nostradamus! : A Novel by Douglas Coupland ISBN: 1582343586 Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: Girlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland ISBN: 0060987324 Publisher: Regan Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 1999 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland ISBN: 031205436X Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: October, 1992 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Miss Wyoming by Douglas Coupland ISBN: 0375707239 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 09 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Microserfs by Douglas Coupland ISBN: 0060987049 Publisher: Regan Books Pub. Date: 19 June, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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