City of Glass: Douglas Coupland's Vancouver

Imagine following Highway 99 south from Whistler down through West and North Vancouver, across the Second Narrows Bridge, along Boundary Road, crossing into Richmond, picking up the 99 again, and driving straight through to Seattle. Now, pay attention only to what you can see (Mount Baker, for instance), or things that are to your right -- west of the Vancouver-Burnaby border. Observe and comment on those things lucidly and with humour. But ignore the vast suburbs stretching to the east. Spend more time on Bellingham than on New Westminster.You have an idea of this book. Like Coupland's other works, it demonstrates keen insight about a limited part of its subject -- this case, Vancouver. He is a North Shore boy, and it shows. Worth reading, but definitely only one person's view.

With City of Glass, Coupland has done it again -- articulating the experience of so many people his / our age in a way that is so accurate and clear! This is yet another excellent work by Coupland. His words ring so true -- especially for those of us from or living in the Vancouver area. I would recommend it to anyone, though, as the messages underlying his insider's guide to the city have somewhat greater applicability.

In a world that grows smaller by the day, I see a larger number of my geographically disposed friends passing through my door. I am always glad to be a tour guide in what I like to consider, although I am from Saskatoon, my town. The mountains are mine, the beaches are mine and I love to point out the litte quirks that make Vancouver unique.

Douglas Coupland takes readers on a light hearted tour of my town and has done a superlative job. From relating a tourist large attration down to a more personal level, to exposing small sub-cultures that exisit in Vancouver, Coupland has done an excellent job in showing the true side of my town.

I recomend this book to locals and tourists alike, and hope that you get a chance to read it some day.

Thank you.