I'm currently on a Douglas Coupland rereading kick, and for the first time since I picked up one of his novels almost ten years ago, I'm having serious misgivings about his writing. Aged sixteen, Generation X seemed indisposable, an inspirational text that was completely in sync with what I wanted from my life (i.e. lazy days spent amongst a small handful of friends, telling stories that were celebrations of life, occasionally shuffling off to work some menial but inoffensive job, awaiting the grand discovery about myself that would make my existence worthwhile). Of course, sixteen is an incredibly young age to be thinking such thoughts, and I guess the passage of time has awoken me to how unfeasible the way of living represented within the novel actually is. Some passages were still powerful, but ultimately it lacked the profundity I remembered, and left me feeling disappointed.

And in fairness, I always had issues with Shampoo Planet. I found the protagonist, Tyler, to be an unlikable character, so much so that when his inevitable downfall occurs, I just can't muster up any sympathy for his plight. He deserves what he gets, and whether or not he's truly learnt anything from his travails is left unclear, as the novel ends before we find out one way or another. On top of this, despite his selfishness and stupidity, he still ends up with the kind of job he'd been dreaming about for years, meaning the denouement falls flat. Without the certainty that he has taken on board his failings, how can I possibly care about him, or relate to him in any way? It's a dispiriting lesson to take away, that life can be so kind to someone so undeserving of it.

Maybe All Families Are Psychotic will prove to be a more enjoyable experience. It's certainly further proof that Coupland loves his dysfunctional family units (a feature of both of the novels mentioned above). About a third of the way into it, my feelings are decidedly mixed...