The Gum Thief

I guess I keep hoping for the best whenever I pick up a Douglas Coupland novel.  I liked the early stuff, such as Generation X and Shampoo Planet, but then I hated most of the other stuff.  Microserfs is the worst book I have ever read, and probably the worst book ever written.  It perplexes me when I note that someone has awarded it 5 stars on Amazon.

I read Eleanor Rigby when it came out.  I got an advance copy directly from Mr. Coupland.  He signed it for me too.  I hated it.  I hate The Gum Thief too.

The book has no plot.  There is a vague story with lots of his quirky pop culture references, but the book has little to keep one reading, except for the bizarre Glove Pond novel-within-a-novel sections.  To me, this is the most interesting part of the book, and it goes nowhere after its dusty beginning, except for a meandering ending.

The only real plot event is one that is telegraphed early in the book, and it follows a clichéd trip to Europe device that is disappointing and not terribly interesting.

Of course, those of you love DC will love it.  I will probably avoid Mr. Coupland from now on, but I still plan to finally visit Canoe Landing Park this summer.