Apologia

High school is undermined in the sense of safety, it has changed dramatically since the shooting at Columbine, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Canadian novel "Hey Nostradamus!" by Douglas Coupland reveals some truth about high school, what can happen in four years, even if the high school is in Canada.

After Columbine, safety procedures in school in both the United States and Canada were drastically altered, schools started to practice different types of emergency's including terrorist, and other hostile scenarios. Larger schools also started implementing metal detectors, and bag checks. It was one of the larger safety concerns in the States at the time, however any changes in Canada, were not nearly as considerable. In this Canadian novel there is a shooting in a Canadian school, and it goes to show the aftermath, and impact it can make on peoples lives. This was a brilliant novel in the sense that Coupland demonstrated how just because we live in Canada, these kind of things can still happen. He has a type of writing in this novel that reveals four different perspectives, and how a school shooting has effected each one of them. The way he portrays the shooting is brilliant, yet easy.

After the shooting , all four perspectives are immediately connected through religion and morals. The main character Jason goes missing, and his father and long time friend both look for assurance in religion. "Coupland takes an insightful look at religion, loss and forgiveness and how everyone is always looking for, as he puts it, the 'equation that makes it all equate.'" (The Calgary Herald) His writing style in this aspect is persuasive and makes you feel for the characters. Jason's father in the story after he finds out that Jason is missing, “You might ask me whether I still believe in God; I do – and maybe not even in the best sense of the word ‘believe.’ In the end, it might boil down to some sort of insurance equation to the effect that it’s three percent easier to believe than not to believe.”(Hey, Nostradamus!)

Links List

Douglas Couplands Website - This is Douglas Couplands website. He has a Biography, News, and random other assortments of things you can browse. There is tons of information you can look up about him, his works, and anything else.

Douglas Coupland's Wiki - Douglas Couplands Wikipedia page. Although the information may not be regarded as a proper source, it is a good guide to have.

International Movie Database Profile - Douglas Couplands Profile on IMDB. His newer novel ``JPod`` has been made into a sitcom on CBC. He has also written for a few movies. This profile also has a short biography.

Douglas Couplands Twitter - Although its a social networking site, it is a great way to get quotes, and know what an author is up to.

Douglas Coupland on CBC`s The Hour - A 10 Minute interview with a Canadian Author on a Canadian television show.

Douglas Coupland Interview - A much older interview. From 1992, this interview is in a transcript format.

List of Works and Reviews - Here is a list of works and a free review for most of them. Its user-based, so the reviews may or may not be useful.

Hey Nostradmus! Review - A review for my book by Douglas Coupland.

Journal 2 - Jason

In the second vantage point of the same story you immediately find out Jason’s perspective on school and of Cheryl. A new character is also introduced, that Cheryl, never mentioned. His name is Reg, and he’s Jason’s father. Cheryl has only met Reg a few times, which is the main reason she never talked about him. But Jason is actually very close to his father, for the first part of his life. Jason’s vantage point, unlike Cheryl’s, focuses more on life after the school massacre, then the school massacre itself. Jason’s family, like Cheryl’s, is very religious.
Jason goes through a huge depression after the massacre. Jason saw the gunmen kill his wife at the time, right before his eyes. But Jason was actually the person who saved so many people, by throwing a rock at a gunmen, killing him instantly. His father, because of his religious beliefs, thinks of him as an "experienced murderer at heart" (Douglas Coupland, 77). Even though his "actions saved the lives of dozens of students." (Coupland, 78) From this point on is where his depression really hits. His family is split up, and his brother dies, and is left with only his mom. He constantly writes poetry by the beach to ease his pain, but goes on to live a very depressing life.
Through this part of the story I have learned a lot about Jason, and his family, and uncovered a lot about what happened leading up to the shooting, and life after the shooting. This style is making this book very interesting, to read, and makes it very compelling.

Journal One - Cheryl

The Book "Hey Nostradamous!" by Douglas Coupland, is a 4 part book. The first section is read by Cheryl Anway, a 17 year old highschool student from North Vancouver. Cheryl is a very interesting teen because she is very two faced. My initial though of her was bad. I did not like how she keep so much information from her parents. Her main conflict with her parents is them not approving. She is scared that anything she tells to her mother or father will be followed with severe punishment. Another reason that makes her very interesting is that her and her family are very religious, and she is in a youth group called Youth Alive! Her double personality is almost created from Youth Alive! Because she hates it. She doesn’t like going to th meetings, or the people in the group, but pretends to in order please her parents.
Other thoughts on Cheryl is she hates school, which is ironic to the plot because she is a victim in a school shooting. All the people she doesn’t like, are killed in the shooting. She has a boyfriend, who she runs away to Las Vegas with to get married, illegally. His Name is Jason, he’s very loyal to her, but its because of Jason that she turns her back to Youth Alive! When Jason spends a weekend at Cheryl’s, this is the first conflict in the story, this is also where there hidden story starts.
The style of this book is written from 4 vantage points. Cheryl gives her point of the story, and her thoughts and opinions are expressed throughout the first quarter of the book. I look forward to read the same story from a different vantage point because in this style of writing different perspectives uncover different facts.