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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
A high school massacre depicted in the first section; violence throughout the characters' trajectories
Language
A lot
Strong language throughout
Sexual Content
Barely any
Minimal sexual content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The psychological weight of surviving a catastrophic event and what it does to everyone connected to it drives every page of the novel
What this book is about
Douglas Coupland's novel opens with a 1988 high school cafeteria shooting, then follows four voices over the subsequent twelve years — a girl who dies, her secret husband, her husband's girlfriend years later, and the husband's father. Coupland writes about faith, violence, trauma, and the inadequacy of institutions with his characteristic precision and darkness. The shooting is depicted with serious literary purpose; the aftermath is the novel's real subject.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
High school shooting depicted
Trauma across multiple perspectives and years
Reader Verification
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