- Paperback: 156 pages
- Publisher: Dis Voir (1 Jan 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 2914563078
- ISBN-13: 978-2914563079
- Product Dimensions: 21.9 x 16.6 x 1.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 335,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An enlightening experience,
By
This review is from: Pierre Huyghe & Douglas Coupland - School Spirit (Art Encounters) (Paperback)
Coming to this book knowing that it was not a novel I looked at it from a simple point of view. The photos I was ready for, having seen some of the photographer's other work. I wanted to know how DC (sorry to be informal but I haven't got much time) was going to interpret them. He has said before that "Faces are always good when you're thinking up stories, I think" and I wanted to see what he came up with. What is striking about this montage is the revisiting of the theme of a "lost" person (Girlfriend in a coma, Hey Nostradamus, All Families.. etc) and the utter poignancy of the text. You cannot help but wonder what makes this man tick. Whether it is about losing life, beliefs, friends, DC certainly is carrying a heavy burden. The text worked well for me. It was enough to trigger a sense of very painful nostalgia, almost as if time had stood still, and I read the whole thing through without hesitation. I have since read it a few more times and now have lost the book and will be reordering it very soon. I must point out that I am not American and was educated elsewhere but I hope that the above gives you the impression that the content is relevant to everyone (it is). Don't buy this if you want another DC story to add to your collection. Do buy it if you want to be given the pieces of a DC puzzle before the story is written, and you fancy exercising your imagination. You cannot fail to be drawn into this book. Excellent.
98 of 111 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Warning - not a novel!,
By
This review is from: Pierre Huyghe & Douglas Coupland - School Spirit (Art Encounters) (Paperback)
First of all, for anyone who is about to rush out and buy what they assume to be the latest Douglas Coupland novel - THIS ISN'T IT!This book (actually titled "School Spirit") is a collection of photographs from Californian high school yearbooks together with a very small amount of text. There are fourteen short paragraphs of text from Coupland which tell the story and the thoughts of a dead student, fated to spend eternity wandering the halls of Californian high schools. The pictures are mostly in black and white and have been assembled by the French artist Pierre Huyghe. Whilst the narrative is in Coupland's unique and undeniably brilliant style, the few words do not justify buying "School Spirit" and only serve to make me more impatient for the release of Coupland's next real novel.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic One-Off from Coupland,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pierre Huyghe & Douglas Coupland - School Spirit (Art Encounters) (Paperback)
If you are a die-hard fan of Coupland, this is a must have. The narrative in the book is very, very short, reminiscent of a warm-up for Hey, Nostradamus! or Girlfriend in a Coma. Yet somehow it is very coherent and affecting by the end. The faux-yearbook entry text dispersed throughout is sometimes comedy gold and sometimes very sad and affecting. The overall "theme" of the book is the inconsequentiality, yet monumental drama that is high school life and it is handled very well. The montage of yearbook shots, and their juxtaposition with the text works very well. Also, note that the copy I ordered was the original non-trade paperback edition with the slipcover that is shown on Coupland's site (www.coupland.com). I believe there is a newer, trade edition and this may be the one you get if you order from Amazon UK, although I am not sure. In any case, this is undoubtedly an "art" book and may not be worth the price for someone looking for something more substantial from a literary perspective. However, if you love Coupland's style and want a unique item to add to your collection, this is an excellent little piece.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
very little text, mostly pictures of 70s high schools,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Pierre Huyghe & Douglas Coupland - School Spirit (Art Encounters) (Paperback)
Very little text, mostly photos from a high school in the 70s,with yearbook-syle quotes and classmate notes. Extremely short narrative of a ghost of a student inhabiting schools interspersed. If you're looking for substantial text from/about Coupland, pass. If you want a short, nutty post-modern fiction thing, this is it. Some of the photos are amusing, but most manage to make the 70s unglamorous and depressing. |
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