The end of the world, and hope, and hopelessness GENERATION X BY DOUGLAS COUPLAND By DESSA BAYROCK Douglas Coupland’s career begins with an eclipse: in the first three pages of Generation X, his first novel, the protagonist flies to Manitoba to witness the shadow of the moon snuffing out the sun.
“And in that field, when the appointed hour, minute, and second of the darkness came, I lay myself down on the ground surrounded by the tall pithy grain stalks and the faint sound of insects, and held my breath, there experiencing a mood that I have never really been able to shake completely — a mood of darkness and inevitability and fascination — a mood that surely must have been held by most young people since the dawn of time as they have crooked their necks, stared at the heavens, and watched their sky go out.” This passage suspends time, place, and the concept of traditional generations; past and future blend together, and every young
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