A review by thatguyscout
Girlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland

reflective slow-paced

3.0

An intriguing and thoughtful book that chooses to take a nose dive halfway through. Up until the ultimate twist of the novel, I had been enjoying this book quite a bit. The existential meandering nature of these deeply complex characters was a treat. These young people with such dreams that ultimately they don’t have the courage to pursue, a trap many of us fall into as we approach our mid-30s. When the girlfriend awakens during her coma, everybody wants to ask what it’s like to wake up in the future and how much things have changed. But for her it’s the people that have changed. “A lack of convictions—of beliefs, of wisdom, or even of good old badness. No sorrow; no nothing. People—the people I knew—when I came back they only, well, existed. It was so sad. I couldn’t allow myself to tell them”. Karen has this remarkable insight that starts to evolve after she comes out of her coma and the book really starts to pick up steam. Until the author absolutely fumbles the ball, introducing a completely unnecessary and confounding supernatural/apocalyptic element. I love a good plot twist as much as anybody, but this did not feel as though it was particularly thought out. The apocalypse chapters are mainly narrated by a friend that had died in high school whom we briefly hear about at the start of the novel. In Vonnegut’s “Galapagos”, a ghost narrates throughout the duration of the novel so when things become much more surreal it feels earned. Perhaps Coupland should've done the same here. An incredibly strong first half followed by an especially frustrating second half.