Fun! Fun! FUN!
Literally Laugh Out Loud funny.
Our main character, Ethan, works as a Game Developer and is stationed in JPod. Once you're in Jpod, you're there for life. Long story, but worth the read.
One quarter of this book reads a script from The Office if that office was a gaming company instead of a paper company. Plus, Coupland writes himself into the story and made my day.

I am a fan of Coupland and I have read everything he has ever published, but it is clear after reading Jpod that he's been in Vancouver too long and needs to get out for a weekend, if only to try another city's dope and take-out. Jpod is supposed to be the sequel to Microserfs, but Coupland wastes this one hunting-and-pecking for Gen Y/Echo Boom culture like a noob coder; he doesn't see that the map is not the terrain. So what if the main character's Mom is growing and selling weed, Dad is dating his son's classmates, and his boss is being manipulated by a billionaire Asian criminal? Sure it's shocking, but is this the zeitgeist, or just, "Extreme Vancouver?" Coupland needs to look beyond the electronic globe his own character creates (he writes himself into the book and creates an interactive-globe killer app that saves the group from techie overwork and under-compensation); that metaphor for an impersonal electronic world fails because his characters never break through as real people with any purpose. Gen Y's struggle to assert "authorship", i.e. identity in a world where society = electronic gaming, should have been inherent in the characters' personal lives and struggles; instead, Coupland builds them with thin and obvious devices like everyone playing the "what-superpower-would-you-have" game. In the end, I am not sure this story or these characters matter, and I think they may as well not have been. Phooey, Doug, Phoeey I say! Has the well run dry?

3.5. A crazy ride that skewers on-the-spectrum IT workers, Hollywood (in Vancouver) extras, and anyone (everyone) pursuing an alternative lifestyle. I listened to the audiobook so took little enjoyment from the long lists of acronyms or random (yet alphabetical) words. I didn’t care for some of the dismissive/misanthropic tone in some places, ironic or not. To wit: “Workshops and seminars are basically financial speed dating for clueless poor people. TV and the Internet are good because they keep stupid people from spending too much time out in public.”

The author makes a number of appearances in the book as himself, as a demi-god of sorts, at one point admitting that he has a 2-book deal and needs fodder for his second. And that’s a bit like how this feels. It isn’t great, although there are some great parts to it, but it does the job And there’s quite a bit of “getting away with it”-ness in the novel. I suspect the author may justifiably feel that he “got away with” fulfilling his book contract with this one.

wasn’t anything I’ve ever read before so I think that’s what kept me interested, made me laugh out loud a lot

This book reminds me of the voices in my head. Awesome.

re-read/re-listen 5-11/5-12
re-read/re-listen 1-2017

Style and substance abound here, but I only give it one star because the plot simply went nowhere. Perhaps that was the point, but I still need my fiction to have some kind of trajectory that makes me feel I journeyed *to* something by the end.

FANTASTIC! Getting a look into something that I don't do is always interesting, but looking at another artists' colony way of life is even better!

I would normally find it difficult to write a review of a book I read a couple of years ago, but in this instance in regards to JPod, I find it easy. I say that because it is a book about me. I'm certain Douglas Copeland has never met me, nor I him, but he has captured me so completely in this book (down to my preferred room temperature) that I felt more so uncomfortable than anything else.

I laughed to tears at the absurdness of the characters and I suppose myself. A hugging machine? The friend who recommended the book to me thought I would benefit from having one. I didn't take offense.

This is a very bizarre book. Douglas Coupland has a knack for writing pop-culture ridden novels that are niche-market driven. In this case, I fit the target demographic -- a gen x geek programmer in corporate america. With that in mind, I am probably biased in my enjoyment of this novel.

However, I imagine that people who are fans of the weird and random could find enjoyment with this book. It really is zany. I can't even begin to desribe it. I chose this one because I read Microserfs back in the 90s and this was considered along the same vein.

I can't write anymore, because I just had my eyes dilated at the eye doctor and can't read a thing I'm writing. EEK!

This was the oddest, most out of pocket, ridiculous things I’ve ever read in my life but I loved it. This is a combination of The Office but tech company edition, mixed with lots of illegal drugs, hippy lesbian communes, and some eerie pre-covid pandemic predictions? Don’t forget the evil Ronald McDonald backstory that gets thrown in there. While most of the stuff in this book would not fly in today’s world, it’s great when read as satire. Solid 4.25/5. One of the most memorable books I’ve ever read, and it’s Canadian too.

It's the early 2000s and Ethan works in the tech industry for a game development company. jPod follows Ethan and his co-workers as they find ways to entertain themselves through boredom and management's unrealistic expectations.

I'm usually generous with reviews but would prefer not to give this even 1 star as it wasn't to my taste and there were a number of things I found myself irritated by:

-How unnatural any character dialogue was. Every character constantly referred to the other character(s) by name. I tried this with my partner, Michael, to test it in real life and his reaction was: "What are you doing?" He found it rather unnerving that I used his name every time I spoke with him. My opinion on this is if we can't tell who a character is talking to, write better or include fewer characters in a scene.

-The indistinct character voices. I should note that this book occasionally shifts character perspectives. When this happened, I observed that each character had this trait of asking questions in triplets. In addition, many of the female characters refer to themselves as sluts or are portrayed as some kind of overly attractive kryptonite to the point that none of them are interesting or even well-rounded characters.

-The dramatic side-plots were unbelievable. It may have been acceptable for a comedy film where you expect the absurd. Personally, when I read a book, I like it to be believable even if it's unrealistic. What's more is that the characters, and especially the main character, had little reaction to the ridiculousness of what was happening.

-The constant phone-calls the main character received from his family and friends expecting him to come to their rescue. We are talking multiple phone-calls in a day. Who calls one person this much? I know this was set in 2006 but still.

-A lack of a sense of time. Aside from where the book directly indicated that a few weeks or months had passed, I had no sense of the passage of time.

-The author making multiple references to himself in the book and then inserting himself into the plot. I think it was supposed to be meta but it read as arrogant and egotistical to me.

This was supposed to be a comedy but I did not find any part of it amusing. Not even an inward LOL (you know, when you don't actually LOL or even change your expression but somewhere inside, you laugh). There were maybe two parts out of 500+ pages that I liked but that was it. If this was a film or TV series (which apparently it was and then got cancelled), I would embrace the absurdities of this story.

I hate leaving bad reviews because I know that writing takes patience and dedication from an author. Having not written anything myself, I don't enjoy being a critic. Ultimately, though a lot of people seem to have loved this book, it's simply not to my taste and I can't think of a friend I would recommend it to.

n  Infrequently Asked Questionsn

Why did you finish the book, Natasha? If you have read any of my previous reviews (wow, thank you loyal reader friend) or you know me, then you know that I have a compulsion to finish what I have started no matter how bad it is. I have wasted many hours of my life doing this but I have to see if the ending will tie everything up so that it becomes a work of genius. Didn't quite happen in this case. I mean, without spoilers, I think it was supposed to be clever and I get it, but it just didn't quite land for me.

Why did you buy the book, Natasha? A number of reasons (1) it was on sale for $1 or maybe $2 at a charity book sale and when I think of that in GBP it's a bargain; (2) the cover caught my eye; (3) I'm family with Douglas Coupland; (4) the book had high praise; (5) the page format was unique and (6) it's about Canadians working in the tech industry and I thought I might be able to relate and enjoy some chuckles.

If you're reading this, I can't believe you made it all the way down here: I'm going to buy you a drink as compensation.