A book with the title 'All families are psychotic', but without a question mark! Soooooooo the family in this book are pretty much, well, psychotic, with the sole island of rationality being 65 year old mother Janet Drummond. Her daughter, Sarah Drummond is about to become the first disabled astronaut in space, but the story we get to read is of the high jinks and shenanigans that her parents and siblings get up to when the family is brought together to support Sarah's great adventure in her last few weeks of training!

Although an alright read, I found it nowhere near as funny as critics and some readers claimed, but saying that, I must admit I am a tough audience when it comes to the interpretation of humour. A few of the characters have Attitude with a capital A - I really d the portrayal of the 'older' parent characters, done without any age-based stereotyping. Although I consider Coupland a great Canadian writer that everyone should read, this is very far from one of his best. 3 out of 12

2018 readha-ha-humour110 s Steven Godin2,570 2,761


This outrageous cartoonish caper sure as hell was a fun read; but only because I put my brain to one side and just went with it. Most of the Drummond family here and those associated with them were complete insanity. We get drugs, hold-ups, car crashes, accidental shootings, kidnappings, blackmail, HIV, affairs, and plenty of arguments. There really was no rest for me, with the novel cracking on at breakneck speed, as if a manic Coupland wrote this during one massive Caffeine hit. It's only really Sarah: about to be launched into outer space aboard a Nasa shuttle, and mother Janet, who appeared to be normal. As for the rest of them - Ted the skint womanising brutish Father, Eldest son Wade, wimpish younger son Bryan - they are; as family reunions go, a disaster! And then there is, along for the ride also, Wade's religious ex-addict wife, Bryan's bullying girlfriend who is trying to sell her unborn baby on the internet, Ted's second wife Nickie (who Wade happened to bed), Sarah's bonhomie-filled husband Howie, and Florian, a Swiss pharmaceutical magnate. While all these characters mingle in one way or another before the imminent departure of Sarah, Coupland throws in a crazy plot revolving around an envelope pinched from the top of Princess Diana's coffin - which leads in turn to a rather tasteless sub-plot about DNA cloning. Through the comic pessimism, and wacky set pieces: one involving being cured of illness whilst stuck handcuffed in a swamp, Coupland does find the time to put something more moving and heartfelt in there - and that involves his affection for strait-laced housewife Janet, who along with son Wade are now beginning to suffer seriously from the effects of immunosuppression due to HIV. It is on Janet that we get moments of recollection and sentiment, and in her sensibility the acute insights into the frailty of family loyalties and the ambiguous gifts of love and care. While the novel does suffer from many weak points, I have to say that at no moment was I ever bored - so a big plus there. Although this doesn't read a Pynchon novel, it's about as close as I can get in terms of similarities.america-canada postmodern-fiction satire61 s Toby846 364

I can't get past my love-hate relationship with Douglas Coupland. I haven't read a novel of his that I haven't enjoyed yet the idea of starting a new one fills me with some kind of nameless dread. It's as if I think it's going to be a difficult read (which they never are) or dull (I'm not sure Coupland does dull.) I blame the titles, or the idea of the as yet unread by me Girlfriend in a Coma which I bought approximately ten years ago and still haven't read. One of those things is consistently depriving me of the pleasure of a Douglas Coupland novel.

I really did love this one; a realistic portrait of a dysfunctional family coupled with a farcical plot, in Florida of all places, that is both heart-warming and absurd, extremely funny and thought provoking and made me think of the master of underworld dialogue in a bizarre setting Mr Elmore Leonard.

I couldn't stop reading, the light hearted tone and the slightly surreal turn of events had me flipping pages all day keen to know how Coupland would tie everything together and what would become of this band of merry men as they fight their way through the plot (and Florida.)

He didn't disappoint, the serious undertones and occasional tazering to the head with his human insight don't come across as overtly preachy (definite plus points) and he doesn't deliberately aim to jerk tears either but you still come away feeling lighter yet having thought about life, the universe and everything. In this way he really does capture the common neuroses and foibles in contemporary life (and in this case the interactions in a 21st century family.)

Psychotic they might be but I wish my family were as nice to each other as the Drummonds.funny lit33 s RandomAnthony395 109

Well, for that matter, what was the purpose of my first sixty-five years? Maybe the act of wanting to live and being given life is the only thing that matters. Forget the mountain of haikus I can write now. Forget learning to play the cello or slaving away for charity. But then what?

Yes, then what, exactly? All Families Are Psychotic is the third (and second best) Coupland novel I’ve read this year (and I would have never picked up the author’s work without goodreads so, um, thanks, Otis and Co.). The novel revolves around the exploits of a supremely fucked up family converging on Florida to witness and celebrate the “good” daughter’s accomplishments. The Drummonds’ Jerry Springer-worthy history never stops, really, and the remarriages, bad blood, and simmering avoidances spill over around the matriarch’s illness and clear, somber reflection on her existence.

Coupland’s outlandish dues ex machina habits recur in this book (for chrissakes, main characters run into each other at random fast food restaurants) but the preposterous developments feel as if they nearly could be real in the wake of the Drummonds’ bonkers behavior. And Coupland’s gift, his ability to take mundane and flat-out depressing scenarios and piece together bits of authentic hope and meaning from the sparse resources, is present as well. Listen. None of Coupland’s characters are ly to die in African war camps or live in third world squalor or even a ghetto tenement. They’re more ly to exist in faded, dispiriting apartment complexes and take the bus to shitty jobs as telemarketers or counter help acutely aware that they’ve made some seriously damaged choices and the road back to happiness is either going to take a whole lot of fucking work or some miraculous Zen reframing of surrounding conditions. And that, I think, is a feeling to which most of us, on some level, can relate. And even if we dodge a higher percentage of the “bad decision” bullets, well, as Coupland says, then what, exactly? Does that make better people? Are many of us just as dispirited but in better residences and slightly more expensive shoes? Coupland explores these questions around a curious mix of the recognizable (anonymous hotel rooms, interstate strip malls) and the borderlands of magical realism (untouchable but rather friendly drug dealers and the twisted paths of seemingly predestined bullets).

Florida, by the way, is a main character. The hazy, oppressive heat and pervasive sense of decay inherent in the location (sorry, Ben!) become both the novelÂ’s backdrop and part of the atmosphere. I hate alligators and temperatures above eighty. I fucking hate Florida. But I only visit for family and professional conferences so perhaps my judgment is unfair. I donÂ’t care.

So IÂ’d return to Coupland, sure. I donÂ’t love his work but heÂ’s carved a reasonable niche to which I could return when I needed something quick, insightful, and easy to read but not all that light. I donÂ’t see other authors covering this terrain as well as Coupland. Life After God next, maybe, but not for a while.


21 s BookLover387 80

This was a really quirky, yet thought provoking book. This book followed the story of one of the most dysfunctional families I have ever read about. I found myself often laughing at the absurdness of the situations they got themselves into, despite the seriousness of the story.

I realize that Wade, one of the main characters, was probably supposed to be an anti-hero and disd, but I loved him. He was my favourite part of the book. I loved his protectiveness of his sister.

It's really hard to review this book without giving away too much so instead I will just write about how the book affected me. While on the surface it looks a light read, full of misadventure and comedy, the book is so much more. Douglas Coupland can make me feel his characters no other writer. After reading one of his books, I am often left frazzled for days, constantly replaying the book in my head and feeling all over again. His books stay with me! favorites fiction paperback ...more20 s Matt27 2

Great little read. I finished in a weekend, because there was a humorous, unforeseeable detail around every corner. While some dialogue seemed forced or hokey every now and then, and some of the flashbacks were overwrought, the main story moved at a brisk pace and was highly original. The ending was a slight disappointment, but an overall great work of modern fiction. It has reclaimed the surname Drummond from "Diff'rent Strokes," at least for me.dude-lit popular9 s Andrew14 16

Meet Wade. Wade seems to have a way of wrecking everything around him. For instance, "accidentally" sleeping with his father's new wife and giving her AIDS. And then "accidentally" giving his mother AIDS as well, when his father shoots him for the whole sleeping with his wife thing, and the bullet passes through Wade's AIDS-infested body and and rests neatly in his mother.

Wade isn't exactly doing so hot lately. But then, neither are the rest of his family. His white picket fence mother has a secret Internet porn addiction. His abusive father is blowing all of his money on drugs. His brother has attempted suicide a handful of times. Only his sister Sarah seems to have gotten it together, and the hopes of the family rest on her trip into space. Yes, Sarah seems alright. Which, of course, means she is hiding something...

Wade has a plan to make a few bucks. And the whole of his family gets dragged into it, bickering (when not straight up fighting) all of the way. And yet, they come together and bond in the end in a way only a family can. Dysfunctional love.

I think this novel is Coupland's way of reminding us that no matter how crazy things get, you only have one family, so you might as well make the best of it.10 s Michelle139 46

At first I thought it was not going to be a wise decision to pick this book up right after I finished Crime and Punishment. I was right. I was annoyed. How could I possibly read witty banter when Lizaveta was killed with an ax? How about reading slap-sticky fight scenes between a father and son when dear Rodya was living the hard-labor life in Siberia? ThatÂ’s not even to mention how absurdly over-the-top the entire family and all of the peripheral characters were. An eccentric billionaire obsessed with cloning famous people throughout history? A Ugandan prostitute with a very special power? Really?

Really.

After I finished the book, I realized that I was wrong. This book was just what I needed. It was the perfect book to read after C&P. It cheered me immensely. It made me think. It made me laugh. I looked beyond the comedy and found the real depth of emotion that was there. What a sweet book.

Drummond family, I love you! Well, Bryan and Ted not so much, but everyone else was just great.

Now, some would argue that they know exactly what they are in for when they read a Coupland novel -- that he recycles the same themes with varying degrees of success. This is only my second novel of CouplandÂ’s, and I can see that, BUT, itÂ’s kind of my love for the band Social Distortion. Yes, all of their songs sound pretty much the same, even after all these years, but they still rock.

I know that when I finish crying over Doctor Zhivago, because that’s what I anticipate doing, I’ll be able to pick up another one of Coupland’s novels to snap me out of my funk.novels24 s Anaïs110 32

"It was three in the morning and I was walking along the Seine, just beside Notre Dame cathedral with Donny MacDonald, and he was singing songs from Carousel to me — I felt as though my heart would burst! And then there was this chill wind — so cool that I developed goose bumps even though the evening was hot and sultry. I had this premonition that my youth and carefree times were about to end — and it filled me with sadness and resignation — I mean, I'd only just begun to feel a newly minted human being, entertaining all sorts of life options — or as many as a 1950s girl could entertain. So that was my little moment of happiness. Before I could digest anything I was back in school, and then marrying your father and having you kids, and it's as if the entire universe of possibilities that might have been mine ended right there on the Seine with Donny MacDonald."

This took me longer than it normally would to read a Coupland book because it was a weird, hard month. Not my favourite of his but it's solidly good. Some moments this one really got me.6 s Melanie478 38

I bought this one a couple of years ago. And it got lost in the flow of my book buying addiction. I wish I had read it sooner! It was so funny and entertaining. I found myself laughing out loud in public places, and people staring. (Excuse me lady, would you rather see me cry, or just angrily stare at people you do?)

The Drummond are one crazy and very colorful family. There's Janet, mother of Wade, Sarah, the only one who seemed to lead a successful and normal life, and Bryan. Janet and Ted got divorced, and Ted got himself and younger wife. As we will quickly learn, most of them are sick in some way.
They haven't seen each other in a long time (not that they minded), and are finally reunited in Florida, for Sarah's big work event (she works for the NASA and is really famous for her accomplishments).

Another of this family's characteristic, which we can delightfully observe, is that they can't stand each other; and everytime they get together, there's always some drama involved. This time is no exception, whatever important (and mediatized) the event is for Sarah.
From there, things start to unravel. All members get involved in the craziest situations, such as a hold up, children trafficking, adultery, cloning, car accident and what we could call kidnapping, among other things...

We go from past to present through the entire book, as many little flashbacks help us understand how this family came to this giant dysfunctional mess.
While they go through their improbable journey, secrets are revealed, true feelings are finally shared and problems are resolved. They slowly start to understand (not agreeing) and accept each other.

Although I found the end a little disappointing, I really enjoy this book and can't wait to read more of Coupland's novels.
ch-2011 comedy-humor i-own4 s Melissa McShaneAuthor 68 books807

As this book opens, Janet Drummond checks into a seedy motel where she's come to stay because her astronaut daughter Sarah is about to go into space. Sarah may have it together, but her brothers aren't so lucky: Wade is only just pulling himself together after a lifetime of screwing up, and Bryan struggles with depression. Janet's ex-husband Ted and his trophy wife Nickie are there too, as is Bryan's girlfriend Shw (no vowels) who is pregnant. Due to a random twist of fate and gunshots, Wade and Janet both have AIDS. And they're all about to embark on a crazy adventure that will, unexpectedly, bring this family back together.

I love the craziness of Coupland's novels, how rooted they are in character. None of these people are anyone I would necessarily want as a friend--except that they are wonderful in their oddities and quirks. Without going into spoilers, I can say that Coupland made me love them enough that the event which should have been a deus ex machina, wasn't. I call that remarkable.

Because it really is character that drives this story. If you the characters, if you believe the characters, the book becomes lovable. I don't know that the title is true, but it's certainly true that all families have quirks which look insane to the outside observer. This family just has more of them than most.

I picked this up intending to re-read Eleanor Rigby after I realized it's been on my shelf for several years. It made for a lovely afternoon's entertainment.contemporary-fiction humor own ...more7 s Katy Kelly2,229 94

Absolute zany mayhem! I wondered to start with if it was for me... then revelation after revelation. Jaw drop after jaw drop. Crazy family member after... you get the idea.

I thought MY family was nuts. They just don't measure up to the Drummonds. While their daughter Sarah (a thalidomide baby) prepares for her first space mission, her family all gather in Florida, ostensibly to watch her take-off, but other plots take them in strange and hilarious new directions.

To reveal much about the plot would really be to spoil it. I'm glad I came to this knowing nothing at all about it. I will say that Sarah's brothers - recently-jailed Wade and Brian (and his vowel-less girlfriend Shw), her dad (and trophy wife) and mum - all take on a role in the completely crazy family story.

This just kept piling on the madness, I acutally laughed out loud at some twists and turns. This would make a wonderfully crazy film, with some juicy little character roles.

I d the structure, though it took a little getting used to. We follow the present timeline and then suddenly are taken back in time to the Drummonds' earlier lives (both the three children's childhood and that of their parents'). A little confusing at first, but it did fall into place.

I really, really recommend this if you dark humour, lots of craziness, funny family stories and a nice surprise. Enjoy!6 s Stephanie221 1 follower

This was a quick and easy read, but I started to lose interest once I got a little more than half in. It's billed as kind of a humorous tale, and there were some "ha!" moments. But overall, it wasn't funny.... it was really pretty horrible (the goings ons). So an interesting and compelling overall story (of the family), but there wasn't much meat to it (too much back and forth dialogue for me) -- I also felt somewhat disconnected from the characters, and the story, although lacking meat, didn't hold me -- it took a turn at one point, the kind of point where if I were watching a movie and such a scheme took place, I'd turn it off right away. As I'm writing this, I am having fond feelings for the two main characters, so I'm glad things sort of worked out for those two in the end. 8 s Jill Griffith77 3

I love this book not because of the great writing (which it has), or the humour (which it has in spades), or because of the well drawn characters (as vivid as any I've met). No, I love this book because for one brief and shining number of pages, it made my family appear normal. Which it most certainly isn't. Because it's true. All Families Are Psychotic!8 s Matthew VaughnAuthor 71 books130

I highly enjoyed this book. I've become a big fan of Couplands, and so far have not been disappointed by any of his books.2020 general-fiiction8 s Sandy99 20

This book was recommended to me by a fellow blogger after I wrote an entry in my blog about my absolutely ridiculous and unbelievable family, and a situation that involved moving my dead uncles body and hiding weed. Seriously. (Before your mind get's too twisted, he did die of natural causes.)

This was recommended a few years ago, and sadly I only recently picked up this book. Having now read it, I can clearly see why he recommended it in response to what I had written - the incident in question could honestly have been thrown in amongst the pages of "All Families are Psychotic" and fit in perfectly. It also was able to give me a laugh, and make me say "at least my family isn't QUITE that bad".

So for those of you who honestly think the book is ridiculous and unbelievable (okay, okay, I will give you that PART of it is), the characters and some situations are sadly very much relatable, and believable to those of us who have grown up in a "psychotic" family. Families that messed up really do exist.

It's a very humourous look at the dysfunctional family dynamic, as well as cleverly intertwined plot that will keep you turning page after page. Even if you have what might be deemed a perfectly "normal" family.

2008 borrowed-from-library comedy-humour4 s Wiebke (1book1review)1,002 482

This was a great book, looking at life and our desire to leave our mark while presenting us with the most insane people and situations.
But seriously, I can only recommend it.9 s Snotchocheez595 416

"All Families Are Psychotic" is a farce that explores dysfunctionality in modern families. The story (such that it is, given its farcical quality) is beyond believable; some of its characters include a thalidomide-baby (deprived of one arm) who grows up and becomes an astronaut, a sibling who unknowingly has sex with his step-mother after he meets her in a bar for the first time (and who is shot by his father after said dalliance), four (FOUR!) members of this same family who are HIV+ because of this sibling's sexual waywardness (including his mom, who, when he was shot by his father, the bullet exited him and entered his mother standing behind him)...As you can probably intuit, this is farce on a grand scale...but believability is irrelevant if you just read the book for its comedic value and its dead-on insights about today's nuclear family.4 s Chris ChinchillaAuthor 4 books6

The most disastrous family reunion in the history of fiction.The Drummond family, reunited for the first time in years, has gathered near Cape Canaveral to watch the launch into space of their beloved daughter and sister, Sarah. Against the Technicolor unreality of Florida's finest tourist attractions, the Drummonds stumble into every illicit activity under the tropical sun-kidnapping, blackmail, gunplay, and black market negotiations, to name a few. But even as the Drummonds' lives spin out of control, Coupland reminds us of their humanity at every turn, hammering out a hilarious masterpiece with the keen eye of a cultural critic and the heart and soul of a gifted storyteller. He tells not only the characters' stories but also the story of our times--thalidomide, AIDS, born-again Christianity, drugs, divorce, the Internet-all bound together with the familiar glue of family love and madness. Douglas Coupland was born on a Canadian Armed Forces Base in Baden-Söllingen, Germany, in 1961. He is the author of the novels Miss Wyoming, Generation X, and Girlfriend in a Coma, among others, as well as the nonfiction works Life After God and Polaroids from the Dead. He grew up and lives in Vancouver, Canada. All Families are Psychotic is the story of the most disastrous family reunion in the history of fiction. The Drummond family descends upon the state of Florida, cutting a swath through Disney World, the swamps, the highways, and Cape Canaveral, gathering to watch the launch into space of their beloved daughter and sister, Sarah. What should be a cause for celebration becomes instead the impetus for a series of mishaps and coincidences that place them in constant peril. In a family where gunplay, black market negotiations and kidnapping are all part of an afternoon in the sun, you can only imagine what happens when things take a turn for the worse. As the family spins dangerously out of control, the story unfolds at a lightning-fast pace. With one plot twist after the other, the Drummonds fall apart and come together in the most unexpected ways. "A powerful, redemptive story . . . A book about adults, written by a 40-year-old who has moved beyond any youthful alienation to an appreciation of the complicated nature of what binds people together."—The Miami Herald "[Coupland's] best novel to date."—LA Weekly"A powerful, redemptive story . . . A book about adults, written by a 40-year-old who has moved beyond any youthful alienation to an appreciation of the complicated nature of what binds people together."—The Miami Herald"Coupland has taken a great leap forward, using his ultramodern sensibility to tackle issues—parents, children, love, and death—as old as literature . . . This novel is without a doubt timely, but it's also the author's most potentially enduring work, one that should resonate with generations well beyond X."—The Ruminator Review"A fabulous modern-day yarn with your name all over it . . . a novel of unsurpassable humor told at a breakneck pace . . . a story of surprising depth."—The Providence Journal"Coupland is a beacon of hope—and an ultimately cathartic read—because he argues persuasively that opportunity is found in places that we only learn to consider after we find them the hard way."—The Kansas City Star"Everyone with a strange family—that is, everyone with a family—will laugh knowingly at the feuding, conducted with a maestro's ear for dialogue and a deep understanding of humanity. Coupland, once the wiseguy of Generation X, has become a wise man."—People"Witty and eloquent . . . a roller-coaster ride with humorous twists and violent turns, exhilarating highs and ominous lows. Mr. Coupland raises the bar for everyone, reader and writer a."—The Washington Times"The launching of the space shuttle prompts a family reunion as the Drummond family gathers in Florida to witness one of their own, Sarah, take off on a mission into outer space. Family reunions, typically, are opportunities for relations to take stock of themselves, patch up differences, and/or maintain feuds. So it is with the Drummonds, who, despite their eccentricities, just may be the quintessential, twenty-first-century, middle-class family—only more so. There's the matriarch, Janet, serene at 65 and dying of AIDS; ex-hubby Ted, a philanderer, who shows up with his trophy wife, Nicky; eldest son Wade, also with AIDS, along with his pregnant wife, Beth, whom he met when she thought she had AIDS; brother Bryan, the family depressive, who, after several suicide attempts, now has a reason to live; and Bryan's girlfriend, with the unly name Shw, whom he met while setting fire to a Gap at an antiglobalization protest and who is carrying his baby, which, unbeknownst to him, she plans to sell. And then there's Sarah, the family overachiever, who is missing a hand because mother Janet used thalidomide for morning sickness and whose husband, Howie, is cheating on her with the wife of one of her fellow astronauts. Although the Drummonds appear to be self-destructing, author Coupland reveals himself to be, somewhat surprisingly, an optimist. For him, the new millennium is an era full of promise and potential miracles, despite the seemingly terminal state of the world."—Benjamin Segedin, Booklist4 s Brian797 27

when i start reading a book i dont , or finish one for that matter, i generally turn to a douglas coupland novel to remind me why i reading so much. and this one did not disappoint.

his novels, the more i read, become more formulaic, which could be a huge turnoff becasue it is reading the same novel over and over again with just different character names. but the thing is, i absolutely love his formula. it is there, it exists, but it is so off-the-wall unpredictable that i am amazed.

i recently read "running with scissors" by augesten burroughs and noted that i wouldve d his memoir more if were a novel. this book kind of reminded me of that, except things in a douglas coupland novel are strange in an endearing sort of way and the burroughs stuff was creepy/sad strange.

the only thing about this novel is then end wasnt all that. when the story has so many arcs and twists, so many odd things going on it is sometimes very hard to wrap it all up neatly (if thats your thing) or find a way to end it that is satisfying. i would have enjoyed three more chapters of the family fallout and regrouping after the launch sequence.

if you have never read a coupland novel i would recommend this one or "eleanor rigby" as a starting point.2 s Dennis17 2

Try as I did, I just couldn't get into this book. I've been a fan of Douglas Coupland since Generation X came out, so in some strange way, I feel bad not finishing this book. His other books have been pretty solid, though. "All Families", however, was a big disappointment for me. It has been awhile since I've read his work. Am I getting to old to enjoy sardonic, at times slapstick and dark humor? yeah,I don't think so. It's not me, it's him.

It felt as though I was reading a book rather than being immersed in the lives of the characters.

I made it to page 119 before shelving it.4 s AlanAuthor 12 books175

2003 notebook: - getting a bit silly, set piece after set piece, the car crash, the hold up, the trusted father, thalidomide, AIDSnovels4 s Kara Babcock1,991 1,434

Despite its rather rambling plot, I actually have a soft spot for All Families are Psychotic. It has something to do with the zaniness of the characters being so realistic. And the ending always chokes me up.

As the title implies, the book's about family and the tribulations one's family undergoes as the wheel turns and one generation supplants another. Yet it's also about all the motifs surrounding family: growing up, maturity, dealing with mortality, and realizing how screwed up the world actually is. Douglas Coupland doesn't pull any punches when he depicts the Drummond family, but I won't try to summarize each character with a one-line description. I'd just end up making them sound stereotypes, and they aren't.

Where All Families Are Psychotic excels, more so than some of Coupland's other books, is sandwiching pithy observations about life in between the actions of the book's characters and the consequences of those actions. The Gum Thief didn't do nearly as well in this respect. Coupland has some very valid observations about life, and by having two generations of adults in this novel, he can explore the shift in attitudes toward life between the 1950s and the 21st century. Janet Drummond, past middle age and wondering what the hell she's done with her life, is finally breaking free of her housewife shell and becoming a person. Her children, on the other hand, are all discovering they're unhappy with who they are right now, that their identities have been subsumed in favour of their roles in society.

Chronic and terminal conditions play a large role in All Families Are Psychotic, as almost every member of the Drummond family has one. Janet and Wade (and later, Wade's stepmother, Nickie) have HIV/AIDS. Ted has liver cancer (although we don't learn that until the very end). Sarah was born without a left hand as a result of Janet's use of thalidomide. Interestingly enough, the third Drummond child, Bryan, lacks any sort of outright condition. This is fitting for Bryan's character, however, since he lacks any sort of life. As Janet observes, Bryan, even as an adult, is still a child.

These chronic conditions help define the Drummonds but don't encapsulate them. The struggle to determine an identity beyond one's medical condition is a huge part of the book, but un some "inspirational" literature, Coupland never tries to make it sappy. There's a twist near the end concerning Janet, Wade, and Nickie's HIV status, but this is, after all, a work of fiction. Coupland uses the twist to ask questions we don't always ask ourselves.

All Families Are Psychotic is nothing if character-driven, yet almost all of the characters are actually devices rather than people. Take Florian, for example, a Wizard-type whose money and affluence allows him to do anything he wants. Coupland has a habit of introducing such omnipotent characters into his novels--take Kam Fong or even Douglas Coupland, both from JPod, as an example. He does this for two reasons: firstly, because everyone loves an omnipotent badass; and secondly, because they let him crank up the absurd to eleven.

Coupland sprinkles his novels with absurdity it's a cherished condiment, and that only improves the tone of his writing: cheekily irreverent, because he's not trying to make your heart bleed or your eyes water (even though this is often the end result). He's trying to shock and amuse, to create an instant catharsis. And that's what I appreciate so much about All Families Are Psychotic: it manages to be deliciously outrageous and incredibly accurate all at the same time.2009-read canadian-author humour ...more3 s Frenzi70 9

Douglas Coupland's 'All Families are Psychotic' is an extraordinary novel that boldly explores the concept of family and the dysfunctional dynamics within it. The book provides a unique and at times surreal insight into family relationships. The story centers around the Drummond family, composed of extraordinarily eccentric individuals, each with their own quirks and issues.

What makes this novel so captivating is its unique narrative style. Coupland employs a first-person narrative voice that rotates among the various family members, allowing the reader to delve deeply into the minds of each of them. This approach provides an intimate and in-depth perspective on their personalities and stories.

The novel explores complex themes such as mental illness, drug addiction, family dysfunction, and unconventional love. Coupland tackles these themes with a blend of humor and emotional depth, striking a delicate balance between drama and comedy. Additionally, the book offers social commentary on modern society and its growing alienation, through the lens of a family that is anything but ordinary. The plot defies conventional expectations, taking the reader on a surprising and often unpredictable journey.

Douglas Coupland delivers an engaging and thought-provoking read that invites the reader to reflect on the meaning of family and humanity as a whole.

favorites3 s Lorraine WilkeAuthor 6 books76

A Hallucinogenic Free-Fall Disguised As Real Life:

If nothing else, the title is genius.

I have no idea what Coupland was hoping to convey in this tumbling, bizarre narrative of family life gone crazy, but it's as if he latched onto the word "psychotic" and never let go. While all families have their quirks, ly none are as nuts as this one he's conjured up. And the idea of that was ultimately funnier than the execution.

First the good stuff: amazing phrase turns; smart, clever, funny dialogue that had me laughing out loud at times. The pace was brisk and engaging, ideas and plot points rich with imagination and a sort of insane clarity (at first). Characters were designed in big, broad crayon strokes that seemed to scream themselves to life, unbound by most normal human behaviors bar the affection they might feel for each other. The settings were etched in acid, the roiling, ridiculous story line rolled out the manifesto of a street corner madman, and yet, despite the utter unbelievability of most of it, we d the people involved. Most of them. But still...

As the story banged on a tantruming teenager, I found myself less and less enamored of who the characters were and where they were going, annoyed by the endless extremes the author put them all through. What started out as just quirky and madcap became -- chapter by chapter -- predictably insane and unbelievable, to the point that it lost its punch in the repetitiveness.

I d the originality of it all, but the hallucinogenic free-fall nature of the narrative seemed so hell-bent on being clever and over-the-top that the humanity got lost in the one-upping of each absurdity. This is the only one of Coupland's books I've read so maybe I'm just out of his stylistic loop, but by the book's end, I was skipping paragraphs, weary of the onslaught, wanting to just get back to the story in the midst of never-ending chaos.

Ultimately, a mix. A three. There were some five moments in there, but the ones and twos weighed 'em down. 3 s RobAuthor 2 books412

Argh. This book was maddening. Coming off the heels of Generation X and Microserfs, I suppose my expectations were pretty high but this really felt the literary equivalent of bottoming out.

With All Families Are Pyschotic, Douglas Coupland thrusts us into this absurdly over-the-top comically dismal present tense-ish Florida that just doesnÂ’t ever seem to come together. ItÂ’s unreliably realistic thatÂ’s as much a future-proofed snapshot Now as it is an immediately dated fantasy of yesterdayÂ’s tomorrow.

Sure, there are a few choice lines but every time it seems it is starting to ramp up, we discover that he is feeding us a false start. It was vintage GenX-era Coupland was rearing his head every 10 pages or so, about to start the novel only to find that he had lapsed into Â… I donÂ’t know, some feeble attempt at co-opting OprahÂ’s book club. It was reading a book that hemorrhaged interest and the further I got, the more desperate I became to enjoy it. By page 201, I had my enthusiam defibrillator paddles out and was shocking myself. Clear! *BZZZT!* Is it good yet? No? Clear!

I suppose I am not sure what else to say about this one. The surreal nihilism of Generation X overlaid on the mortality subject matter? Mushroom clouds instead of pill caddies? Was I looking for Microserfs‘ sensitive onion layers of humanity trying on some new clothes? Costco lamentations instead of preposterous bullet wounds to the liver?

The mind reels.

[http://blog.founddrama.net/2007/07/al...]20073 s Jasmine668 52

This is a good book.

I'm going to say something weird, it's really similar to the history of love by nichole krauss, but better. I know right? I probably never would have thought of it if I wasn't reading/listening to them at the same time.

But this book is also a bit jackass goes to the prom. Or richie rich takes a slum day.

The quotes on the back say things : "douglas coupland all growed up"

this book is not all growed up, in fact it's a fairly juvenile book. But lets actually be straight up and honest here, that's what we about guys Coupland and cooper that they are juvenile's. No one picks up a bret easton ellis book and thinks now we are going to have some serious adult entertainment. at least no one who knows anything about ellis. Well this is the same.

It's kind of VERY VERY much Harold and Kumar go to NASA. or zach galifrinakas and the other guy from the hangover go to NASA.

It's those new comedies that are written by the guys who are actually the funny people not some writers in a room somewhere who think carrot top would be great for this part.

Am I making any sense? No? oh well? canadian3 s Chloe354 750

Rich in oddball characters and a lot of heart, All Families Are Psychotic is a cracked-out look at the state of the American Family as viewed through the lens of the Drummond family who are gathering together in Florida to watch family hero Sarah blast into space (note: Sarah is a thalidomide baby).

To give you a glimpse of the dysfunctional heights this family aspires to, son Wade slept with his stepmom Nickie who was then shot by his father Ted striking his mother, Janet. Now Janet and Wade have AIDS and Nickie is HIV positive. And Ted has prostate cancer. Add to the mix black sheep son Brian and his partner, anarcho-feminist Shw, who has just learned that she is pregnant and is planning on selling the baby for cash.

Satire in the vein of Vonnegut, All Families Are Psychotic is a swift read, written in that clipped page-turning style that Coupland is well known for and offers an interesting look at what ties families together through the good and the bad and shows that no matter how far wrong you may go, family will still accept you.a_family_affair fiction3 s Robert824 44

The title is the basic thesis; it's expanded to suggest that one only notices this about one's own family; everybody else's family seems sane and normal.

THIS REVIEW HAS BEEN CURTAILED IN PROTEST AT GOODREADS' CENSORSHIP POLICY

See the complete review here:

http://arbieroo.books.com/post/93...3 s Devon358 11

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