Douglas Coupland
I wouldn't go so far as to call this book truly experimental, but neither does it fit within the confines of traditional narrative. Any book that reproduces the first 100,000 digits of pi, only to follow with another 100,000 digits or so, must be placed somewhere along the experimental side of the spectrum, even though JPod doesn't seek to upend literary conventions or come off as pretentious while doing it. Tucked between points of narrative continuity and more typical writing are whole pages of near-nonsense, Chinese characters, or generational catch phrases (a personal favorite was "grind the molten bucket", a reference to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 appropriate because the task of the main characters is to create a skateboarding game) that occasionally offer insights into the plot or characters (see above) but which usually serve only to clutter the book and rush readers to the next narrative stretch. This structure is interesting but gets old and tired after a while, even after it is implied that the whole book is merely a reproduction of main character Ethan's computer diary. The silliness of many of these diversions highlights the silliness of many major plot devices within the book, twists that are so ludicrous as to detract from the text and strain any credibility gained through Coupland's razor-sharp dialogue and general sense of humor.
The plot centers around Ethan, a twenty-something game developer at a corporation that eerily resembles EA, a sports-centered company looking to branch out with a skateboard game. The corporate trials that plauge Ethan, which most notably include a cheerful new manager's obsession with adding a friendly turtle to the game. Steve's cluelessness and the bureaucracy involved with mega-corporations are faithfully reproduced in the book to general hilarity. Less reasonable is the occupation of Ethan's mother (who grows marijuana) and absolutely ludicrous is the kind of trouble Ethan finds himself in because of his brother's shady dealings with a Chinese businessman. Just when the plot settles down and becomes reasonable, Ethan's personal life eclipses all notions of reasonable reality and the book descends into almost unreadable ridiculousness. This is incredibly unfortunate because Ethan's relationships and experiences at work radiate a kind of credibility and are usually delightful. Even when Coupland employs gimmicks in this context (such as the entires in several silly cubicle writing contests), they are funny and add to the light satire of corporate culture. Most egregious is Coupland's own presence in the novel which is played for humility but which comes across as utterly arrogant. Even though his character's presence "explains" the book's existence, the connection is tenuous and doesn't serve any real purpose other than to strain far too hard for laughs that Coupland proves he can easily produce elsewhere.
The novel, while not necessarily experimental per se, nonetheless possesses many of the flaws of truly experimental literature. Coupland tires far too hard to be funny or hip and often flails in the water where seconds before a mundane conversation has the reader in stitches. Coupland's true gift is for dialogue and for finding the humor in the normal day-to-day proceedings of the world, and where he stretches these slightly he is successful in provoking laughs. The projected sabotage of the game's new incarnation is absolutely hilarious though obviously over-the-top and it fits in well with the general sentiment of the jPod crew. Even the name-dropping that occurs throughout the novel is excusable because it feels real- I could see myself having these conversations with my friends, and to disguise specific brand or company names would only be silly and detract from the validity of the text. What Coupland lacks overall is a sense of balance and the confidence in his abilities that would allow the book to coast on subtlety with a few blaring gags. Instead, there are two different stories that do not mesh at all in style and which are worse off because of that contrast. The events at jPod show what a wonderful book this could have been if it had been more content and measured, and they do make the book worth reading despite the rampant ridiculousness of the almost insulting events of Ethan's family life. JPod is, in places, a nuanced look at current cubicle and twenty-something culture despite its pandering and Coupland's inability to know when to let a book speak for itself.
Grade: B
The plot centers around Ethan, a twenty-something game developer at a corporation that eerily resembles EA, a sports-centered company looking to branch out with a skateboard game. The corporate trials that plauge Ethan, which most notably include a cheerful new manager's obsession with adding a friendly turtle to the game. Steve's cluelessness and the bureaucracy involved with mega-corporations are faithfully reproduced in the book to general hilarity. Less reasonable is the occupation of Ethan's mother (who grows marijuana) and absolutely ludicrous is the kind of trouble Ethan finds himself in because of his brother's shady dealings with a Chinese businessman. Just when the plot settles down and becomes reasonable, Ethan's personal life eclipses all notions of reasonable reality and the book descends into almost unreadable ridiculousness. This is incredibly unfortunate because Ethan's relationships and experiences at work radiate a kind of credibility and are usually delightful. Even when Coupland employs gimmicks in this context (such as the entires in several silly cubicle writing contests), they are funny and add to the light satire of corporate culture. Most egregious is Coupland's own presence in the novel which is played for humility but which comes across as utterly arrogant. Even though his character's presence "explains" the book's existence, the connection is tenuous and doesn't serve any real purpose other than to strain far too hard for laughs that Coupland proves he can easily produce elsewhere.
The novel, while not necessarily experimental per se, nonetheless possesses many of the flaws of truly experimental literature. Coupland tires far too hard to be funny or hip and often flails in the water where seconds before a mundane conversation has the reader in stitches. Coupland's true gift is for dialogue and for finding the humor in the normal day-to-day proceedings of the world, and where he stretches these slightly he is successful in provoking laughs. The projected sabotage of the game's new incarnation is absolutely hilarious though obviously over-the-top and it fits in well with the general sentiment of the jPod crew. Even the name-dropping that occurs throughout the novel is excusable because it feels real- I could see myself having these conversations with my friends, and to disguise specific brand or company names would only be silly and detract from the validity of the text. What Coupland lacks overall is a sense of balance and the confidence in his abilities that would allow the book to coast on subtlety with a few blaring gags. Instead, there are two different stories that do not mesh at all in style and which are worse off because of that contrast. The events at jPod show what a wonderful book this could have been if it had been more content and measured, and they do make the book worth reading despite the rampant ridiculousness of the almost insulting events of Ethan's family life. JPod is, in places, a nuanced look at current cubicle and twenty-something culture despite its pandering and Coupland's inability to know when to let a book speak for itself.
Grade: B
No comments:
Post a Comment