Survey of Author and Secondary Sources

Author: Douglas Coupland

Title: Hey Nostradamus!

What initially made me interested in reading a Douglas Coupland novel was that it was a recently written and published book. I assumed that because it was recent, I would be able to relate to the themes more, and that it would have easier language to understand compared to older pieces of work by Margaret Atwood for example. The more I can relate to what I am reading, the more I can fully understand it and get involved in the text. Upon further research, reading Douglas Coupland’s novel also interested me because of the title he used. Nostradamus is the 16^th century scholar who made predictions of the future (Nostradamus), which made me consider reading it to find out how that related to a school massacre in Vancouver.

(Nostradamus)

Douglas Coupland is a Canadian author, born on a Canadian Air Force base near Baden-Baden, Germany, on December 30, 1961. In 1965 his family moved to Vancouver, Canada, where he continues to live and work. His book Hey Nostradamus! is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, which is where he wrote the book and currently lives. (Douglas Coupland)

Douglas Coupland published his first novel, called Generation X in 1991, and has since written 11 other popular novels including Life After God, Hey Nostradamus!, and Eleanor Rigby. Coupland is still alive today and continues to write stories. His most recent work is his 2010 novel Player One. (Douglas Coupland)

The title Hey Nostradamus! could have reference to the scholar Nostradamus who made predictions about what events will take place in the future, which could been an influence to this book. (Nostradamus) I predict that the events of the book will somehow tie into some of Nostradamus’ predictions, but I haven’t read far enough in the book to have reached any of his events. Another event of influence to Hey Nostradamus! is the Columbine High School shooting that took place in 1999. The events of that real life school shooting are an inspiration to the stories that unfold in the fictional school shooting in Vancouver in Hey Nostradamus! (Slater)

Coupland’s novel themes have changed since his first novel publication in 1991. He took a change from humour in his early work, to darker current themes. Coupland is known for his modern takes on pop culture in almost all his novels. Themes such as religion, death, and loneliness are featured in Hey Nostradamus! and other works by Coupland. (Crystal)

Hey Nostradamus! author Douglas Coupland is often compared to authors such as Jay McInerney, Bret Easton Ellis and Richard Ford because they have similar writing styles, and feature common themes in their literature. (Douglas Coupland TasteKid)

The first secondary source I used in my research was Encyclopedia Brittanica’s articles on author Douglas Coupland. I find this beneficial to the reader because it provides an insight into the author’s life and his common themes and genres. UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography’s articles on Nostradamus are helpful to the reader to connect the title of the book to a possible connection between the school massacre, and something Nostradamus may have predicted in the 16th century. (Nostradamus) Another beneficial secondary source would be Coupland’s official website, which offers a biography, as well as hobbies of the author and other books written by him.

Work Cited

Crystal, Garry. "Who Is Douglas Coupland?." Wisegeek. Wisegeek, N.d.. Web. 25 Feb 2011. <http://www.wisegeek.com/who-is-douglas-coupland.htm>.

N.a. "Douglas Coupland." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 25 Feb. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1289754/Douglas-Coupland>.

N.a. "Nostradamus." UXL Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 25 Feb. 2011 <http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Nostradamus.aspx#2>.

N.a. "Douglas Coupland." TasteKid. Tastekid, N.d.. Web. 25 Feb 2011. <http://www.tastekid.com/like/Douglas+Coupland>.

Slater, Jessica. "GROWING THROUGH THE GRIEF 'HEY NOSTRADAMUS!." High Beam Research. HighBeam, 4 Jul 2003. Web. 25 Feb 2011. <http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-104972242.html>.