Synopses & Reviews
A riveting, witty, and profound story of loneliness and connection from internationally bestselling author Douglas Coupland.
The 1997 night that Hale-Bopp streaks across the skies over Vancouver, Liz Dunn has nothing in her life but impending oral surgery and an armful of schmaltzy video rentals to get her through her solitary convalescence in her sterile condo. She's overweight, crabby, and plain, but behind her eyes lurk whole universes that she's never had the opportunity to express. Just as Liz makes a quiet decision to seek peace in her life rather than certainty, along comes another comet, in the form of a young man admitted to the local hospital with her name and number inscribed on his Medic Alert bracelet: In case of emergency, contact Liz Dunn.
A charming lost soul and a strange visionary, Jeremy upends Liz's quiet existence, triggering a chain of events that take her to the other side of the world and back, endangering her life just as a real chance at happiness finally seems within reach. By turns funny and heartbreaking, Eleanor Rigby is a fast-paced read and a haunting exploration of the ways in which loneliness affects us all.
Douglas Coupland is a novelist who also works in visual arts and theater. His novels include Generation X, All Families Are Psychotic, and Hey Nostradamus! He lives and works in Vancouver. For more information, visit www.coupland.com.
On a summer night in 1997, a comet streaks across the skies. Liz Dunn has nothing in her life but impending oral surgery and an armful of video rentals to get her through her subsequent solitary convalescence in her condo. She's overweight, crabby, and plain, but behind her dull exterior lurks a mind sharpened by years of observation and contemplation. Liz decides to seek peace in her life rather than certaintyand then along comes another comet, in the form of a young man admitted to the local hospital with her name and number inscribed on his medical alert bracelet: In case of emergency, contact Liz Dunn.
A charming lost soul and a strange visionary, Jeremy upends Liz's quiet existence, triggering a chain of events that take her to the other side of the world and back, endangering her life just as a real chance at happiness finally seems within reach. By turns funny and heartbreaking, Eleanor Rigby is a haunting exploration of the ways in which loneliness affects us all.
"Extremely funny yet quite moving: could be one of the first great novels of the new century."Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Extremely funny yet quite moving: could be one of the first great novels of the new century."Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Review
"Coupland's weirdest and most accomplished work to date....Extremely funny yet quite moving (and even plausible): could be one of the first great novels of the new century." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Eleanor Rigby dwindles chapter by chapter into a high-art twist on chick lit aiming for bittersweet but tasting at last suspiciously of artificial sweetener." Emily Nussbaum, The New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
A riveting, witty, and profound story of loneliness and connection from internationally bestselling author Douglas Coupland.
The 1997 night that Hale-Bopp streaks across the skies over Vancouver, Liz Dunn has nothing in her life but impending oral surgery and an armful of schmaltzy video rentals to get her through her solitary convalescence in her sterile condo. She's overweight, crabby, and plain, but behind her eyes lurk whole universes that she's never had the opportunity to express. Just as Liz makes a quiet decision to seek peace in her life rather than certainty, along comes another comet, in the form of a young man admitted to the local hospital with her name and number inscribed on his Medic Alert bracelet: In case of emergency, contact Liz Dunn.
A charming lost soul and a strange visionary, Jeremy upends Liz's quiet existence, triggering a chain of events that take her to the other side of the world and back, endangering her life just as a real chance at happiness finally seems within reach. By turns funny and heartbreaking, Eleanor Rigby is a fast-paced read and a haunting exploration of the ways in which loneliness affects us all.
Synopsis
"Heartwarming...Coupland has a canny take on everything, and his one-liners zing."--PeopleEleanor Rigby is the story of Liz, a self-described drab, overweight, crabby, and friendless middle-aged woman, and her unlikely reunion with the charming and strange son she gave up for adoption. His arrival changes everything, and sets in motion a rapid-fire plot with all the twists and turns we expect of Coupland. By turns funny and heartbreaking, Eleanor Rigby is a fast-paced read and a haunting exploration of the ways in which loneliness affects us all.
About the Author
Douglas Coupland was born on a Canadian Armed Forces Base in Baden-Sollingen, Germany, in 1961. He is the author of the novels Hey Nostradamus!, All Families Are Psychotic, Miss Wyoming, Girlfriend in a Coma, and Generation X, among others, as well as the nonfiction works City of Glass and Polaroids from the Dead. He grew up and lives in Vancouver, Canada.