BiblioBlog

October 18, 2003
Girlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland

Girlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland: an incredibly powerful and hypnotic novel that pulled me in immediately.

In the beginning of the novel, Richard and Karen have sex for the first time on top of a snowy mountain. A few hours later, after giving Richard a note that she warns him not to read since she wants it back unopened, Karen inexplicably lapses into a coma. Her coma changes everything in the life of her friends and family and sets into motion unexpected outcomes. I won’t mention anything more (and I suggest not reading the reviews on Amazon since they contain a fair amount of spoilers. Best to just read this one and let you take you where it goes).

From the start, I could not put this book down. I found Coupland’s voice to be so engaging and his characters so real. I could not wait to see what was going to happen next.

Almost the entire novel was a surprise - I could not predict what was going to happen next and where it would end up. Saying that, however, I felt that the ending was weak. The book seemed to just kind of end. The last thirty pages or so were very disappointing in light of how much I enjoyed the book, but I would still highly recommend this one to others.



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Comments

This book was great!!!! Can you put up m,ore info on it tho, cuz incase umone has to do an essay on it

Posted by: melli on November 23, 2003 04:17 PM

I've just finished "girlfriend in a coma", and I've enjoyed it immensely. It was a nice break from the 19th century blah blah blah I was supposed to be reading.

Though I was slightly annoyed by the flatness of the Ham, and Pam characters, I found the premise fascinating, and was refreshed by Coupland's typical style of fast and witty pop culture references. From "big mouth strikes again" to "Terry Underwear" Coupland recaps canadian youth as only he can. My life goal continues to be to be as smart as he is, and not as malaised as his characters are.

And Melli-- write your own essay... and read the book.

Posted by: on January 30, 2004 01:27 PM

This was the first Douglas Coupland book I have read (having recently rediscovered the joys of reading) and boy, what a one to start with. Although not perfect, Coupland seemed to wander towards the end a little, I found myself engaged and enthralled even in the weaker moments of the story. Richard's devotion to Karen (don't worry no spoiler in that sentence) is heartwarming and brought a lump to my throat on more than one occassion.

Well worth a read, and well worth the £3 I picked it up for in FOPP (UK)

Posted by: Ric on February 17, 2004 11:16 AM




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