School Spirit

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic One-Off from Coupland
Review: If you are a die-hard fan of Coupland, this is a must have. The narrative in the book is very, very short, reminiscent of a warm-up for Hey, Nostradamus! or Girlfriend in a Coma. Yet somehow it is very coherent and affecting by the end. The faux-yearbook entry text dispersed throughout is sometimes comedy gold and sometimes very sad and affecting. The overall "theme" of the book is the inconsequentiality, yet monumental drama that is high school life and it is handled very well. The montage of yearbook shots, and their juxtaposition with the text works very well. Also, note that the copy I ordered was the original non-trade paperback edition with the slipcover that is shown on Coupland's site (www.coupland.com). I believe there is a newer, trade edition and this may be the one you get if you order from Amazon UK, although I am not sure. In any case, this is undoubtedly an "art" book and may not be worth the price for someone looking for something more substantial from a literary perspective. However, if you love Coupland's style and want a unique item to add to your collection, this is an excellent little piece.

Rating:
Summary: very little text, mostly pictures of 70s high schools
Review: Very little text, mostly photos from a high school in the 70s,
with yearbook-syle quotes and classmate notes. Extremely short
narrative of a ghost of a student inhabiting schools interspersed.
If you're looking for substantial text from/about Coupland, pass.
If you want a short, nutty post-modern fiction thing, this is it.
Some of the photos are amusing, but most manage
to make the 70s unglamorous and depressing.