Douglas Copeland's Life After God is a novel that tells a story of a voyage, in part, behind the wheel. The author refers to himself and Generation X as the first generation to be raised without god. The character struggles to find his own personal meaning to life.
The question is asked what is there to believe after god?
I tried piecing together where I was and what I was doing in 1994 or '95 when I first read the book and why it had such an impact. I read this book in a time when the road came a calling, held a romantic charm and as such, I frequently travelled. In my own way, I chose to equate what I read to my transition from being raised in and surrounded by organized religion and, once out on my own, my personal adaptation to my own personal beliefs. The novel supplied to me surprising moments of clarity and insight.
The loosely connected semi-autobiographical short stories are escapist adventures in which the twenty-something/ thirty-something year old narrator gets behind the wheel and hits the road in a quest for an understanding and finds a genuine spiritual experience filled with ruminations of wistfulness and gloom.
Coupland has a knack for packing an emotional punch in very few words. These are some of my favourite quotes from the novel.
"And then I felt sad because I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can't ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when you are young and it never fails to surprise you as you grow older as you see the people in your life break one by one. You wonder when your turn is going to be, or if it's already happened."
"Sometimes you can't realize you're in a bad mood until another person enters your orbit."
"Time ticks by; we grow older. Before we know it, too much time has passed and we've missed the chance to have had other people hurt us. To a younger me this sounded like luck; to an older me this sounds like a quiet tragedy."
The question is asked what is there to believe after god?
I tried piecing together where I was and what I was doing in 1994 or '95 when I first read the book and why it had such an impact. I read this book in a time when the road came a calling, held a romantic charm and as such, I frequently travelled. In my own way, I chose to equate what I read to my transition from being raised in and surrounded by organized religion and, once out on my own, my personal adaptation to my own personal beliefs. The novel supplied to me surprising moments of clarity and insight.
The loosely connected semi-autobiographical short stories are escapist adventures in which the twenty-something/ thirty-something year old narrator gets behind the wheel and hits the road in a quest for an understanding and finds a genuine spiritual experience filled with ruminations of wistfulness and gloom.
Coupland has a knack for packing an emotional punch in very few words. These are some of my favourite quotes from the novel.
"And then I felt sad because I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can't ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when you are young and it never fails to surprise you as you grow older as you see the people in your life break one by one. You wonder when your turn is going to be, or if it's already happened."
"Sometimes you can't realize you're in a bad mood until another person enters your orbit."
"Time ticks by; we grow older. Before we know it, too much time has passed and we've missed the chance to have had other people hurt us. To a younger me this sounded like luck; to an older me this sounds like a quiet tragedy."
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| Douglas Coupland, Life After God |
Mike and Nicky over at We Work for Cheese have forced invited us to participate in this 30 Day Creative Writing Challenge . Today is Day 4 , the theme is Behind the Wheel. Here are some of the other participants. 1. Mike 2. Unfinished Person 3. NoNameDufus 4. Babs - Beetle 5. Laughing Mom 6. Linda 7. P.J. 8. Ziva 9. Mike WJ 10. Linda M. 11. If I were god. 12. InJaynesWorld
Hey! I didn't expect to come here and get a book review! What the heck! :)
ReplyDeleteBut if you had to do it, then this seems like a good one with which to do it.
Yup. It fit.
DeleteI really like Douglas Coupland. I've read several of his books and enjoyed them all. JPod, The Gum Thief, All Families are Psychotic, etc. But I've never come across this one. I'll have to look it up. Thanks for the tip. Sounds like I'd like it.
ReplyDeleteIt is terrific. I think I will reread it. It's 17 years since I first read it, my perspective has changed.
DeleteI can't say that I've read any of his books, but it sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteApart from the above I've read five other books by Coupland. jPod, Microserfs, Shampoo Planet, The Gum Thief, Generation X.
DeleteI believe it is Coupland who was credited with first using the term Generation X to describe us post baby boomers, but I may be wrong.
something something Velveeta something something
ReplyDeleteOh gee, that was original. :)
DeleteWhere have I seen that before? How about "Something in the way Velveeta moves me"?
DeleteNew one for me - so , thanks!
ReplyDelete