Life After God

by Douglas Coupland

This collection of stories cuts through the hype of modern living, travelling inward to the elusive terrain of dreams and nightmares.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Canada, Contemporary, Religion, Literature, Novels

360 pages, Softcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Douglas Coupland is Canadian, born on a Canadian Air Force base near Baden-Baden, Germany, on December 30, 1961. In 1965 his family moved to Vancouver, Canada, where he continues to live and work. Coupland has studied art and design in Vancouver, Canada, Milan, Italy and Sapporo, Japan. His first novel, Generation X, was published in March of 1991. Since then he has published nine novels and several non-fiction books in 35 languages and most countries on earth. He has written and performed for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, England, and in 2001 resumed his practice as a visual artist, with exhibitions in spaces in North America, Europe and Asia. 2006 marks the premiere of the feature film Everything's Gone Green, his first story written specifically for the screen and not adapted from any previous work. A TV series (13 one-hour episodes) based on his novel, jPod premieres on the CBC in January, 2008.

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Retrieved 07:55, May 15, 2008, from http://www.coupland.com/coupland_bio....

Reviews

[David Beavers · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's an obvious problem with a 5-star rating system (or any graded system, really) being used to rate god-damned BOOKS, you know? This has probably been brought up previously, but c'mon: I'm going to validate Virginia Woolf by giving her 5 stars, and also I really fucking loved Harry Potter so you know what, that's 5 stars too, so Harry Potter's 5 stars is on the same level as Woolf's 5 stars. And Comedy of Errors is only 4 stars, as is the entirety of Milton's work, but Trumpet of the Swan, which holds a special place in my heart since I read it like a dozen times when I was 10 years old, is 5 stars. And somehow these all exist in the same ratings universe? I mean really now.

Does 3 stars mean you shouldn't read it? Do you have to read all the 5-star books first, because they're the best? I don't know if anyone really thinks this, but still. The greatest works of art are going to be distinctly flawed in some way, represented by their limitations as much as their transcendent qualities, and it is of course our experience with that piece of art that matters most; a dynamic & breathing thing, largely independent of how pristine the work itself is.

I'm not sure why this tirade is coming up in my first write-up of Douglas Coupland's work, except for this: This is a distinctly flawed book, and it is far from his "best" work in many ways (Microserfs is an easy favorite, for me) and in many ways Coupland's work is distinctly flawed as a whole. Well fuck it, it's supposed to be. He writes about flawed people living in a flawed world saturated by monumentally flawed popular culture. This is his stake in the matter. As a writer he is one of the most vivid stylists working today, and his style is pared down and simple and funny and dire and deadpan, and in my own mental bookshelf I usually catalog him near Dennis Johnson, only less dire (keep in mind, "less dire than Dennis Johnson" is like saying "less devastating than the Black Plague").

I think Coupland's work actually comes out of some of the same territory as something like Zippy the Pinhead, only without the supersaturation of Discordian philosophy -- it recognizes a landscape dominated by disposable culture, and neither revels in it or reviles it, but instead takes a straight Buddhist approach, accepting it as spiritual matter because it is there, the way the mountains or rivers are there; Coupland is on the spearhead of writers grappling with spirituality in late-stage capitalism, as the Plastic Age turns mercilessly into the Electronic Age. Mr. Coupland's generation is staunchly on the seam between these two ages, it should be noted.

Oh yeah, the book itself: Coupland is a writer to binge on -- to read five or 10 or all of his books back-to-back -- and I think Life After God is a wonderful place to start. In a way this is a perfect book, because in most published versions it is a tiny pocket-sized experiment that you can read in a few hours, with large print and wonderful little drawings on many of the pages. It is a reminder of the difference between BOOKS and NOVELS, and clearly here Douglas Coupland has made a BOOK about the strange, thin, center-space in the ven diagram of consumerism and spirituality. All his books are like that, maybe, but Life After God is pared down to the essentials.

Let me try to say something more substantial about the book then: I think the question at the core of Life After God is how humans find themselves in a culture that has accelerated past the point where humans actually can experience it -- what then, are we left with, and how do we find religious experience in this shell? It's easy to forget, given how annoying generational stereotypes are, that there was a philosophy of very real, very powerful despair & disillusionment at the core of Generation X's bleak slacker ethos. The feeling here is that the vibrant, blind optimism of shiny happy people has left behind anyone who stopped to actually think about things, sort of like a hitchhiker left by the side of the road in a swirling of discarded McDonald's cups & glamor magazines. 'We are what is left,' seems to be the mantra -- 'good riddance to the rest of you, but now what?'

Because of the crass nihilism that is so typically ascribed to Gen-X folks, I'm going to say this: the most daring and interesting and wonderful part of this book is the part where the narrator admits that he believes in God; that he really does think of a higher power that might be lurking behind the North American wasteland he's wandering. Its a totally unexpected moment, and it goes against the sort of staunch atheistic impulses that are tied to the laziest forms of spiritualism through commerce. Coupland's books have a strange magic to them, and they seem as essential to the past 20 years as any art I've encountered.

[Baba · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eight short stories with a general theme running through them all - the lives of a generation that grew up with a lot of religion but live in a world where they (told in the first person) explore their faith in a faithless world, or at least a world less religious than the one they grew up in. As a part of this the stories feel existentialist as well, and I found them quite original in feel and thought provoking, as in many cases they looked at the minutiae of life and then transposed that to the wider world. An interesting read trying a bit too hard to mean something - 7 out of 12, Three Stars

Eight shorts told via a male narrator - 'Little Creatures': is a road trip where the narrator mostly compares animals existence to humans - 9 out of 12. 'My Hotel Year': a minimalist tale of a year in hotel told via the experiences the narrator has with other residents - 7 out of 12. 'Things That Fly': sees the narrator taking an existential look at the world on returning (to his parents) home after a relationship break-up 6/12; 'The Wrong Sun': lifelong impact of growing up in world in nuclear stalemate in the 1950s. 6/12; 'Gettysburg': a separating from his wife husband gives a personal narration to his child about what he learned about life starting and ending with visits to Gettysburg 5/12. 'In The Desert': the narrator recalls how and when he got left walking a desert under moonlight and what he learned from his journey 7/12. 'Patty Hearst': in which the narrator estranged from his sister recounts growing up with her and seeking her out now - 6/12. 'Life After God': in which the narrator in a tux in a tent(!) in the wilderness looks back on his young adult friend group, how they developed over the years, and also himself and what, if anything, was/is missing. 7/12.

2023 read

[Yukie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Now: I believe that you've had most of your important memories by the time you're thirty. After that, memory becomes water overflowing into an already full cup. New experiences just don't register in the same way or with the same impact. I could be shooting heroin with the Princess of Wales, naked in a crashing jet, and the experience still couldn't compare to the time the cops chased us after we threw the Taylors' patio furniture into their pool in the eleventh grade. You know what I mean." (Coupland, Douglas, p. 48, Life After God.)

My favorite passage. Nuff said. (I don't remember the correct format for citing a quote, because my memory cup already runneth over...)

[Bill Doughty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tried re-reading this the other day, and I just couldn't get myself back into it. All that Meaning-with-a-capital-M that seemed to be there when I was in my late teens/early 20s seemed a bit absent, so I stopped before I could completely ruin my good memories of this book. It's best to let angsty dogs lie, I suppose.

Come to think of it, maybe this is why I have such a hard time getting into a lot of Coupland's work that has come out since I graduated college. Maybe when you finally have some direction in your life, or can at least fake it half-decently on the phone to your parents, there isn't enough *there* there anymore?

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

“For there was once a time when we expected the worst. But then the worst happened, did it not? And so we will never be surprised ever again.”

Early Coupland short stories that even if I didn't look at the date of publication seem to be sister pieces from his wonderful debut, Generation X. There's a deep sense of melancholy written in to the meandering thoughts of his disconnected characters and on every page you find a thought or a phrase so powerful it can take your breath away, make you infinitely sad and still give you room to laugh, smile, smirk, or snigger a moment later. Still further, he shows you that even though you have no faith in anything (not just religious doctrine), that you've lost your capacity for wonder and enthusiasm, that you're counting down the days to your inevitable death, there's still hope and beauty in life waiting to be discovered if you can just raise yourself from the half-waking existence inflicted upon you by years of moving and breathing and hiding within a society that conspires to keep you ball and chained.

“Time ticks by; we grow older. Before we know it, too much time has passed and we've missed the chance to have other people hurt us. To a younger me this sounded like luck; to an older me this sounds like quite a tragedy.”

To regurgitate what I seem to always be saying about Coupland, and what others have almost certainly said before me; Coupland observes the contemporary malaise better than almost anybody else currently writing, and was on top form when he penned this collection, if you want simple yet beautiful insight in to the minds of those around you then look no further than Douglas Coupland. Although I'll add a small caveat in that you should probably get acquainted with his longer work first.

“And then I felt sad because I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can't ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when you are young and it never fails to surprise you as you grow older as you see the people in your life break one by one. You wonder when your turn is going to be, or if it's already happened.”

[Todd Huish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am admittedly a huge Coupland fan. I read absolutely everything he writes but I'm not blind in my devotion. He has hits and misses just like anyone. This book, however, is what started my fandom and makes me forgive his occasional misses. This book is full of short stories but where most short stories attempt to tell a small story from beginning to end these stories tell just the middle part of a much larger story. These stories leave just about -everything- to the imagination. They are just the barest slices of life. These aren't just short stories, they're tiny stories. They describe situations that just -beg- for details but then don't give them to you. Or sometimes all you get is details but not the details you want. Here's a totally made up example to illustrate the style of the book. I don't want to ruin a single story for you when you read this book. A woman holds a chipped china coffee cup on a faded formica countertop in some sun blasted diner 100 miles from anywhere. She stares into the distance, unconsciously fondling a toy car. The story would then go into some of the thoughts running through her head. Those are the kind of details it gives. What it doesn't give up is any of the big questions. Why is she here, where is she going, what happened. Most of these are left unanswered and at the same time they're also unimportant. Those aren't the interesting part of the story. The interesting part is the real true to life slices that Coupland shows us. The stories aren't always actually real. There's some with a slight sci-fi bent to them but at the same time told in the simplest and realistic way possible that I have to fight to remember that there's simply no way that some of these stories can actually happen.

I'm probably not doing this description justice so I'll put it as simply as I can. I cannot recommend this book enough.

PS as an added bonus my favorite way to read this is to read it out loud to someone. Years ago a friend was sick and I was taking care of her and I happened to have this book with me to lend to her. She was too sick to read it so I read her stories from it instead until she fell asleep. As adults we've lost the joy that was having out parents read to us at night and if you have someone special in your life I would suggest giving this a shot. "Life After God" is spectacularly suited to it but even if you don't use this book, try another.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

luckily i picked this book up just before finishing a book that made me dislike reading (haunted by "the author"). this book is why i like reading, because it takes you to a different place and helps you put perspective on your life or understand some things that you just couldnt grasp alone.

a book like this is like a friend. and i love my friends. additionally i think all of my friends should read this book. soon.

i was a bit unsure starting the book, i liked it from the start but it couldve gone either way. by the time i finished "patty hearst" i knew i would read it again. the last story in that story made me cry and also want to have a goose as a friend for a year and a day.

life is a fucked up strange thing, a series of chances that you take and turn away from. i have given up believing that i will ever "figure it out" or that any person has it figured out. figuring it out vacuums out all of the fun that life is.

but it is also really stressful and sometimes very hard to cope with life when you know that it is an unfigureoutable thing and yet you still live every day. every second. because there is something there that you will eventually find - an "aha!" moment - and you will cherish every single second that you lived up until that day. and every day after it.

-

just as good on the second reading, sometimes even better.

[Cody · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been told—and have read—that this book will change my life. It did not. I do not doubt Coupland's ability to write. His prose is simple, but not spare, always divulging just enough to create the right impression—though his characters all sound alike as a result. But the pervasive road weary tone of voice, the wary (and hyperaware) disillusionment, began to grate on me. The self-consciously simplistic drawings troubled me, as well—they weren't irritating or distracting, but they didn't add anything of sufficient meaning to most of the stories—just cute and pointless. This is not a bad book, and for those in the right state of mind or stage of life it may be a great book. Though at times Coupland's stories were touching, for the most part it all seemed to hip to be sincere.

[DoctorM · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this first one summer long ago, sitting between jobs in a small apartment in Birmingham AL. That was a summer when I'd stay up all night reading or scanning through cable channels and go out to a breakfast buffet at a diner just before dawn and exchange aimless conversation with other people who weren't sleeping and had no daytime lives. Put simply--- I fell in love with the stories Coupland tells here. However not? I was in the same stories.

Years later--- too many years later ---I still love this book. There's a lovely sad wistful grace in Coupland's stories here, and a gentleness that's unexpected.

Read this during lost summers. Read it when your apartment is a haven for ghosts. Read it when you're insomniac and alone at coffeeshops before sunrise.

A favourite. Yes.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/12: It's still a favorite, but I'd probably have this more at a 3.5 than a 5 now. Such a sad, angst-ridden story. Same characters struggling with the same issues as in every Coupland novel, but the small pockets of hope, the tiny observations about the greater bits of life and meaning, are so raw and powerful that the characters don't matter. And really, that's sort of the point.

I could underline great lines in this book for days. My favorite bit this time through: "For so many years I lived a life of solitude and I thought life was fine. But I knew that unless I explored intimacy and shared intimacy with someone else then life would never progress beyond a certain point. I remember thinking that unless I knew what was going on inside of someone else's head other than my own I was going to explode."

While the bulk of the book is about a character -- maybe multiple characters -- struggling with the belief in a higher power, it's much more about the struggle with finding meaning and purpose with one's own life beyond the place they're at at any given time.

I can't say I ever connect with the characters nor understand them nor necessarily sympathize with them, but they elicit reaction from me as I read nonetheless. There's not really a story here. It's just moments built upon moments built upon the struggle to make meaning from them all. Sometimes that's all you need.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel awfully ambivalent about this book. On the one hand, I can think of very few few books that I've enjoyed reading less. I had to force myself to finish this one, and honestly, I probably wouldn't have if I didn't know I would have a quiz on it. For me, this book was almost unrelievedly depressing, though I know some people disagree with me on this point. On the other hand, I think this is an important book, and a very valuable one -- a story that needs to be heard by religious and non-religious people alike. For people living "post-God" lives, I think it will be thought-provoking.

Coupland sets out to paint a picture of "life after God," and it seems to me that he succeeds. It's not a pretty picture. At all. The book is full of characters who are longing for something, searching for something, but they don't know what. They've never been given anything to believe in, and most of them aren't having much luck cobbling anything together for themselves. They feel helpless and isolated -- in large part, it seems to me, because they lack both community and any kind of shared narrative on which a community could be based. They are adrift in a postmodern landscape where nothing is certain and life seems to drain away into melancholy self-absorption.

This book, like the world it describes, isn't exactly without hope. Coupland and his characters are reaching for something beyond themselves, something transcendent: at least they recognize their need. As a Christian, I would say that they have not yet found what they need, haven't found the God who is the only true basis for hope. I hope they keep searching, and that they open themselves up to the possibility of encountering a God, a story, and a community that they don't have to devise for themselves.

[Myra Breckinridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

A re-read 15 or more years later...

I don't think Life After God hit me as much this time around as the first. But then it did. And then it didn't.

Ultimately, I don't think Douglas Coupland is trying to say Something. It is not meant to be a revelation. It's meant to be an acknowledgment of imperfect life. DC's idiosyncratic use of pop culture is perfect here, because it plants an experience. Even in all of its sparseness, Life After God says so much because it is riddled with environmental anchors and struggle to reconcile lives that don't play out like the world tells us they will.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life After God is a collection of short stories written in blocks of 2 or 3 paragraphs per page, large font, with a single child-like illustration accompanying it.

The stories are plotless and meandering. One concerns a man in a hotel talking with his neighbours and then setting free some goldfish into a reservoir. Another features a mother who has left her husband and is talking to the child about her plans for their future and their present journey; another features aimless thirty-somethings, unhappy with who they became, wondering what to do, trying to change, etc.

I'll say that the final story above hooked me. I've had similar conversations with friends I was close with who I've met at a wedding of a mutual friend or who I've met up with at a bar for a drink, and we've talked about who we were, who we are, and where we hope we're going. It's called Growing Up (he says, not at all condescendingly). The overall message seems to be "life isn't what I thought it would be" and I get that, I think we all feel that at times. But as a book? It becomes quite tedious to read over and over.

Coupland's written about the vapidity of modern life, the contemporary individual and the human condition exceptionally well, better than many writers around now, and he’s easily the equal of classic writers who’ve also done this in the past. Life After God though is a misfire. It's got the ideas and the scenes of his other books, Eleanor Rigby and Generation A, minus the humour and plot. As such, it's one of his least interesting works and at best feels like a self-indulgent experiment or a half drunk conversation with someone you vaguely liked once.

[Aaron Maurer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Douglas Coupland is one of my all time favorite authors. I have all his books and while I was going through the Nerd Cave and decluttering I became a bit nostalgic and wanted to go back and read the books that meant the world to me growing up. I decided to read this book because I have this permanent memory of this book speaking to me during a certain phase in my life. I have not touched this book in over 10 years easily if not more.

After reading this book I don't know that it is always a good idea to read a book again. I feel like this book was part of a moment in my life that should not have been tampered with. The second reading of this book did not speak to me the way it once did. I am married, have three kids, love my job and life. I don't feel lost in a society where I am trying to figure out who I am and what I want to become. That was an earlier self. During that time this book connected with me through the stories. I did not connect to it this time because I am in a different place and different time.

This does not deter from the greatness of the book. I still read it in one sitting. I cannot wait for his new book and will probably go back and reread his other books just because I love this writing that much.

It is perhaps not a book designed for those who are not lost souls. He has always been rendered as the Salinger of our generation. Everyone has to grow up sometime. I have done that, but the book will always hold that special place in my mind. I just did not need to hear the words again.

[Danny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reread of an old favourite. Recently signed by the author.

[Paulo Ramos · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book of all time. Every now and again - like some post-modern Bible - I'm forced to read its words again. So much depth in (apparently) simple prose... Magnificent.

Some of my favorite quotes from this book:

“And then sometimes I think the people to feel saddest for are people who once knew what profoundness was, but who lost or became numb to the sensation of wonder – people who closed the doors that leads us into the secret world – or who had the doors closed for them by time and neglect and decisions made in times of weakness.”

“I am a quiet man. I tend to think things through and try not to say too much. But here I am, saying perhaps too much. But there are these feelings inside me which need badly to escape, I guess. And this makes me feel relieved because one of my big concerns these past few years is that I've been losing my ability to feel things with the same intensity- the way I felt when I was younger. It's scary- to feel your emotions floating away and just not caring. I guess what's really scary is not caring about the loss.”

“Beyond a certain age, sincerity ceases to feel pornographic.”

[Trever Polak · Rating 5 out of 5]

One day later: Actually screw it this deserves five stars, I was hesitant because it's a harrowing experience to binge read the stories but they deserve all five. Also I forgot to mention that more than the gloom of OK Computer the stories reminded me of early Modest Mouse (pre-The Moon and Antarctica): there's driving on empty interstates and stuff, and the setting is the Pacific Northwest, and there's the sense of sadness with some sense that maybe, possibly, things could get better.

This was really good; the only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is because it's so depressing. That's not quite accurate; the sense that God and happiness could return lurks, but never appears. Perhaps this wasn't good to binge-read during a dark rainy morning.

Anyway, this thematically follows up from Generation X, but strips away the humor and leaves you with the sincere desperation. It's very turn-of-the-century, in the mode of anxiety that I feel culminated in Radiohead's OK Computer and then with the 2000s faded away.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Algunos deben caminar portando una pesada cruz que ellos mismos han construido.-

Género. Novela.

Lo que nos cuenta. Conjunto de breves ¿relatos? ¿capítulos? ¿reflexiones? ¿entradas de un diario? ¿recuerdos? ilustrados, que cuando se toman como un todo nos relatan los pensamientos y preguntas que el solitario protagonista tiene en su cabeza y a los que no puede dejar de dar vueltas.

¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Corey Dutson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply moving, and impressively depressing. In the end you're honestly left thinking about your own life and beliefs.

Very interesting read.

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nostalgic trip down 90s lane (How 90s is this book? One of the stories is dedicated, without irony, to Michael Stipe of R.E.M., a rock band that was once the biggest in the world, of some renown and remains a major influence on the bands that influence the bands of today - like, remember ten years ago when MySpace was the new Athens, Georgia?) via a series of well-written, sometimes-sad and sometimes-humorous (i.e. well-balanced), short stories from the hand of the Original Voice of Generation X, the author of Generation X, Douglas Coupland. We haven't heard much from the guy lately. I know he's on Twitter and has written some book reviews, but isn't that where we all ended up?

Favorite passage: "I think that if cats were double the size they are now, they'd probably be illegal."

[D.M. Dutcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coupland is at his best when he writes on the spiritual. This book is a collection of short stories about various Gen-Xers living a life after god, as part of the first generation raised without any religion. Each are very profound, and all of Coupland's weakenesses as a writer-the cutesiness and hipster lingo, the product placement in place of character development, the faux-Kerouac prose-are nowhere to be found. Just simple, melancholy stories about how we really do need god to connect to something greater than ourselves.

It's an excellent book which resonates more as you age. I can't recommend it highly enough.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful philosophical book that provides insight into Generation X. I thought the simple line drawings added an special flavor to the the piece. The chapter that captures people in a brief second before "the Bomb" is dropped is a bit macabre but a real eye opener and contrasts dramatically with the appreciation of nature at the end of the book. As a baby boomer with a son who is a Generation Y-er this book bridged that gap of our perspectives.

[Jack Bates · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a bit confusing as it's essentially short stories but I didn't quite realise that to start with. I love DC but this isn't his best, also it's interesting how many of those Gen X things we all worried about in the 90s seem... less concerning... than the stuff that's going on at the moment.

[Algirdas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liūdna, bet labai reikalinga knyga. Ypač dabar.

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just because of this, it's worth it:

“And then I felt sad because I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can't ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when you are young and it never fails to surprise you as you grow older as you see the people in your life break one by one. You wonder when your turn is going to be, or if it's already happened.”

Or this...

“We are changed souls; we don't look at things the same way anymore. For there was a time when we expected the worst. But then the worst happened, did it not? And so we will never be surprised again.”

[Jonathan Lafrance]

Super unique book. For sure going to revisit this one at some point in time.

[Kara Babcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost began this review with, “not your typical Coupland”, but I hesitated. I’m not sure there is a typical Douglas Coupland book. Oh, sure, Coupland—perhaps more than many authors—treats with the same themes, tropes, and even characters time and again. His bailiwick is that angst that seems to live on the flipside of every generation’s zeitgeist. And he examines this angst with zeal and creativity, using such settings as post-apocalyptic coma recovery, a school shooting, and (my personal favourite) metafictional software development. Coupland’s stories are striking often because they are fantastic yet carefully restrained.

One commonality among his stories, however, is a strong narrator or narrators. Coupland’s stories are, among other things, about telling stories, and each novel is a personal missive from one or more people. Each one has a unique voice, a set of interesting problems unique to their position and place in life, and a way of looking at the contemporary world that makes the reader stop and question things that might other slip beneath our notice. If they always seem to return to the same topics—life, aging, relationships, death … well, that’s because those are topics that we humans tend to fixate on. So, when I read a Douglas Coupland book, I try to keep in mind that it will be similar yet also very different from any of his other stories. Coupland’s oeuvre is a garden, not a single tree. Moreover, I’m looking for two things: hilarious or somehow profound quotable passages, and a keen use of character to look at culture in a slightly bizarre way.

All that said … this is not your typical Coupland.

Firstly, Life After God is a collection of short stories. I am convinced I had read this previously, but I had no recollection that this wasn’t a novel, so now I’m wondering. I suppose that, in dim lighting and if one is very tired, these stories are similar enough in theme and setting to seem as one narrative. But they aren’t. Rather than deliver a novel-length exploration of the generation that is “growing up without God”, Coupland takes several similar voices in slightly different circumstances. (The format of this particular edition, which is pocket sized, lends itself well to the format of the book!)

Secondly, there is a lot less sassy or smart dialogue in this book than I’m used to from Coupland. The stories read more like diary entries, heavy on the introspection, with the spectre of the unreliable narrator hanging over every conversation. Each entry is short, which makes the book easy to read in chunks. But aside from one or two keen observations, I have to admit that nothing really jumped out at me and affected me as much as some of his other works. Simply put, the writing in Life After God doesn’t impress me as much.

I was surprised to discover that I am reacting differently to his work now. My life has changed a lot in the past six months—I’ve moved to another country, started my first “career” job, and essentially adjusted to fending for myself and being an adult. Growing up sucks—and now I kind of understand Coupland’s angst a little more. As a teenager and a young adult, I appreciated his writing for its zaniness (this is also why I loved the CBC television adaptation of jPod). Now that I have entered the professional world, I am beginning to comprehend the exhaustion that Coupland’s characters display here. It’s not that life (after God) is meaningless; we just spend so much time trying to figure out the answer to this nagging sense of, “what now?” As one of the characters in this book comments, it’s as if he’s constantly waiting for his life to begin, only to wake up one day and find it has passed him by.

I suppose I could spend time analyzing how the broader reach of secularism has affected culture, but I don’t want to take Coupland too literally here. “Life after God” is more generally alluding to changes not just in what we believe but the way we believe. To say that ours is the first generation “to grow up without religion” is a little hyperbolic. But even those who did grow up with religion (myself included) haven’t necessarily received it in the same way. The myths and promises of the stable nuclear family have faded away. The environmentalist movement, the Vietnam War, the AIDS scare of the 1980s … all of these transformed the way we looked at the later half of the twentieth century, peeling away the layers of varnished optimism that were the product of winning World War II. Life After God is a series of stories about people struggling to find belief, to figure out what this life is all about, at a time where there aren’t that many signposts. And while, depending on the community, religion might occasionally offer some answers, more often it seems to be reactionary rather than not.

The stories here are far more fascinating as a whole than they ever would be apart. I’m not ready to call Life After God one of Coupland’s best works. It strikes me more as a companion document, worth reading for a Coupland completionist like myself, but not somewhere for new readers to start. For those of us who are young enough to be “figuring it out” for the first time (as opposed to the middle-aged or elderly readers, who are figuring things out for the third or fourth times), I think there are echoes here of our own nascent thoughts. This is about the stories we make up to explain the beliefs we don’t have—and to fill the holes left behind by, if not a lack of God, then at least a very vague instruction manual.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

2007 wrote: Here Coupland follows many impressive characters through the last days of the world. It is his short prose that makes this work so appealing. A very easy read, but intensely powerful emotions are evoked. It begs to make the reader question where he or she will be when it's all done. What state physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually will one be. The characters run the gambit of possibilities and most having reflected back after death tell their stories rather calmy, for all the dread is gone, but it is remembered. A very poignant work. Gut wrentching and provacative.

[Julia Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this book for my micro narratives class. It surprised me. Seemingly thousands of stories questioning life and why we even try... it was almost depressing at moments. Coupland finds a way to bring readers back into that... "fetus" state of life as he called it. But at the same time- life seems to be a blackening pit with no redemption. The only character that seems remotely well off seems to hate her life.

A good read.

[Nina Snijers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mooie, zeer beeldende kortverhalen. Terwijl ik mijn uiterste best doe 7(!) andere boeken uit te lezen nam dit kleine boekje me meteen mee en wilde ik het meteen uitlezen. Spoiler alert: niet voor tere zieltjes, het is allemaal vrij zwaarmoedig. Elk verhaal gaat volgens mij over eenzaamheid en naar betekenis zoeken in het leven. Niet echt een “vrolijke” verzameling desalniettemin meeslepend, goed geschreven en universeel in de positieve zin van het woord. Ik houd ook erg van de kleine illustraties aan het begin van elk verhaal.