- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC; Unccorected proof edition (1 Oct 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0747591881
- ISBN-13: 978-0747591887
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.4 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 338,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Esquire
A post-modern delight. Playfully structured, and with a warm heart, it's full of witty observations and real solace.
Review
'Coupland is possibly the most gifted exegete of North American mass culture writing today' Guardian Praise for JPOD: 'A dazzling comic novel, confirming that there is on current form no finer novelist writing in English' Literary Review 'There is brilliance at work in JPod. Not to mention more LOLs than you could shake a bong at. Mom must be so proud.' LA Times 'An extraordinary book, wide-ranging and wildly inventive' London Review of Books
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Coupland's voice is instantly recognisable and he has a set of themes he has made is own. And The Gum Thief is representative of both. He doesn't extends his range (as he did in Eleanor Rigby and Hey Nostradamus!) but neither does he rehash earlier successes (J-Pod). There are many beautiful observations here, and moments of genuine warmth. There are also moments of indulgence, issues in pacing, a wearying sense of deja vu and ultimately, the whole doesn't really add up to very much. If you like Coupland, you will still like him at the end of The Gum Thief, but I can't help feeling this is a novel written between other, hopefully more ambitious projects.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'd rate Eleanor Rigby and, especially, Hey Nostradamus! as being among the best novels I've read in the past few years - novels which use an elliptical style and apparently disconnected narrative threads to communicate something of the reality of this, our relativist, incoherent but fascinating culture. This one, however, is weak: unrealised characters who 'live' existences now too reminiscent of other Coupland creations; a meandering and at times very slow, eventless plot; and a punchless ending.
I like the guy's best work enormously, but I'm hoping the next one's a lot better.
I like the guy's best work enormously, but I'm hoping the next one's a lot better.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I really struggled on what star rating to give this book. If I could I would've given it an extra half star.
This is Coupland doing what Coupland does best - writing a simple story with an interesting narrative about characters who are seemingly trapped in their own lives, only to have found the source of some unlikely hope where they never would've looked before. And as usual - not a lot seems to happen.
But this is not a criticism. This was a great read for when you just need something a bit simpler. It's no heavy-weight novel but it defintely has it's place.
As for the story itself - it's an interesting story within a story, told through a series of diary entries - by no means a unique method, but works well to bring out different characters.
If you're a Coupland fan looking for more of the same then get this book - if you're new to Coupland give it a go too, but also try Microserfs and Genereation X.
This is Coupland doing what Coupland does best - writing a simple story with an interesting narrative about characters who are seemingly trapped in their own lives, only to have found the source of some unlikely hope where they never would've looked before. And as usual - not a lot seems to happen.
But this is not a criticism. This was a great read for when you just need something a bit simpler. It's no heavy-weight novel but it defintely has it's place.
As for the story itself - it's an interesting story within a story, told through a series of diary entries - by no means a unique method, but works well to bring out different characters.
If you're a Coupland fan looking for more of the same then get this book - if you're new to Coupland give it a go too, but also try Microserfs and Genereation X.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Disappointing
I've always admired the fact that Douglas Coupland can exploit metafiction and postmodern absurdity while still remaining within the limits of 'commercial fiction'. Read more
Published on 7 May 2010 by Nicola
A gentle tale of social dislocation
This book presents a snapshot into the lives of different people who all work together - it is perhaps the only thing they have in common. Read more
Published on 1 Aug 2009 by S. Dass
A return to form for Coupland
I've read and enjoyed everything Coupland has written, right up to 2006's "jPod". This was massively disappointing - it seemed as if everything I'd loved about his previous works... Read more
Published on 30 Jun 2009 by S. P. Long
Falling between two stools...
Not being a fan of Coupland, I'm not infected by any idea of how high on the Coupland league this would rate. Viewed in isolation, this seems to be a middling effort. Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2009 by bloodsimple
Decent Coupland, but not exceptional
Decent Coupland but not exceptional, which is to say that it's still pretty good by anyone else's standards. Read more
Published on 6 Dec 2008 by M. G. Wilson
it passes the time
I'm a big fan of dc, ever since he turned my head with generation x. this book is not up to that or any of his great books standards but it is an interesting read all the same. Read more
Published on 23 Aug 2008 by sitsonthefence
One of Coupland's best
The Gum Thief is up there with the very best of Doug Coupland's work (which means at least as good as Generation X and JPod). Read more
Published on 20 Jun 2008 by John Moseley
Live to work - no ... work to live.
Coupland is back writing about normal people with mind-numbing jobs - this time at a stationery superstore. Read more
Published on 10 April 2008 by Annabel Gaskell
The Gum Thief
Not entirely sure what I thought of this book! I liked the characters and the diary/letter format. I also enjoyed the cringeworthy novel within a novel. Read more
Published on 27 Feb 2008 by gerty guinea
Disappointing direction for Coupland
I quite liked JPod, it wasn't anywhere near Coupland's best work but it felt familiar. What I didn't like about it was the inclusion of himself as a character, and I feel this book... Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2008 by Phil Betjeman
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
