The Gum Thief, Douglas Coupland

A few years ago it dawned on me that everybody past a certain age ... pretty much constantly dreams of being able to escape from their lives. They don't want to be who they are any more. They want out. This list includes Thurston Howell the Third, Ann-Margret, the cat members of Rent, Václav Havel, space shuttle astronauts and Snuffleupagus. It's universal.

Do you want out? Do you often wish you could be somebody, anybody, other than who you are - the you who holds a job and feeds a family - the you who keeps a relatively okay place to live and who still tries to keep your friendships alive? In other words, the you who's going to remain pretty much the same until the casket?

Så börjar Douglas Couplands roman The Gum Thief och det är precis vad boken handlar om: olyckliga 2000-talsmänniskor som är fast i sina mediokra liv, är medvetna om det, men som inte har någon aning om de ska förändra dem.

Precis som den fantastiska JPod som sammanfattade Google-samhället, sprider här Coupland sina sanningar om oss i-landsmänniskor. Vi verkar alla vara mer eller mindre sjuka i huvudet, och det är väl en lättnad? Eller som protagonisten Roger uttrycker det:

Having the same illness as everybody else truly is the definition of health.