poloniousmonk reviewed JPod by Douglas Coupland
truly hilarious
5 stars
Highly intelligent absurdist humor that never quite pulks its tongue out of its cheek. Chaotic neutral.
English language
Published Feb. 27, 2006
JPod
4 stars
(35 reviews)
JPod is a novel by Douglas Coupland published by Random House of Canada in 2006. Set in 2005, the book explores the strange and unconventional everyday life of the main character, Ethan Jarlewski, and his team of video game programmers whose last names all begin with the letter 'J'. JPod was adapted into a CBC television series of the same name co-created by Douglas Coupland and Michael MacLennan. It premiered on January 8, 2008, and ran until its cancellation on March 7, 2008, leaving the series with a permanent cliffhanger. The first thirteen episodes of the series aired in the United States on The CW.
stiefkind reviewed JPod by Douglas Coupland
Review of 'JPod' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Ein ziemlich durchgedrehter, durchgeknallter Coupland, der locker Stoff für zwei Tarantino-Filme hergibt. Ich habe ihn genossen, auch wenn er zwischendurch ein paar Längen hat.
finkyhead reviewed JPod by Douglas Coupland
Review of 'JPod' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
One of those books that's fun for the characters more than the plot. It's just fun having a window into these crazy people's lives.
cmonster reviewed JPod by Douglas Coupland
Review of 'JPod' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Phew. After the last book I read -- [book:Snow] -- this was such a welcome change. It's a nice, easy read written from a POV and a time that I understand and care about.
First of all, I have to say that I love Douglas Coupland. This is mostly due to [book:Generation X], which I read when I was a sophomore in college (well before any of his books were required reading in college classes) and it was meant to be read by me and my friends. I have stuck with him through all his books even though the vast majority of them have been slightly cruddy to downright bad.
link: [book:Girlfriend in a Coma] however is one of my favorite books of all time and a must-read. I loved the voice in that, the imagination in it and the overall message that he had obviously just learned himself (apparently, …
Phew. After the last book I read -- [book:Snow] -- this was such a welcome change. It's a nice, easy read written from a POV and a time that I understand and care about.
First of all, I have to say that I love Douglas Coupland. This is mostly due to [book:Generation X], which I read when I was a sophomore in college (well before any of his books were required reading in college classes) and it was meant to be read by me and my friends. I have stuck with him through all his books even though the vast majority of them have been slightly cruddy to downright bad.
link: [book:Girlfriend in a Coma] however is one of my favorite books of all time and a must-read. I loved the voice in that, the imagination in it and the overall message that he had obviously just learned himself (apparently, Coupland had just had a nervous breakdown before he wrote that book). If I wasn't already, this book made me a lifelong reader of Coupland's books.
Anyway, JPod had a lot going against it to start out for me. Coupland hasn't, IMO, written an excellent book in years and this one's setting was very similar to another of his novels: [book:Microserfs]. It's bad enough that most of his recent books have read like GenX and Shampoo Planet, but to just regurgitate the same plot? Jeez Doug, you can make the point about our culture recycling stories in a more creative way, can't you?
Turns out he can. JPod is not Microserfs (though there are simlarities to be sure). Nor is it as good as Girlfriend in a Coma, but it is his best since that one and as well done as GenX. He uses excerpts from his main character's laptop entries, among other devices, extremely well, and inserts himself into the book for, what I think, are excellent means. His point comes across and his characters are mostly engaging.
One shortcoming I will note is that everyone except the main character (Ethan) is just a rudimentary sketch and yet are deserving of much more. Late in the book, too late I might add, he seemed to realize that and tried to correct it with one or two of the other people, but couldn't.
Still though, it's an overall entertaining read, with enough asides to break up the Coupland-esque monotony, and left me feeling like Coupland is not taking his writing quite as seriously as he always has seemed to and is instead just enjoying the act of telling an entertaining story.
