Douglas Coupland ” Generation X”

While gourmets argue about the origin of Chuck Palahniuk, and even tries to pronounce it like Ukrainians, the real gourmet, “Oseledets” tasters would eat literature meals of famous Canadian writer and first of all talented artist Douglas Coupland Campbell, which is one year older than Chuck. The author of “Fight Club” was running from one to another and studying journalistic when Douglas has been worked as a designer in Tokyo. Here, exotic Japanese climate played the grand role- fragile Canadian Coupland`s skin didn’t withstand, and impressed by hot sun, personal biologic computer in Douglas`s head generated genius idea, which later would invert all his life upside down: before returning home he writes a letter to one of his friends in Vancouver.

Friends husband was an editor of magazine and, while reading Douglas’s letter, proposes painter to work in edition. In Canada, he starts writing articles, in particular, lights up the theme that were young that time: nobody doesn’t think about it.  Coupland thinks about relationships between parents and their kids, writes about the generation of people, who were born after World War II. He takes advance in documentary research in this area in amount of 22 500$ after writing an article and disappears. After one and a half year appears the book, with the help of which Canadian gets famous, even more, he becomes extremely important part of American literature party of 90th. Today Coupland is working as the general editor of “VICE”.

Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture” is embed with acute CANADIAN HUMOUR and written like the advertisement brochure, with slogans, that, honestly, completely shows the moods of that time. Author shows that part of last century, with the great skill of artist- masterpiece is understandable for everyone, newer mind their age or birthplace or even nationality. Peculiar vocabulary of authors neologisms and terms or pocket psychology textbook of young for old one that have already fought in Vietnam or anywhere else, tells us about the adventures of advertiser, typical office plankton and, by the way, interesting companion, the perfect presenter of “X” generation.

In the short postmodern tales, that mainly seems to look like parables, Campbell Coupland unobtrusively meets us with his own biography. The lead hero – Endy is an obvious psychological portrait of artist. He tells us about his life, which accompanies with fictional stories, with his friends and reality intertwined with the unrestrained flow of consciousness: “IMPOSTOR SYNDROME: tendency of showing up all aspects of human life with using informal, not fully understandable theories of pop-psychologists.”

Global teenagers in this novel are shown as Yuppie antagonists. YUPPIE: Young Urban Professional Person (writes magazines for themselves and about themselves).

Also Coupland laughs at himself: “IN DREAMS HE IS YUPPIE: subgroup of “X” generation, that believe in mystical style of yuppie, that can make person happier, by the way, it is perspective. Such people often has lots of debts, regularly are high and usually starts to talk about Armageddon after third сup.”, – Coupland ironizes through the light of sincerity of his hero.

On the pages, the only theme to talk is the end of the world in 1999, and especially good are Coupland’s thoughts about religion of the end of XX in part “Say Goodbye to your body”: ”jahweism  trying of person, who didn’t get traditional religious education, to create religion that in future would be suitable to his soul and figure. Mostly – mix of different ideas, such as reincarnation, conversations with God, whose image seems to be absolutely stupid, fatalism and motoes, such as “Eye to eye, karma to karma””.

After reading 135 pages of this book, I wanted to drop it out and write a description with some of my own conclusions, but I decided to finish it up: “2+2=5: surrender after long war against advertising company, sent directly to your customers status. “Oh, okay-okay, I`m gonna buy your fucking Coke!!! And now just GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!!!””.

Ostap Khmarny

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