ALL FAMILIES ARE PSYCHOTIC - COUPLAND, DOUGLAS 0.30KG IN SOUTH AFRICA

Hardback. English. Publisher: Bloomsbury. 2001. In good condition. Douglas Coupland first gained international attention with the groundbreaking Generation X back in 1991, and in this latest novel he follows the trials and tribulations of the acutely dysfunctional Drummond clan, when they assemble in Florida to watch Sarah Drummond make her debut launch from Cape Canaveral. Imagine an unholy alliance of The Simpsons, Jerry Springer's most outlandish guests and the kids from South Park, and you begin to get a glimmer of life chez Drummond. Janet Drummond, the 65-year-old matriarch of this mad bunch of misfits, contracted HIV in a freak accident when her ex-husband shot her oldest son, Wade; the bullet passed through his liver and lodged in her sternum. Astronaut Sarah is the sanest of the Drummond children but she has her own problems: she was born without a hand because Janet took thalidomide during her pregnancy, and she has just discovered that her husband, Howie, is having a fling with a fellow-astronaut's wife. The youngest Drummond, Bryan, suffers from suicidal tendencies and has shacked up with the rebellious Shaw, who seems hell-bent on peddling her unborn child to a couple of unscrupulous baby merchants. The plot tears along at a frantic pace, throwing in a stolen letter from Princess Diana's coffin and a pharmaceutical billionaire with an interesting in human cloning. Yet amongst so many crazy characters and a plot which becomes increasingly convoluted the presence of Janet remains a central stabilising force; she is the eye of the hurricane which is the Drummond family. Just as we all laugh at The Simpsons while owning up to the programme's essential truth about American family life, so the Drummonds are essentially a close, loyal family unit, despite all the hyperbole and their almost farcical adventures. The family is psychotic, but Janet's selflessness binds up the wounds of these crazy people and her unconditional love is their salvation. (Kirkus UK)