The Gum Thief - Softcover

Coupland, Douglas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747591881 ISBN 13: 9780747591887

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2007

Synopsis

Meet Roger, a divorced, middle-aged 'aisles associate' at a Staples outlet, condemned to restocking reams of paper for the rest of his life, and his co-worker, Bethany, who's at the end of her Goth phase and realising she's facing fifty more years of shelving Post-it notes and replenishing the Crayola boutique in Aisle Six. One day, Bethany discovers Roger's notebook in the staff room. When she opens it up, she discovers that this old guy who she's never considered to be quite human is writing mock diary entries pretending to be her - and weirdly, he's getting it right. She learns he has a tragedy in his past, and suddenly he no longer seems like a paper-stocking robot in a red shirt and a name tag. These two retail workers then strike up an unlikely yet touching secret correspondence. As their lives unfold, so too do the characters of Roger's work-in-progress, the oddly titled Glove Pond, a Cheever-era novella gone horribly, horribly wrong. On every page of this wise, witty and unforgettable novel, Coupland reminds us that love, death and eternal friendship can all occur where and when we least expect them and that, even after tragedy has hit, one can still find solace in the comedy and strange comforts of modern life.

About this title

Review:

A post-modern delight. Playfully structured, and with a warm heart, it's full of witty observations and real solace. -- Esquire

A tender and hopeful story that shows how, with friendship and the occasional little act of rebellion, there can still be laughter after tragedy. -- Daily Mail

Classic Douglas Coupland... There are lines that couldn't fail to move the most hardened Coupland-phobe. -- Independent

Coupland throws back more "meaning of life" maxims than La Rochefoucauld ... Very smart. And horribly entertaining. -- Financial Times Magazine

Funny; genuinely, embarrass-yourself-on-a-plane funny. The Gum Thief sometimes reads like a more cleverly executed version of Breakfast of Champions. -- The Times

`A post-modern delight. Playfully structured, and with a warm heart, it's full of witty observations and real solace' -- Esquire

`The Coupland mix is familiar by now: the quiet desperations of contemporary life, depicted in an ultra-hip style. Just because you're desperate does not mean you can't be cool. Or have to be quiet .... Is life a big deal, or no big deal? Coupland throws back more "meaning of life" maxims than La Rochefoucauld ... Very smart. And horribly entertaining'
-- John Sutherland, Financial Times Magazine

`The story unfolds in a novel that serves as a metaphor for the way in which people care and share in the internet age' -- Arena

About the Author:

Douglas Coupland is a novelist who also works in visual arts and theatre. His novels include Eleanor Rigby, Generation X, All Families Are Psychotic, Hey Nostradamus! and JPod. He lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0747591881
• ISBN 13: 9780747591887
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288