This novel tells the story of a dysfunctional Canadian clan that finds itself in Florida in 2001 to watch its only overachieving member take off as a member of the space shuttle crew. It's possible that one has never met a family quite as dysfunctional as the Drummonds. Their problems include AIDS, liver cancer, suicidal depression, thalidomide-caused birth defects, baby-selling, adultery, illegal prescription drugs, just to name a few. You wouldn't' think that a book about this much tragedy is funny, but indeed it is. In fact, this book is very funny indeed. It's nearly impossible to explain the plot without spoilers, so suffice it to say that the novel jumps back and forth between the family's past and present, showing that they've always had issues. This is a great book for when you need something laugh-out-loud funny. Coupland has a tremendous gift for the bizarre and absurd. When you're done, you won't think your life is quite so strange after all.
Douglas Coupland, All Families Are Psychotic (Bloomsbury, 2001) ISBN: 1582342156
2 comments:
Wow. What a title. Sounds good. Don't you hate when you really can't say anything about the book.
So true! So much of what makes this book funny is that the story becomes more and more absurd. It's a quick read though, and certainly enjoyable.
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