
in 1991
, is the first novel
by Douglas Coupland
. The novel popularized the term Generation X
, which refers to Americans and Canadians
who reached adulthood in the late 1980s. It is a framed narrative
, in which a group of youths exchange heartfelt stories about themselves and fantastical stories of their creation.
Coupland released the similarly titled Generation A
in September 2009.
Generation X is a framed narrative
, like Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales
or The Decameron
by Boccaccio.
101-ism - the tendency to pick apart, often in minute detail, all aspects of life using half-understood pop psychology as a tool. (page 85)
2 + 2 = 5-ism - caving in to a target marketing strategy aimed at oneself after holding out for a long period of time: "Oh, all right, I'll buy your stupid cola. Now leave me alone." (page 139)
air family - describes the false sense of community experienced among coworkers in an office environment. (page 111)
anti-sabbatical - a job taken with the sole intention of staying only for a limited period of time (often one year). The intention is usually to raise enough funds to partake in another, more personally meaningful activity such as watercolor sketching in Crete or designing computer knit sweaters in Hong Kong. Employers are rarely informed of intentions. (page 35)
anti-victim device (ADV) - a small fashion accessory worn on an otherwise conservative outfit which announces to the world that one still has a spark of individuality burning inside: 1940s retro ties and earrings (on men), feminist buttons, noserings (on women), and the now almost completely extinct teeny weeny "rattail" haircut (both sexes). (page 114)
architectural indigestion - the almost obsessive need to live in a "cool" architectural environment. Frequently related objects of fetish include framed black-and-white art photography (Diane Arbus a favorite); simplistic pine furniture; matte black high-tech items such as TVs, stereos, and telephones; low-wattage ambient lighting; a lamp, chair, or table that alludes to the 1950s; cut flowers with complex names. (page 75)
Armanism - after Giorgio Armani: an obsession with mimicking the seamlesss and (more importantly) controlled ethos of Italian culture. Like Japanese minimalism, Armanism reflects a profound inner need for control. (page 82)
Bambification - the mental conversion of flesh and blood living creatures into cartoon characters possessing bourgeois Judeo-Christian attitudes and morals. (page 48)
black dens - where Black Holes live; often unheated warehouses with Day-Glo spray painting, mutilated mannequins, Elvis references, dozens of overflowing ashtrays, broken mirror sculptures, and Velvet Underground music playing in background. (page 135)
black holes - an X generation subgroup best known for their possession of almost entirely black wardrobes. (page 135)
in 1991
, is the first novel
by Douglas Coupland
. The novel popularized the term Generation X
, which refers to Americans and Canadians
who reached adulthood in the late 1980s. It is a framed narrative
, in which a group of youths exchange heartfelt stories about themselves and fantastical stories of their creation.
Coupland released the similarly titled Generation A
in September 2009.
Synopsis
Generation X is a framed narrative, like Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales
or The Decameron
by Boccaccio. The framing story is that of three friends—Dag, Claire, and the narrator, Andy—living together in the Mojave Desert
in California
. The tales are told by the various characters in the novel, which is arranged into three parts. Each chapter is separately titled rather than numbered, with titles such as "I Am Not A Target Market" and "Adventure Without Risk Is Disneyland".
The locations of the novel was set circa 1990 Southern California
in the then rapidly-growing and economic booming-turned-into-depressed communities of Palm Springs
and the Inland Empire (California)
region. Some characters were born and raised in L.A. and suburban Orange County, California
.
Part One
The first part of the novel takes place over the course of a picnic. Andrew, Dag, and Claire tell each other stories—some personal, others imagined—over the course of the day. Through these tales, the reader glimpses the characters' motivations and personalities.Part Two
The initial group of characters is expanded in this section, which introduces stories from additional characters: Claire's boyfriend Tobias, Claire's friend and Dag's love interest Elvissa, Andy's brother Tyler, and Andy's boss and neighbour and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. MacArthur. Each character represents a cultural type; Elvissa is constantly stuck in the past, Tobias is a "yuppie", Tyler is a "global teen", and the neighbours represent members of an older generation.
The frame is muted here, as the narrative draws back to reveal more of the main characters, while allowing for other characters' stories to be heard.
Part Three
In this section, the novel continues to pull back its focus, as Andy and Claire travel away from California. Again, the frame is enlarged to include additional characters. Claire travels to New York, while Andy takes a dreaded trip to visit his family. Through the characters' personal and mental journeys, more tales are told and more of the characters' personal stories are revealed.Andrew "Andy" Palmer
The book's narrator and main character. Andy is a bartender (a "McJob," as he describes it). He is close friends with Dag and Claire. He is from Portland, Oregon
.
Dagmar "Dag" Bellinghausen
A former office worker, he now works with Andy at the bar, and lives next door to him. He is obsessed with the possibility of a nuclear holocaust, and is prone to occasional erratic behavior. Unlike the other characters (who are American), he is a Canadian, from Toronto
.
Claire Baxter
A friend of Andy and Dag that lives in a neighboring bungalow. She is from a large family connected by multiple divorces. She wants to live life as Andy and Dag are trying to, but struggles, partially because of her relationship with Tobias. She is from Los Angeles, California.
Tobias
Claire's boyfriend, a superficial yuppie. He finds the lifestyle of Andy, Dag, and Claire to be interesting, but is unable to commit to it. Neither Andy nor Dag likes him, and he is a foil to the other characters in the novel. Yuppies in the novel were thought to represent Orange County (where they grew up), the Inland Empire (where they live) and commuted to L.A. (where they work).Elvissa
Claire's best friend, and Dag's love interest. She finds herself constantly trapped in the past, never quite catching up to the modern world. The character represented the poverty and desolation of the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Deserts of California, esp. Palm Springs when spring break
ers once partyed there and young gay
couples moved in en masse during 1980s.
Tyler
Andy's younger brother. As the youngest child in a large family, he is somewhat spoiled, but secretly wishes he could live as Andy does. He is a "global teen", later deemed by the media to be a member of Generation Y, and bears great similarity to the main character in Coupland's second novel, Shampoo Planet
, that shares his name and mannerisms.
Title
Coupland has presented different narratives concerning the origin of the title Generation X. In one version, the title came from the work of Paul Fussell. In Fussell's 1983 book Class, the term category X designated a part of America's social hierarchy rather than a generation. As Coupland explained in a 1995 interview, "In his final chapter, Fussell named an 'X' category of people who wanted to hop off the merry-go-round of status, money, and social climbing that so often frames modern existence." However, in a 1989 magazine article, Coupland attributed the term Generation X to Billy Idol
.
Novel
Coupland felt that people his age were being misclassified as members of the Baby Boomergeneration.
History
In 1987, Coupland (who was born in 1961) wrote an article for Vancouver Magazinein which he lamented the lack of realization for people within his own birth cohort. A year later, he received a $22,500 forward from St. Martin's Press
to complete a handbook on the "generation" that he had outlined in the article. Coupland moved to the Mojave desert and the Coachella Valley
in California to work on the book, which became a novel. This surprised the publishing company, who canceled the work, which was subsequently accepted by St. Martin's Press and published in March 1991.
The novel was a sleeper
bestseller, growing in popularity after a slow start. Several terms from the book, such as McJob
and Generation X
, entered the popular vernacular, and Coupland was declared a spokesman for Generation X and lauded for having a feeling for the zeitgeist of the age.
The Generation X fanfare continued through the publication of his second novel, Shampoo Planet
, the follow-up about a younger generation; it was also met with fanfare, and Coupland again called a spokesman for a generation.
However, Coupland constantly denied both the idea that there was a Generation X and that he was a spokesman.
Coupland was offered large sums of money to act as a marketing consultant for the Generation X age group, but he turned them down, notably refusing to create an advertisement for Gap
. "Generation X" nonetheless became a marketing force, as the name and ideas were used to market products and services, such as the clothing store Generation Next
and the 1995 Citroën
car model called "Le Generation X".
In 1994, before the publication of Microserfs
, Coupland declared in Details magazine that Generation X was dead. He stated that the term had been co-opted as a marketing term, and that members of Generation X were relatively resistant to marketing ploys.
The biting, ironic tone of the novel and its pop culture allusions helped bring about a new era of transgressive fiction, including the work of authors Irvine Welsh and Chuck Palahniuk. Still in use are the term Generation X and its many derivatives, such as Generation Y
. Many critics linked the novel to the popularity of grunge and alternative rock, but it makes no reference to grunge, and the song that is widely credited for boosting grunge into mainstream popularity (Nirvana
's "Smells Like Teen Spirit
") was released after the novel's publication.
Editions
- ISBN 0-312-05436-X (paperbackPaperbackPaperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
, 1991) - ISBN 0-349-10331-3 (softcover, 1992)
- ISBN 0-312-11814-7 (hardcoverHardcoverA hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
, 1994) - ISBN 0-349-10839-0 (paperback, 1996)
- ISBN 0-06-039250-9 (hardcover, 2000)