Customer Reviews

JPod: A Novel

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

 

 

This is the latest book by Douglas Coupland, author of Generation X and, more pertently, Microserfs.

JPod is a psuedo-sequel to Microserfs, which is a book I have to rate as one of my favourites, just in amazing readability and dead-on characters who you swear were taken from your own circle of friends. This new one doesn't continue the same characters, but it apes very closely the structure and character types of Microserfs. This time though, a group of loveably loser geeks work for a videogame company in Vancouver. Which allows Coupland to again expose corporate idiocy in the software world while unstable geeks toil in the trenches and cut-up wise in order to remain semi-sane.

While JPod definitely has the same readability, it unfortunately pales seriously in comparison to Microserfs. It has the sequel-symptoms of trying to wratchet up what made the first one great to a new level, and this succeeds admirably in squashing what made the other book so great: the ability to really identify with the characters and their situation. Things just get a bit too crazy; characters are TOO over the top, and things come to a Vonnegut-like end that just didn't work for me in the context of the novel.

Still, if you've never read Microserfs or are able somehow to keep that towering book out of your mind as you read JPod, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. It's not quite as charming as its predecessor, but remains a fun read.

I was a huge fan of Microserfs back when it came out in '95. I was just graduating from computer science and I could empathize a lot with the 'moment' that Coupland brilliantly captured. The characters were eccentric but mostly believable. By the end of the book, I actually felt profoundly moved and told all my friends about it and that they needed to read it themselves. I even got choked up at the end as the story wrapped up.

Now I'll admit that I'm only half through jPod but I can tell that this isn't going to happen this time. The characters are barely recognizable as humans and all I really want is for them to shut up. People are killed, in passing, and no big deal is made about it. Coupland also references his own name several times throughout the text as a nudge-nudge wink-wink kind of tool. Maybe he is commenting on something in society but to me all it is coming off as just a little too self-satisfied and clever for its own good. It is a real slog to get through this book which is a shame. I really wanted to like it.

I think I'll just go back and read Microserfs again and I recommend you do too. IT is an amazing book.

When this book was first recommended to me I was warned that I may or may not get the humour in it. My typical reading consists of topics that are hands on learning, from woodworking, welding, photography and such.

I was also warned to be carefull where I read it as I might just burst out laughing (i.e. if in public).

I took the risk and ordered the book without knowing much about it. Sure enough, the first thoughts running through my head were "what are all these run-on sentances, these wasted pages of numbers, wow... this book is strange".

Half way through the first chapter it happened. As I looked around the coffee shop to see who was staring at me I had to chuckle to myself that the warning had come true... I had burst out laughing in public.

This book at first glimpse may seem to be one of the strangest some have ever seen, yet once the story progesses one can't help but look forward to each and every time they will have a chance to read some more.

Will everyone get the humour in it? Most likely not. Yet... for this guy... one whom very rarely reads this type of book... the story was one that has made me a fan of Douglas Coupland, and has prompted me to share it with everyone I know whom will "get it".

Let me first state that I love Douglas Coupland''s writing. I'm the guy who rushes out to buy his latest book the day of release and devours each one like a finely toasted grilled cheese sandwich. I''ve even had the opportunity to meet him and found him thoroughly charming as he signed, then doodled in my copy of Hey Nostradamus.

All that being said, I did not enjoy jPod. Sure, there are moments of the typical Coupland brilliance (self-obsessed characters, hilarious dialogue), but overall the story seemed disjointed, pointless even. Typically I go on a Coupland bender with each new book, devouring it from beginning to end. Didn''t happen this time. Instead, I found myself plodding through the book, counting the number of pages until I was done. Sorry Doug. This one just didn''t do it for me.

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Okay, okay. So I've thought about it further and, well', I think the man is a genius. jPod plays itself out just like a video game. All of the characters live in a defined world and their interactions have no real consequence, other than as they affect each other. There is no defined morality beyond what is of greatest benefit for each individual. And when you reach the end, you wonder if it has been a good use of your time.

I still don't love this book, but it is masterful. Someone ought to turn jPod into a TV show.

Play again? Y/N

This author needs no introduction. He mines the dot-com of the new millennium and his generation like no one else.

This book is a satirical peek into the cubicle JPod hive where he works with fellow-workers whose name all begin with J.

The hero, Ethan, has a kooky family, including a mother who does something unthinkable and unbelievable. There's a bit of everything slapstick in this book: marijuana plants in a basement, an electrocuted biker, Chinese immigrants, etc.

Satirical, spirited humor, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry in this book; a bit off-beat for me, but I enjoyed it, possibly because of the author's ability to connect with the emotions of normal human beings, although he doesn't seem human himself.

This has got to be one of the funniest books I've ever read! Literally LAUGH OUT LOUD funny!!! well, I guess you must have a certain sense of humor for this,
definitely mine!!! Plus, I love geeks! Their particularities so alike, which brought them together, yet with such distinctive characteristics
that made them so unique.
Douglas Coupland really put a lot of work into making this so detailed, especially with his weird writing style ; the random side-stories which really plunges you head-first into this world his created.
All the characters so well described that you almost feel like you knew these guys, you can see them in your mind, like you work in the same office
as them, witnessing their interactions with each other. BRILLIANT BOOK! Just brilliant!

Just a note, J Pod also became a tv series a few years ago but it unfortunately flopped, not enough followers. I got to watch the first and
only season and I must say, after reading the book, I was a bit disappointed. It really is a pity...characters were nothing like I imagined them, i guess that's the magic of reading...

Douglas Couplands new book Jpod is a madcap mix between Thompsons Fear and Loathing and the cult classic Office Space.

Coupland demonstrates once again that he has the ability to craft persuasive characters and the uncanny gift to make the reader feel some sort of empathy (and if your 30 and under- affinity with at least 4 of the 10 characters).

I wonder if the continual musing to myself Yah we are like that is what it felt like for the kids of area code 90210 and youth groups of years gone by during their reading of Generation X.

I will never know

Coupland succeeded in bringing his love for art and design to Jpod with Asian Characters, a tribute to Pi and other weird things that can only grow in the head of Coupland into this work so avoid the temptation to wait until soft cover (or worse yet-ebook)

Out of my scale of three (1-Dont read 2-Worhty Bathroom read 3-Text worth Studying) I give it the 3, not in the sense of a text to study, but one to enjoy removed from the Bathroom and preferably with (if you are over 18 and not an ordained minister within the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada/born after 1975/you can find some) a can of Zima.

Sometimes you get a bad feeling from the first page of a book, such as when the author namedrops himself. In this case, clever Douglas Coupland.

Fortunately that bad feeling doesn't continue throughout the geek purgatory of "JPod," which can be seen as a sort of sequel to "Microserfs" -- bored, brilliant people in unfulfilling corporate jobs. It staggers at the midway point, but the corporate bizarrities are definitely worth the read.

When he's not dealing with a doomed video game, Ethan is trying to help his parents -- his pot-growing mum killed a hostile biker, and his wannabe-actor dad is having a hot affair with a sexy girl Ethan's age. To make matters worse, his brother has smugglesd illegal Chinese immigrants into his home without permission. And you thought YOUR day was bad.

Things deteriorate even more when the JPod boss develops an obsessive crush on Ethan's mother, and he ends up getting shipped to China. Now it's Ethan's job to go retrieve him, since the turtle-themed video game is being destroyed by their new manager. But getting the boss back won't be the end of his problems.

Let's get this out of the way: Coupland casts himself as a character in "JPod." Essentially it's his evil, sociopathic clone. Coupland does get credit for not making himself come across as appealing at all, but the whole sequence seems very gimmicky and artificial.

"JPod" itself is a smirky black comedy, with lots of dysfunctional characters and a a lot of all-out comic situations. In fact, he really never lets up with the comedy, with idiot bosses, lesbian mothers with lowercase names, and even a gangster born without a sense of humor. Not to mention love letters to Ronald MacDonald. Yes, the fast-food clown.

But in this view of the world, the best you can hope for is a kind of chaos that is familiar to you, and Coupland takes the opportunity to poke fun at the attitudes he helped trigger. It's a very different tone from more uplifting novels like "Eleanor Rigby," and it suits Coupland's satiric tone very well.

Coupland's strongest writing is on the JPodders themselves. They're not really likable, but they are fascinating. They fill up their worktime with mind games, mathematical riddles, and in-jokes. Unfortunately, these jokes also feel like filler to flesh out the story. At the same time, they meditate on what personality quirks drove them to this job.

"JPod" is wildly uneven and also deeply absurd, a black comedy with a postmodern Dilbert edge. It's not fully satisfying, but it is entertaining.

Coupland struck another chord with me on this one, and yes, like most reviews out there, jPod does have a certain Microserfs feel to it. This, of course, comes naturally as the two novels deal with not only similar issues (love, family, etc.), but also similar characters (Microsoft employee vs. a blatantly obvious EA employee).

Still, there is much that separates the two novels. jPod appears to have a much darker undertone than that of its older predecessor. Coupland deals with issues such as drug trafficking, separated parents, sketchy asian businesspeople, while maintaining the geek humour to keep you flipping the pages for more.

So, if you're a fan of Microserfs, do pick jPod up. It'll be a familiar read, with enough plot twists and humour to keep you going through the natural evolution of the Microserfs saga.

I don't understand why people keep comparing this book to Microserfs. It is completely original, and hilarious! Even my mum, who doesn't usually "get" Coupland, laughed out loud SEVERAL times while reading Jpod. I couldn't get enough of it, and have in fact, read it twice. The way that Coupland writes himself into the novel is FABULOUS!! If you are a true Coupland fan, read this book!