SOURCE: “Life After Irony,” in Maclean's, Vol. III, No. 16, April 20, 1998, p. 61.

In the following review, the critic provides a summary of the features of Girlfriend in a Coma and considers Coupland's development as a writer.

Douglas Coupland gives the impression of someone in a hurry—and he is. In Toronto for a brief stopover last month, just a couple of weeks before the release of his latest novel, Girlfriend in a Coma, the Vancouver-area writer has popped in to the Art Gallery of Ontario to take in exhibits featuring two of his favorite artists. First, it's The Warhol Look, a visiting retrospective of the New York City pop-meister's fashion sketches, photos, portraits and influences, and the 36-year-old author flits about like a rat in search of cheese, catching a glimpse of something interesting—a dress patterned in Brillo Pad boxes, for instance—and darting off to take a...