Vova Belyaev Belyaev itibaren Ul'gi, Kazakhstan
Suggested Subtitle: An Exacting and Complete Manual for Staging a Coup in an African Republic circa 1975
I can't say that I enjoyed it. This is only the second Coupland book that I have read; I really liked "Hey Nostradamus," and while "Shampoo Planet" is written in a very similar style, the story didn't interest me. The first couple chapters were fabulous, with some very striking observations of our culture and human nature, but I got bored about halfway through the book. Notable quotes: "...a portrait of Jasmine, facing the world as she does at this point of her life, utterly frightened by a monster entirely of her own carving." pg. 19 "When we sleep at night--when we walk across a field and see a tree full of sleeping birds--when we tell small lies to our friends--when we make love--what acts of surgery are happening to our souls--what damage and healing and shock are we going through that we will never be able to fathom? What films are generated that will never be shown?" "And then we will get even older and our memories will fail almost completely. But no matter what happens--no matter how wide the gulf between us becomes--we will each be the last people we forget in each other's memories. Because we were each the first to be there." pg. 298