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The Gum Thief (Paperback)

by Douglas Coupland (Author)

3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

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Product details

Paperback: 275 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (1 Sep 2008)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0747593825
ISBN-13: 978-0747593829
Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.2 cm

Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 26,628 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:
#9 in Books > Fiction > Cult Authors > Coupland, Douglas
#30 in Books > Humour > Love, Sex & Marriage

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Product Description

Review

'Funny, touching and immensely enjoyable' Daily Express 'Classic Coupland' Independent 'A tender and hopeful story that shows how, with friendship and the occasional little act of rebellion, there can still be laughter after tragedy' Daily Mail 'He is a brilliant social commentator and a wit for our time' TLS

The Times

Funny; genuinely, embarrass-yourself-on-a-plane funny. The Gum Thief sometimes reads like a more cleverly executed version of Breakfast of Champions. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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	67% buy the item featured on this page: The Gum Thief 3.5 out of 5 stars (17) �4.80
	15% buy Generation A 3.7 out of 5 stars (6) �10.17
	7% buy JPod 3.5 out of 5 stars (54) �5.99
	6% buy Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture 4.1 out of 5 stars (41) �5.54

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Customer Reviews

17 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Familiar tone of voice, familiar post-modern observations, 30 Oct 2007

By	Doc "stenik" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gum Thief (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.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gentle tale of social dislocation, 1 Aug 2009

By	S. Dass - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Gum Thief (Paperback)

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. However, gradually, they develop some ties with each other, but because of the dislocation generated by the socio-economic conditions in which they live, the friendships they develop don't really feel tangible. I felt that this was the real strength of the book, that it could evoke a sense of dislocation and detachment. This is a well-written, compassionate and gentle tale.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A welcome return to form for Mr Coupland!, 30 Nov 2007

By	Ingaborga (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gum Thief (Paperback)

A lot of people, like me, might have initially been put off buying this after the frankly disappointing JPod. I grew up with Douglas Coupland novels - with JPod, it felt like Coupland had lost his touch, and like a girl whose heart had been broken by her first love, I was reluctant to get my hopes up. But a friend (and less obsessive Coupland fan than I) recommended The Gum Thief to me, and I'm pleased that she did.

The Gum Thief is a sweet, heartwarming story of unlikely friendship, and dignity in even the most trying circumstances. It is written mainly as an exchange of letters, notes and diary entries between Roger, a divorced, bitter old soak and Bethany, a 20-something Goth, interspersed with a few other voices and extracts from Glove Pond, Roger's hilariously bad debut novella. What is initially a rather prickly relationship between Roger and Bethany blossoms into something deeper, as they come to genuinely care for one another. Not a great deal happens - the plot seems more about thoughts, memories and feelings than action and dialogue. But only the hardest hearts could fail to be moved by this lovely tale.

The love affair is back on.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Quietly wonderful
I've just finished this book, and there are a million thoughts going round my head. It's a bit like being on a platform at a train station when the 9. Read more

Published 13 days ago by L. Hennessy

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 4 months ago by S. P. Long

3.0 out of 5 stars Coupland being Coupland
I really struggled on what star rating to give this book. If I could I would've given it an extra half star. Read more

Published 6 months ago by N. E. Mathers

2.0 out of 5 stars 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 9 months ago by bloodsimple

3.0 out of 5 stars 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 11 months ago by M. G. Wilson

5.0 out of 5 stars Kiss my face. This is a great read.
Ignore all the doommongers and beardstrokers. 'Its not as good as this, its not as long as that, it does quite smell like the last one'. Yadda, Yadda, Yadda. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Bod

3.0 out of 5 stars 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 19 months ago by Annabel Gaskell

3.0 out of 5 stars 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 20 months ago by gerty guinea

2.0 out of 5 stars 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... Read more

Published 21 months ago by Phil Betjeman

4.0 out of 5 stars Back on form
I didn't rate jPod, thought Coupland was rehashing old ground when he is particularly good at pushing the boundaries. But with this book, he's back on form. Read more

Published 22 months ago by Michelle Antoinette

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