Charity's Reading Log

Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland -"I'm the one Scrabble tile with no letter". Have you ever felt that way? Like you're the only one no one really notices? As if you could simply dissappear without a trace and no one would sit up and take notice? Liz Dunn is a 42-year-old, over-weight spinster, and desperately lonely. Her narrative tone, however, is lively and engaging, as she tramps back and forth in time to tell her dramatic and eventful story.

While recovering from dental surgery in her utilitarian Vancouver condominium, Liz receives a call from the local hospital. A young man, resuscitated after a near-fatal overdose, has her name on a bracelet on his wrist. It is her son Jeremy, who she gave away for adoption at the age of 16. If this weren't enough of a life-changing encounter, it happens that Jeremy is dying of multiple sclerosis, and has a short time to live.

Liz's sudden, belated, experience of being a mother in this extreme situation is all the more moving for being lightly handled. Jeremy is a charming and lively character, and his demise is described without much ado, and even has the unusual comic touch.
Throughout the book one feels a certain glibness to Coupland's treatment of his tragic material, but this is compensated for with the heartfelt material and the lightness with which the heavy stuff is handled.

Although this book was well-written, I did have a hard time following some of the dialogue, especially between Liz and Jeremy, and in the end, between Liz and Klaus. However, I would recommend this book simply for the language. Coupland writes well!