In Books
  • All Departments
  • In Books
  • In Bargain Books
  • In eReading
  • In Kids' Books
  • In Teens' Books
  • In Toys & Games
  • In Video Games
  • In Lifestyle & Paper
  • In Movies & TV
  • In Music
  • In Used & Rare Books
  • In Used & Rare Movies & TV
  • In Used & Rare Music
Girlfriend in a Coma

Average rating: 4/5

Based on 94 ratings

Rate this

Girlfriend in a Coma

by Douglas Coupland

Reganbooks | March 15, 1999 | Trade Paperback

On a snowy Saturday night in 1979, after making love for the first time, high school senior Karen Ann McNeil confides the dark visions she''s been suffering to her boyfriend, Richard. Only a few hours later she descends into a coma. Nine months after that, she gives birth to a daughter, Megan, her child by Richard.

Karen remains comatose for the next 18 years. Richard and her circle of friends reside in an emotional purgatory throughout the next two decades, passing through careers as models, film special-effects technicians, doctors and demolition experts before finally being reunited while working on a conspiracy-driven supernatural series.

Upon Karen''s reawakening, life grows as surreal as the television show. Strange, apocalyptic events begin to occur. Later, amid the world''s rubble, Karen, Richard and their friends attempt to restore their own humanity.

$13.95
$13.25

On re-order. Check back soon.

All Editions Online Member
Kobo Edition (eBook) $9.99 n/a
  • Eligible for FREE Shipping on orders over $25. + Details.

Reviews

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?

    Rating: 4/5

    Like the song, right?

    <3Slightly Devious<3

    • Top Book Reviewer

    4 years ago

    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.

    Comments on this review:
    Marissa Pilaszkiewicz

    Thanks for giving me the idea, it sounds good.

    <3Slightly Devious<3

    Girlfriend in a Coma is one of Coupland's more spiritual reads, but still has his sense of humour throughout. The main character, Karen, is having some very confusing and somewhat chilling visions. Before you know it, she's in a coma. For eighteen years. Her high school boyfriend, friends and family are all changed by this event, and are eventually reunited when she comes out of her coma, which is where things really start to go downhill for the world. If I continue, I may end up giving more away than intended.

    Marissa Pilaszkiewicz

    What is Girlfriend in a Coma about?

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?

    Rating: 3/5

    A different book

    Dana

    6 years ago

    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

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?

    Rating: 5/5

    Awesome Canadian Book!

    Lauren

    • Top Book Reviewer
    • Most Interesting

    6 years ago

    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.

    • Was this review
      helpful to you?
    Waleska

    Rating: 4/5

    Girlfriend in a Coma

    Waleska

    13 years ago

    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.

see more

Details

From the Publisher

On a snowy Saturday night in 1979, after making love for the first time, high school senior Karen Ann McNeil confides the dark visions she''s been suffering to her boyfriend, Richard. Only a few hours later she descends into a coma. Nine months after that, she gives birth to a daughter, Megan, her child by Richard.

Karen remains comatose for the next 18 years. Richard and her circle of friends reside in an emotional purgatory throughout the next two decades, passing through careers as models, film special-effects technicians, doctors and demolition experts before finally being reunited while working on a conspiracy-driven supernatural series.

Upon Karen''s reawakening, life grows as surreal as the television show. Strange, apocalyptic events begin to occur. Later, amid the world''s rubble, Karen, Richard and their friends attempt to restore their own humanity.

About the Author

Douglas Coupland was born on December 30, 1961, on a Canadian NATO base in West Germany. He grew up and lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Girlfriend in a Comaá reestablishes Douglas Coupland as one of the most talented, engaging and important writers of his generation.Profoundly moving, darkly comic, this eerily prescient novel exploring questions of faith, decency and existence is set against the backdrop of a society hurtling toward the end of the century.As Peopleá magazine so deftly put it, "His voice still resonates with the generation he named."

He is the author of Generation X, Shampoo Planet, Life After God, and Microserfs.

Trade Paperback

288 Pages, 5.3 x 8.05 x 0.71 in

March 15, 1999

Reganbooks


0060987324
9780060987329

From the Critics

"Part Stephen King, part "It''s a Wonderful Life, " with a little of his own "Generation X" thrown in, Coupland''s immensely readable new novel shows him scared of the future and sounding the alarm for the millennium."-- "Booklist.".".a message of hope and a challenge to...cynicism."-- "USA Today""To call Coupland the John Bunyon of his set would not be hyperbole, especially in light of his newest book, the...fantastical "Girlfriend in a Coma," which at times approaches a jeremiad worthy of Kurt Vonnegut...[A] rousingly old-fashioned and genuinely spooky morality play."-- "The Washington Post""His strongest novel to date."-- "People"

< close and return to chapters.indigo.ca
kobo
  • Take your library with you wherever you go
  • Use the device you want to use… smartphone, desktop and many of today’s most popular eReaders
  • Use Indigo gift cards to buy eBooks and subscriptions

WHY KOBO?

We love the Kobo eReading service… and we know you will too. We’ve partnered with them to bring you the most flexible, enjoyable eReading experience in Canada.

SHOPPING ON KOBO

You’ll be asked to sign in or create a new account with Kobo. Once you do, you’ll immediately get access to millions of titles and be ready to start eReading. Anytime. Anyplace.

continue to kobo

Sign up for email

Be the first to know

about discounts, promotions and new releases.

Sign up now 

Self Publish

Get your book published

and on our shelves!

Find out how  

Protected by Copyright. All Rights Reserved. Legal Notices and Terms of Use | Privacy Policy  

Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation © 2010

Powered by EndecaVeriSign SecuredEssential Accessibility 

As Canada’s purveyor of ideas and inspiration, Indigo is the largest book, gift and specialty toy retailer in Canada. Indigo operates in all provinces under different banners including Indigo Books & Music; Indigo Books, Gifts, Kids; IndigoSpirit; Chapters; The World's Biggest Bookstore; and Coles. The online channel, www.indigo.ca, features books, eBooks, toys and gifts and hosts the award winning Indigo Online Community.

111