Miss Wyoming

This was my first Douglas Coupland novel, and man oh man I do not plan on it being my last. I doubt this is a novel for everyone. The whole thing is a little bit kooky and surreal, and lot over the top and unbelievable, and yet, when everything is pulled together, it works remarkably well.

I think what I liked most about this novel is the focus on modern values and lifestyles. It’s a novel where people make their own families and parents aren’t always right, and money and fame are two very powerful, desirable things. In a lot of ways, I think this novel would suit the teenage generation quite well. But what I really connected with, more than anything, was the idea of wanting to remake yourself, to tear down your previous life and show more persona and start completely fresh. I think it’s a concept everyone can relate to. Maybe it’s something that just resonates strongly with me at this particular point in my life, and if so, that’s fine, but it’s just a feeling that struck home emotionally with me and I found myself very drawn too.

Even without that emotional connection I had, I think that just the storyline itself is interesting enough to draw readers in. You’re following the lives of two damaged people, and as the plot jumps back and forth in time, you learn more and more about what drives them forward. It’s definitely character driven, which I appreciate. The balance between character and plot is good. The story isn’t linear, and there’s nothing to really mark where you are in time, which can get a bit confusing, but overall it’s fairly easy to determine where you are a few paragraphs into each chapter.

All in all, I’ve since place several orders at my library for many of Coupland’s other books. If the rest of his works are like Miss Wyoming, I think I may have discovered a new favorite author. show less

Miss Wyoming is as delightful as it is frightening. Frightening in the sense that, yes, this is the human condition. It skips about in time, narrating both the history and current affairs of a former teen pageant queen and a washed up movie star. Susan Colgate has survived a plane crash followed by a year-long disappearance; John Johnson has survived a drug overdose followed by months of self-prescribed homelessness. Both characters grew up amid some extremely odd family dynamics. As the story switches perspectives and carves out each surprise, you find yourself putting faith in the aforementioned human condition, and the odd little mission that this pair ultimately have set out to achieve.

The first couple chapters of this book rang false to me (among other things, Coupland screwed up some details of L.A. geography, which is a big no-no to this Angeleno) but amazingly, it won me back and won me big time. I did believe in both Susan and John by the end, and in their journeys, and I love that Coupland doesn't make cartoon villains out of his antagonists--even Susan's beast of a mother is afforded some sympathy. I guess in the end it's the emotional geography that counts.

Another fun book by Douglas Coupland with a combination of crazy plot scenarios and insightful musings regarding what makes people tick. Not as good as All Families are Psychotic but a fun read.

Susan Colgate is a child brought up in the pageant culture. Her mother is a white-trash stage mother. Susan eventually trades the pageant circuit for the Hollywood circuit. The experiences she has in both venues are interesting, funny, and bizarre. This was a very good book with quirky but likeable characters with the theme of cheating death and new beginnings a constant throughout the book. I particulary liked how the story dealt with humans recreating themselves over and over again in their lives and the effect that has on them and the people around them. Very enjoyable read.

Quirky and entertaining—but too random and shallow to support its attempt at a greater theme.

Normally I enjoy Coupland's work very much, but this one just didn't quite grab me the way the others did. I think it's because, as well-written as they are, none of the main characters seems particularly real. They're all in some bizarre, contrived identity crisis (John, Susan, Marilyn) or they're just surreal characters to begin with (Vanessa, Eugene). The one I got the most out of was Ryan, the video store clerk, and he wasn't central enough to the plot to really give me a way in.

Now, I used the word "contrived" above, and I'm aware of the negative connotations that word brings with it. In this particular case, though, I don't see it as a bad thing. What charm the story does have comes through these characters coming through such show more bizarre circumstances. It's amusing, really.

I also thought the story's form was pretty interesting, starting off with Susan and John's first meeting and then branching off (although branching seems like too limiting a word; prisming might be better, although that isn't a real word, strictly speaking) into the past and future from there, going into the circumstances that led to it and came from it before finally merging the timelines and continuing the story for the last two chapters. Although I do think that contributed to my complaint about the characters--I like the fact that the primary "villain" (Marilyn, Susan's mother) was shown to be a sympathetic character as well, but it happened far too late in the story.

So while I wouldn't say I liked this as well as some of Coupland's other books, there's still a great deal to respect and admire in the writing. show less