Eleanor Rigby

After letting the book sit with me for a while after finishing it, I can say that I did not like it. I don't see the book as a particularly literary effort. Douglas Coupland could be a good writer, but this book won't help to convince the unconvinced.

The most troubling part for me is the voice. The protagonist (Liz Dunn) is a fat woman who tells the story in the first person. The problem is that she has such a masculine voice. In fact, she has Douglas Coupland's voice. He can't seem to hide it very well. Her son (Jeremy) also has Douglas Coupland's voice.

The ending, which I gather is meant to be a surprise, is not so much a surprise as it is ridiculous.

It may seem like I am being harsh on Douglas Coupland. In truth, I have enjoyed some of his books. In Evelyn Waugh's The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold, the protagonist remarks (and I paraphrase): "All writers have only one good novel in them. The rest is just professional trickery. " I wonder if Douglas Coupland would accept that argument.

Tags: Douglas Coupland