I forgot to bring fiction books with me to South Dakota. This was easily overlooked my first week here; there are quite a few things to keep me busy but I eventually broke down last week and began a membership at the local library. I checked for Moo, the subject my last book entry, but the only Jane Smiley book they had was A Thousand Acres. But that was good fortune because I ran into an old friend, Douglas Coupland.
Cognoscenti will remember that Douglas Coupland became famous after writing Generation X, a book that coined the infamous label. I didn't understand the book the first time I tried it in college, but reread it again after graduating and fell in love. I followed this up with my favorite Coupland book to date, Microserfs. I was in Santa Cruz when I picked up my third Coupland book, Life After God. All were clever and inspired thought without being too aggressive.
The two things that I find separating Coupland from the herd of fiction on bookstore shelves are his characters and his language. Coupland has this ability to inhabit worlds while stamping his touch onto things (think language). In Microserfs he explores the world of all things geek with the sort of clarity that would give you the false notion he was one except for his dry humor and cynicism. In Generation X he effortlessly lives life with some burned out ex-yuppies in the California desert. The book that I walked out of the library with, Miss Wyoming, physically and socially traverses the U.S. in big steps; between the worlds of rustic Oregon and Beverly Hills we meet a Hollywood producer and a washed out beauty queen.
As he tells his story he describes things in unique, informal tones. His descriptions are great:
'snack dealer to the stars and the human equivalent of an unflushed toilet.' - think Jerry Bruckheimer
'wind-up-toy midgets' - think Child pageant queens
But it isn't just descriptions. It's the tell, the delivery, the manner in which he allows his story to come to life.
So I am now engrossed in Miss Wyoming, an interesting novel about two people, their near death experiences and the catharsis that follows. I'm not sure where or how Coupland will end things but I'm certain I won't be sorry for reading the book.
4:56:36 PM 
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