Naïve. Super
Perspective is one of those things one ought to be able to purchase an administer intravenously
Almost - no - as seductive as the thought of travelling to some foreign place is the notion that one could somehow inhabit the mind of its native and bask in the exotic flavor of thinking of things in ways you never did. Reading Naïve does just this - and I'm tempted to say I'd rather that than a one week trip to all the tourist attractions. Okay, tempted slightly but I'd go at the drop of a hat and just bring the book with me...
So enter the world of Naïve - my still unnamed narrator is encountering something that Douglas Coupland refers to as a "Mid-Twenties Breakdown" in Generation X:
A period of mental collapse occuring in one's twenties, often caused by an inability to function outside of school or structured environments coupled with a realization of one's essential aloneness in the world. Often marks induction into the ritual of pharmaceutical usage.
As the narrator of Naïve introduces himself, we see the clear connection:
When I arrive at the cafe, Kent is sitting there with two guys whom I don't know. Kent tells me the one is about to finish his doctorate in physics and the other one is a graduated physician in the process of becoming a psychiatrist. I greet them.
Kent asks what I am up to, and I tell him that I have left university and started throwing a ball because everything suddenly seemed so meaningless to me.
The parts of Coupland's definition that apply are the mental collapse and aloneness - no pharmaceutical usage in the book -- in fact, our narrator is rather saintly, not depraved, in his quest for moral order and meaning in life.
It is a quest commonly encountered - no doubt about that. Those that don't usually leverage an occupation or family to distract them ultimately wonder at life stripped of the framework and organization of youth. In this instance our narrator approaches his catharsis with this strange hallmark of goodness. That's so fresh and charming; past the excess (see: Trainspotting), rage (see: Fight Club), materialism (see: MTV) and nihilism (listen: your local "rock alternative station") in which it is usually performed. Erlend Loe has a beautiful mind.
1:27:43 AM 
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