Polaroids from the Dead

Another intriguing book from Canadian author Douglas Coupland, previously know for his uniquely funny and cynical books Generation X (where he coined the word McJob), Shampoo Planet (where he wrote: "If money is not so great, how come all the rich people keep it all for themselves?") and Life After God.

Polaroids from the Dead is a walk down on Memory Lane. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad (After all, Sharon Tate is on the cover) and often mellon collie

Coupland's style and the concept of the book can be guessed from a few lines:

« Brentwood, like many West Coast urban districts, acts as a living guide to what might be termed a catalogue of the new temptations :

instant wealth
emotionally disengaged sex
information overload
belief in the ability of ingested substance to alter the aura
of one’s flesh or personality architecture
neglect of the maintenance of democracy
willful ignorance of history
body manipulation
will rejection of reflection
body envy
belief that spectacle is reality
vicarious living through celebrities
rejection of sentiment
unwillingness to assign hierarchy to values
The punchline to this particular cataloguing is that the link between temptation and sin has been severed.”