Friday, December 2, 2011

Player One


A novel by Douglas Coupland, Player One is one of a series of novels that touch upon the idea that as different as we think out lives are from others, we all share similarities in one sense of another.  The author has an ability to magnify the contemporary; spotlighting in this case “Generation X”.

I actually liked the novel’s unusualness because Coupland has divided the story into five one-hour chunks; purposely dividing the series of events into chapters.   The story introduces us to Four characters converged on a cocktail bar in a Toronto airport.  We meet the bartender (Rick), a pastor (Luke) who has stolen $20,000 from his church; a rather unstable and psychologically screwed up person (Rachel); and a 40-year-old divorcee (Karen) who is meeting a man she contacted online.

Cataclysmic problems of epic proportions are pretty much destroying the world and taking down society with them.  So we’re led to believe that these main characters were brought together for some reason…perhaps a divine hope.  Coupland writes the book from the perspective of the Player One character, which retells the events that the others have experienced in the past and what is in store for them in the future, like an omniscient witness.

I felt that the ending was rather abrupt and was kind of hasty with its conclusion.  I guess overall…not one of the best books I read, although, it was an interesting concept.  I couldn’t help but think that it was reminiscent of the Final Destination movies.

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