JPod by Douglas Coupland
Blurb for the back cover:
“The best books I have read this year (so far)”
I may have to take back what I said about Canadian writers because I have managed to find one who isn’t depressing. Douglas Coupland, whose niche seems to be generation X, has written a book that may be one of the best books I have read this year (so far). In JPod, a database error at a leading video game company has trapped Ethan Jarlewski and his five co-workers in the same design group where the only thing they have in common is that their last names start with J and a disdain for their new boss Steve who is completely clueless about how to run a game design team. Steve takes the JPodder’s skateboarding game, which they have been working hard on, and runs in it to the ground in an attempt to gain the approval of his son who is in his ex-wife’s custody. But Ethan’s life doesn’t just revolve around his job. His Mom, for instance, has a habit of killing people who owe her money from the pot she deals and his Dad dates girls Ethan knew back in high school. Ethan’s brother also manages to get him mixed up with a powerful guy from China with numerous skills such as making people disappear. There is just so much that happens in this book that it’s impossible to properly summarize it.
JPod is told through Ethan’s perspective and it can sometimes read like a diary of his life. But the story is occasionally interrupted by Ethan and his co-workers as they try to entertain themselves at work. This results in the six JPodders writing Cartoon Profiles for each other or personal ads addressed to Ronald McDonald. These don’t slow down the pace of the story, but rather add to the personality of the characters. Speaking of characters, they are the reason the book is so good. Each and every one of them, from Ethan’s Mom to John Doe (that’s his legal name), are distinct and quirky in their own way. Since there are so many of them, there is never a dull moment and you never get them confused with each other.
When you first open the book you will notice something is different. It’s almost as if someone was bored at their computer and started typing gibberish and was playing with various degrees of font size. This plays well to one of the theme of the book, being bored with technology, because who hasn’t just been so bored on the computer that typing anything to amuse yourself was better than doing what you should have been.
The only real problem I had with this book Douglas Coupland took it upon himself to be the deus ex machina. He appears near the end of the book just as Ethan is flying to China to try and save his video game from being destroyed by his clueless employer. And in the end Coupland helps wrap everything up in nice package with a pretty little ribbon. I just don’t like it when authors write themselves in to their own work (I’m looking at you Stephen King). It’s jarring and it breaks the illusion of fantasy.
Having said all this, JPod is a hilarious book that is aimed at slackers, people who play video games, and those of us who have no control over anything that happens.
October 13th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
I really liked this book too. I kind of thought of it as Office Space or The Office in book form. I'm glad you liked it. This was the first of Coupland's books I read as well. I've heard Generation X is good as well.
October 13th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
I really liked this book too. I kind of thought of it as Office Space or The Office in book form. I'm glad you liked it. This was the first of Coupland's books I read as well. I've heard Generation X is good as well.