The Gum Thief

Douglas Coupland is one of my favorite authors--I always look forward to a new one from him. He writes literary fiction, although it's not always mainstream (lots of references to pop culture, current society, etc.) But it's literary in the sense that it's not always cut and dry. In his new novel, The Gum Thief, we have metafiction going on--there's a story within a story. The main character, Roger, is writing a novel, and much of the book is composed of excerpts from the novel--which is actually written by Coupland, of course. To make things even more complicated, two of the characters in Roger's novel are also writing novels. At one point, we even see an excerpt from the novel within the novel within the novel. Confused yet? If this type of thing is your cup of tea, pick this one up. And while you're at it, pick up Hey Nostradamus!, my absolute favorite by Coupland.