I have often wondered what would happen if you took every sort of mishap and cliche you could dream up, created a cast of characters and threw the mishaps at them like rotten tomatoes at a stage show. This book is the answer to that query. It features a thalidomide baby, AIDS, a kidnapping, divorce, an astronaut, a trophy wife, intra-familial extramarital affairs, a suicidal brother, a girl with no vowels, a night in jail, drugs, born-again Christians, black market trade and a shooting – along with some other stuff I can’t tell you about because I don’t want to wreck the story. It’s like a sign for a three-headed gila monster at the side of the road – you just have to stop and check it out.
This book isn’t generally a favourite amongst Coupland fans, but I harbour fond feelings towards it. Perhaps this is due partially to the fact that it was the first of his books that I read and it was like entering a new literary world (as the discovery of any new favourite author inevitably is), but whatever the reason, it has a firm place on my top books list. Also, the title is one of the most important revelations you will ever have in your lifetime. They are. Every single one.