Souvenir of Canada (2002)

Douglas Coupland's casual survey of all things Canadian -- well, not all things, since there would later be a sequel. It's interesting to watch his curator's eye meet up with his late-blooming sense of nationalism. There isn't a whole lot of writing in the book, but it takes a long time to get through, because interspersed with his semi-alphabetical mini-essays on things like vinegar and hockey are these fascinating still-life photographs that he puts together of items, like stuffed animals and packaged foods and clothing, that strike him as inherently Canadian. Our neighbor to the north never felt as alien to me as it did when I read this book, and that's to Coupland's credit.

Souvenir of Canada is a series of essays, organized alphabetically from Baffin Island to Zed, that attempt to capture a sense of what it means to be Canadian. I think three types of people will read this book.

First will be the Canadians. I suspect that there will be a moment of "of course" for them somewhere in this book. After I had finished it, I lent it to a friend from Quebec. He gave it back, smiling, "There were a couple there that were just right...and 'Flies' and 'Stubbies' made me laugh." I think the photographs hooked him a bit, also; he kept pointing out things to me.

Second will be the Americans who haven't been there. I think they'll enjoy the glimpse: a familiar-but-something's-slightly-off-kilter-here image that will leave them thinking our northern neighbors might be a little bit loony in some ways ("Cheeseheads") but are rather sensible in others ("Miss Canada").

Third are the Americans who have passed some time in Canada. I've spent several cumulative years of my life there over the last half century and, for me, the sense when reading the book was recognition, a sense of "Ah, that's it."

There's nothing mean-spirited about this book. Even when he's slyly poking the ribs of those who live below the 49th parallel, it's nothing more serious than, "Well, we aren't exactly like you, eh?" ( )

I purchased this at Duthie Books on 4th Avenue in Kitsilano during my annual New Year's vacation in Vancouver, so for me Souvenir of Canada is literally a souvenir of Canada. Douglas Coupland does well when working bite-sized, so this collection of alphabetically arranged short essays about Canadian culture (from "Baffin Island" to "Zed") show him at his best. Interspersed are priceless still-life photos of Canadiana. Though Coupland is the master of glib cultural commentary, the overall tone here is less kitschy and more heartfelt than you might think. Great coffee table fodder for both Canadians and the U.S.A.-far-north dwellers who love them.