Generation X: Tales For An Accelerated Culture, published in 1991, is the first novel by Douglas Coupland. It tells the story of three members of Generation X - Dag, Andy, and Claire - who have moved to Palm Springs, California to get away from an overly commercialized world and rediscover themselves. In the process, they tell each other (and the guests who drop by now and then) stories, some about their lives and some made up to represent aspects of their lives.
Through the main story as well as the stories the characters tell, we see examples of how life is for members of Generation X. Stuck with their only career choices being in the service industry, being forced to live with the commercialism that is all around them, and being unable to afford housing, their generation lives a bleak life that is only getting bleaker. The only hope for the characters is to leave behind the lives they live and find new ones without the trappings of modern society.
The novel was very popular when first published. The book contains an assortment of neologisms used to describe the lives of Generation X members. Some of these terms, such as McJob and Generation X, became commonly used by both the media and the public.
Characters
- Andy - The book's narrator and main character. Andy works in a bar (a McJob, as he describes it) and lives in a small bungalow. He's close friends with Dag and Claire. As in the case of Dag and Claire, Andy is trying to find a way to live his life without the trappings of modern society.
- Dagmar - Dag for short. He works with Andy at the bar and lives next door to him in his own bungalow. Dag left an office job in order to find himself a better lifestyle. He has an odd obsession with the possibility of a nuclear apocalypse.
- Claire - A friend of Andy and Dag (though not in a romantic relationship with either of them) who lives in a neighboring bungalow. She wants to live life as Andy and Dag are trying to, but finds it hard especially because of her boyfriend Tobias.
- Tobias - A yuppie who is Claire's boyfriend. He finds the lifestyle of Andy, Dag, and Claire interesting, but is unable to commit to it. Neither Andy nor Dag likes him.
- Elvissa - Claire's best friend. She joins the group at one point in the story to tell her own short story.
- Tyler - Andy's younger brother. Tyler is a young Generation Xer who doesn't seem to take his life seriously but deep down inside wishes he could as Andy does.