Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Hey Nostradamus! is narrated by 4 different characters. It starts out from the perspective of Cheryl Amway who, pregnant and secretly married to Jason, is killed in a Columbine-like school massacre in 1988. Cheryl tells us of her life leading up to and during the killings. A very intriguing story where you yearn to learn more of Cheryl and Jason . The next Narrator turns out to be Jason himself 10 years after the school massacre and the story just keeps getting better. Jason discusses his life pretty much before, during and after the killings into his current life. This is where I am really interested in the book and think that this piece of work is absolutely incredible. I fully expected that Coupland would explore the killers and the killed and dive deeper into this world but he doesn't and I am happy about that. Coupland takes things away from this aspect and into the individual worlds of Cheryl and Jason and the people they knew, were affected by and loved which makes this book more about the people and less about the events.

Just when I really start to enjoy the story, it switches to the voice of Heather who is now Jason's girlfriend, several years after Jason's story completes. Heather fills us in on the years in between and I started to get bored with her story and her and Jason's relationship. The final voice is of Jason's father Reg. I think that this was an important voice to hear since much of Jason's life was controlled by his relationship with his father. But still I was losing interest. By the end of the book I honestly just couldn't wait for it to be over. The first half of the book I'd rate a 4/5, the second half a 2/5.. which is why I rated it a 3/5. Im a little disappointed that I didn't love this like others have. I enjoyed most of the story but Heather's part just really felt like a waste to me.

This book fills the following groups/challenges:
  • PBT Oct Tag - Contemporary Fiction

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