All Families are Psychotic - Softcover

9780679311836: All Families are Psychotic
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
HV

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
Canadian author Douglas Coupland's seventh novel could be subtitled When Bad Things Happen to Bad People. As the estranged members of the Drummond family straggle into Florida for youngest sister Sarah's impending space shuttle launch, we only begin to glimpse the true meaning of the word dysfunctional. The family, plagued by terminal disease, financial disaster, felonious activity, infidelity, and violence, is forced--by a series of ever more fantastic occurrences--to attempt to deal with each other. That would be an easier task if they didn't loathe one another with a ferocity usually reserved for war criminals. It's not quite Jerry Springer-style tabloid TV set in Disney's Haunted Mansion, but the family members do muster the strength to insult, assault, and infect one another with abandon. With the exception of the family matriarch, Janet, they are unappealing and selfish, but without Machiavellian brilliance. Instead, they're inclined toward out-and-out stupidity, blinded by self-interest rather than enlightened by it. As they bumble through misadventure after misadventure, there seems to be no reason to cheer for them. Even Sarah, the family's shining star, has her dark side.

True to Coupland's style, the book reads lightning fast. The author punctuates his narrative with clipped dialogue and punchy exchanges that advance the palpable sense of unease and tension running throughout. And amidst the acrimony, Coupland throws a genuine caper into the plot, involving Prince William's farewell letter to his mother, Princess Diana. Add to that the oppressive heat and the postmodern, pop culture junkyard of Coupland's Florida setting, and the entire book brews and builds like a roiling tropical storm. --S. Duda

About the Author:
Douglas Coupland was born on a Canadian Armed Forces Base in Baden-Söllingen, Germany, in 1961. He is the author of the novels Miss Wyoming, Generation X, and Girlfriend in a Coma, among others, as well as the nonfiction works Life After God and Polaroids from the Dead. He grew up and lives in Vancouver, Canada.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherVintage Canada
  • Publication date2002
  • ISBN 10 0679311831
  • ISBN 13 9780679311836
  • BindingPaperback
  • Edition number4
  • Number of pages288
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780007117536: All Families are Psychotic

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780007117536
Publisher: Flamingo, 2002
Softcover

  • 9781582341651: All Families Are Psychotic: A Novel

    Blooms..., 2001
    Hardcover

  • 9781582342153: All Families Are Psychotic: A Novel

    Blooms..., 2002
    Softcover

  • 9780007117512: All Families Are Psychotic [Paperback] by Coupland, Douglas

    Blooms..., 2001
    Softcover

  • 9780007151707: All Families Are Psychotic

    Flamingo, 2002
    Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Coupland, Douglas
Published by Vintage Canada (2002)
ISBN 10: 0679311831 ISBN 13: 9780679311836
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Books Unplugged
(Amherst, NY, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk0679311831xvz189zvxnew

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 35.95
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Coupland, Douglas
Published by Vintage Canada (2002)
ISBN 10: 0679311831 ISBN 13: 9780679311836
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Book Deals
(Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-0679311831-new

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 35.95
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds