All Families are Psychotic A Novel

by Coupland, Douglas

• ISBN13: 9781582342153
• ISBN10: 1582342156
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-09-07
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Summary

The most disastrous family reunion in the history of fiction. The Drummond family, reunited for the first time in years, has gathered near Cape Canaveral to watch the launch into space of their beloved daughter and sister, Sarah. Against the Technicolor unreality of Florida's finest tourist attractions, the Drummonds stumble into every illicit activity under the tropical sun-kidnapping, blackmail, gunplay, and black market negotiations, to name a few. But even as the Drummonds' lives spin out of control, Coupland reminds us of their humanity at every turn, hammering out a hilarious masterpiece with the keen eye of a cultural critic and the heart and soul of a gifted storyteller. He tells not only the characters' stories but also the story of our times--thalidomide, AIDS, born-again Christianity, drugs, divorce, the Internet-all bound together with the familiar glue of family love and madness. Douglas Couplandwas born on a Canadian Armed Forces Base in Baden-Souml;llingen, Germany, in 1961. He is the author of the novelsMiss Wyoming, Generation X,andGirlfriend in a Coma,among others, as well as the nonfiction worksLife After GodandPolaroids from the Dead.He grew up and lives in Vancouver, Canada. All Families are Psychoticis the story of the most disastrous family reunion in the history of fiction. The Drummond family descends upon the state of Florida, cutting a swath through Disney World, the swamps, the highways, and Cape Canaveral, gathering to watch the launch into space of their beloved daughter and sister, Sarah. What should be a cause for celebration becomes instead the impetus for a series of mishaps and coincidences that place them in constant peril. In a family where gunplay, black market negotiations and kidnapping are all part of an afternoon in the sun, you can only imagine what happens when things take a turn for the worse. As the family spins dangerously out of control, the story unfolds at a lightning-fast pace. With one plot twist after the other, the Drummonds fall apart and come together in the most unexpected ways. "A powerful, redemptive story . . . A book about adults, written by a 40-year-old who has moved beyond any youthful alienation to an appreciation of the complicated nature of what binds people together."The Miami Herald "[Coupland's] best novel to date."LA Weekly "A powerful, redemptive story . . . A book about adults, written by a 40-year-old who has moved beyond any youthful alienation to an appreciation of the complicated nature of what binds people together."The Miami Herald "Coupland has taken a great leap forward, using his ultramodern sensibility to tackle issuesparents, children, love, and deathas old as literature . . . This novel is without a doubt timely, but it's also the author's most potentially enduring work, one that should resonate with generations well beyond X."The Ruminator Review "A fabulous modern-day yarn with your name all over it . . . a novel of unsurpassable humor told at a breakneck pace . . . a story of surprising depth."The Providence Journal "Coupland is a beacon of hopeand an ultimately cathartic readbecause he argues persuasively that opportunity is found in places that we only learn to consider after we find them the hard way."The Kansas City Star "Everyone with a strange familythat is, everyone with a familywill laugh knowingly at the feuding, conducted with a maestro's ear for dialogue and a deep understanding of humanity. Coupland, once the wiseguy of Generation X, has become a wise man."People "Witty and eloquent . . . a roller-coaster ride with humorous twists and violen

Author Biography

Douglas Coupland was born on a Canadian Armed Forces Base in Baden-S÷llingen, Germany, in 1961. He is the author of the novels Miss Wyoming, Generation X, and Girlfriend in a Coma, among others, as well as the nonfiction works Life After God and Polaroids from the Dead. He grew up and lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Table of Contents

"[Coupland's] best novel to date."--LA Weekly

"...a powerful, redemptive story..." --The Miami Herald

"Coupland has taken a great leap forward...both the novel and its characters are distinctly heartfelt and oddly endearing..." --Ruminator Review

"Coupland hits the mark with his usual exceptional writing and perceptive eye." --Nancy Olson, Quail Ridge Books

"Coupland is back and better than ever with a roller coaster ride of a book...I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.' --Allison Hill, Book Soup

"It's an extraordinarily well-written novel with characters you know you shouldn't be liking but do. So real." --Whoopi Goldberg