JPod

I loved the style of Generation X, but never did get around to finishing it. JPod is written in Coupland's bouncing-around, pop-culture obsessed, stream-of-conscious style. However, take away all of this, and there is not a whole lot.

It is set in the suburbs of Vancouver, B.C., with the main character (Ethan) being a relatively sane person in an insane world. He works at a video game company where management always manages to get in the way, and he spends most time socializing with the other coworkers in his "J-Pod" His parents behave like overgrown teenagers. His brother introduces him to a Chinese "businessman" that seems to be able to get just about anything "done".

Coupland also inserts himself in the novel (as sometimes nice jerk.) He demands Ethan's computer as a prerequisite for joining a business venture. (And thus we are given the reason for the 'origination' of this book.)

This book also much better on paper than an audiobook. It gets painful hearing the narrator read out some of the random lists of words and acronyms. It is much better read as a web-surfing brain dump.