Girlfriend In A Coma

This was my first Douglas Coupland novel I had ever read, and I was pretty satisfied. He takes you through the story of a girl named Karen, who knows something is wrong, but is unsure of what. Next thing you know, she is in a coma and you are left seeing things through the eyes of her friends and family and how they cope with life after coma.
As I was reading, I imagined a certain path that Coupland was trying to right, and it wasn't even close to where the story ended up turning. This book make me continue reading his work.

Douglas Coupland certainly does not like to write mainstream books. There were a lot of issues going on at the same time in this book. First loss and grief. Then joyful loving miraculous resumption of life. However by the end of the book the issues became overwhelming and too philosophical for me. Interesting concepts on what Coupland figures we should do with our lives

I stayed up until pretty late last night finishing this book. It is much different from regular Coupland style in the fact that it's a much more serious book with a lot of questions being asked that you still think about after you have finished the book. This book really got me thinking. There are a whole bunch of question you can ask yourself - how would I respond if I were in the same situation as these characters?

Overall, a fantastic book.

Coupland has a way of being able to tap into popular culture and give us an insightful look at ourselves and our way of life. The book went in a totally different direction than I expected, though a little far fetched, I accepted it as it really put things into perspective. An insightfull and beautiful read.

I loved this book and just couldn't get
enough of it. It's honestly one of the
most impressive, ingenious things I
have read in the past 10 years. A
brilliant piece of fiction - I can't say
enough about it... and Coupland is
Canadian... Perfect!

Girlfriend in a Coma combines the always humourous and witty writing style of Coupland with a truly inspired and profound message and near call-to-arms for his generation. The novel will make you laugh, cry, and spend good time in serious thought about your world. I cannot recommend this book strongly enough.

I loved this book because it was differnt from anything I have ever read. I bought it as a gift and when I read the plot on the back I had to read this book. I keep thinking that this book would make a great movie but there is so much to in it that 2 hours wouldn't do the story justice. As in every Coupland book there is a group of characters that are so entertaining that you hate when it ends because you have become part of their crazy world. This book deals with relationships with a Science Fiction theme. If you're looking for something weird and very entertaining then this book is for you.

Nobody is a bigger fan of Douglas Coupland then I am. I've read all of his books, and he is certainly a great Canadian author, who has his finger firmly on the pulse of pop culture.

Coupland paints his characters as poignantly as in his other books, and Girlfriend in a Coma begins with great quirky dialog and moody atmosphere as a group of Canadian friends come to grips with the sudden unexplained coma to which their friend, Karen MacNeil, has fallen prey. It's the ending of the book, which seems to be some sort of rip-off of Stephen King's 'The Stand' that bothered me. Perhaps Coupland was trying to introduce a metaphor a la Don DeLillo. Either the book had some deep meaning that I missed, or (I think) Mr. Coupland just didn't know how to end it. Nonetheless, the book is a good read for its style, if not its plot. But if you've never read Coupland before, his better books are Microserfs (I think it's his best) and Generation X.

Douglas Coupland's "Girlfriend in a Coma" is novel that illustrates the interaction of teenagers in the 1970's, showing the gradual change in behavior as they get older. The novelist portrays the carefree atmosphere of the late 1970's to the uptight feeling of the 1990's. By contrasting the two different eras, one learns of how different society was, as well as lifestyle, back then. The characters in the novel must learn to cope with their anxieties about their friend Karen as she remains in her coma, along with maintaining their own lives and personal habits. Along the course of their life, each character discovers themselves unwillingly, most end up not liking what they find. Coupland brings about a way to personify the characters, allowing the reader to feel compassionate toward them. Even though most of the characters hold a respectable position in society, they still manage to maintain their ways, informing the reader that in society people usually base each other on assumption or societal status.

I bought this book at the beginning of July 2000. Once I started to read it, I couldn't put the book down for even a second. The very first 25 words transports the reader into a different lifetime. It puts the reader in the mind of the person that the story is being told from, letting the reader live the life from the 1970's up into the future. It reflects a teenagers life full of romance, conflicts and friends and gives a twist to average life.

The original concept and vividly human characters initially make for a great read. Coupland has always had a knack for writing about his demographic, and has become the voice of a lost generation (not unlike Hemingway in this respect). This is a story about teenagers that never become adults, and never find anything worthwhile in the world, although they are never quite aware of these facts. The everyday malaise conveyed through the lives of the characters is realistic and engaging. The moment Karen awakens from her coma is truly moving. Karen becomes the key in revealing how empty and unfulfilling life has become for everyone. After Karen awakes, however, is when I get lost. The book takes a gradual downhill slide, then a sharp drop into a millennial apocalypse tale. To me, it feels like Coupland ran out of plot ideas about a third of the way through with this one. Still, plot is only the most obvious facet of a novel, and there is still much to like about this book if you can get past the storyline.

I thought this book was filled with possibilities, Everything in this book had the chance of being true. I could not put this book down, and when I finished I found myself wanting more.

Girlfriend in a coma is a novel that really made me think about mortality and the importance of good friends, who stand by each other in times of great weirdness.

I'm a Coupland fan and he really didn't disappoint with his latest novel. A fantastically original plot, moving characters, and an ending filled with emotion and a strong statement about the world we currently live in. A special treat for fans of the band The Smiths as various song titles are sprinkled throughout the novel. I lost sleep because I couldn't put it down!

Another amazing book by Douglas Coupland. He knows how to right to the "20 something" generation. Right up there with Microserfs.

This was an amazing, creative story about a the typical young Canadian teens of the 70's. It revolves around one particular group of friends. One friend within the group goes into a coma mysteriously leaving everyone questionable for 18 years. While she's in her coma, her friends go about with their lives, with jobs, and marriage, and kids, etc. Then finally one day, 18 years later, she wakes up and has strange predictions about the world, that she believes may come true. And theres only one way to stop it. This is an extroirdinary story that makes you think about life, and everything within it. I would recommend it highly.

This is a fantastic and highly original novel by the Canadian author who defined a generation. It deals with a group of Vancouverites whose teen angst and emptiness only grows as they age, exacerbated by the lengthy coma suffered by one of their best friends. While the novel is decidedly apocalyptic in nature, these characters are forced out of their apathetic existentialism and disillusionment with modern values, or lack thereof. It ends with a very optimistic future. Let us hope it does not take the drastic events of this novel to bring us out of our collective coma.