[ book tip by Drew Taylor ] You are the first generation raised without religion. Douglas Coupland’s Life After God, a myriad of gentle philosophical musings, anecdotes on the modern age and visions of nuclear explosions, is certainly a varied read. More lyrical than his infamous Generation X, this book is arguably his most autobiographical writing to date.

For all those unfamiliar with Douglas Coupland, shame on you. He is a true chronicler of the twenty-first century, unsurpassed by his piers. Coupland frequently writes on the rise of corporations (Jpod and Microserfs), the frequency of unconventional familial situations (Eleanor Rigby and All Families are Psychotic) and in this book, how we have lost faith, in faith...  

Coupland himself believes in God but 'is rather mad at him now' and. as an atheist myself born and bred, the religious implications in this book initially put me right off... However, what he achieves in this novella, I feel is little short of a modern classic. From chapters entitled ‘Patty Hearst’ – remembering a lost sibling with a bizarre affinity to the troubled heiress – to ‘Little Creatures’, exploring notions of wonderment in childhood that we adults have lost along the way, and ‘The Wrong Sun’ – a chapter vividly describing many ways one can die during a nuclear explosion – the narrator in the book constantly changes. For this reason Life After God is the perfect book to pick up and down. And in so doing, you are constantly surprised at the accuracy and the poignancy through which Coupland muses on life. For atheists, this book will challenge your lack of belief, for theists, this will challenge your belief in belief, and for everyone else, I guarantee you there is something a little moving, a little anecdotal or purely something 'real' that you will remember and quote, repeatedly, hereafter...  

[ Favourite quote ] 'The only activities that I could think  of that humans do that have no other animal equivalent were smoking, body-building, and writing'

[ book info ] Coupland, Douglas: Life After God. (Book language: English) Scribner (UK),