Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland Reviewed by Steve Rudd

I realise that by deciding not to do things, I've lost millions of threads of chance and opportunity to have new experiences, to meet new people - to be alive, really. So now I'm going to start doing things I'm bad at again. Heck, I'm going to do things I've never even tried. The latest novel from cult American writer Coupland, Eleanor Rigby is a truly extraordinary affair. The initial premise of a middle-aged woman meeting for the first time the son that she gave up for adoption over twenty years earlier might not sound that engrossing, but there is always far more to Coupland's work than the premise ever could hope to suggest.

Focusing on the importance of family ties and how loneliness really can depress a person, Eleanor Rigby (that is narrated by Eleanor herself, the lady who abandoned her son) is a contemporary masterpiece.

Our short lifespan short changes us of knowledge of the profound. This is a complex work of art... sheer human drama that explores the magic and mysteries that anchor our lives and beckon our deaths. Those people who are familiar with Coupland's work will realise that the author seems to be obsessed with death in the majority of his work, especially in his previous book Hey Nostradamus! Death without the possibility of changing the world is the same as a life that never was.

Still, the overall effect of his writing is bewitching and uniquely inspirational, as he philosophises until both his heart and soul are that little bit more content.

Below a certain point, if you keep too quiet, people no longer see you as thoughtful or deep; they simply forget you. While Coupland's scale of drama is exquisitely rooted in the mundanity of daily life, he also experiments with a certain sense of the surreal and very cleverly incorporates his characters' dreams and visions into the stories to give his work a genuinely distinctive edge. Come the end of his novels, it's almost impossible not be moved by the way in which he metaphorically wraps things up. His writing is so poetic and graceful that it proves to be unforgettable.

I suspect that all human beings have a point where they realise that what they have is the most they're ever going to have, be it love, money or power. You have to make peace with who you are, and what you've become. And that's where the sermon ends. ISBN 0-00-716253-7 (4 The State) www.4thestate.com www.coupland.com

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	Autobiographical tales don't come much more nail-biting than this living nightmare, recalled by mountaineer Joe who was left for dead on a snow-riddled peak in Peru back in 1985. After getting into trouble on the 21,000 ft Siula Grande with friend Simon Yates Read more...

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Reviews, Theatre - Julius Caesar at Hull Truck Wednesday 10th November 04 By Nicholas Boldock
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