Generation A

Echoing the structure of his classic Generation X, Douglas Coupland’s latest novel, Generation A, imagines a future where fuel is scarce and bees are extinct—that is, until five unconnected people from all over the world are stung.

After being virtually abducted and interrogated by scientists, becoming globally famous in the process, these five people can’t return to their normal lives. In coming together, they tell stories of their experiences that start to weave together like an organic whole.

The story is told in rotating first-person narratives from all five people, touching on an array of topics: technology, globalisation, blogging, ecological catastrophe and the need for meaning in a godless universe.

The importance of storytelling is the theme, as the antidote of their alienation.

In Generation A, Coupland’s distinct blend of humor, wit, pop cultural references, clever observations and social commentary wrapped within a modern "blog" style of writing really shines once again as he paints life into this world through five different narratives.