Quote. Joe Hill

"Yeah. P.T. Barnum would probably make scientists buy a ticket. He' show it next to a two-headed goat and a fat woman with a beard, and it wouldn't be special anymore. You ever notice that? Because everything at the circus is special, nothing is special? If I could walk on a tightrope, even a little, you'd think I was the most amazing boy you knew. Even if I was only two feet off the ground. But if I walked on a tightrope in the circus, and I was only two feet off the ground, people would shout for their money back."

from: By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain

Player One

by Douglas Coupland

Not my favorite Coupland.

I mean, it's fine and a quick read to boot (which is a given with Coupland, anyway), but somehow the story doesn't move much from the setup.

A group of strangers end up at a cocktails lounge near an airport when the world seems to fall into chaos. It starts - like these things usually do - with a sudden rise in the price of gas.

The group is diverse:
Rick, the barkeeper and a recovering alcoholic
Karen, a single mother who flew in for a (quite possibly) one night stand
Luke, a former preacher who took of with his perish's money
Rachel, a woman void of emotion or, really, any human traits
Player One, who is...uhm...also Rachel

The outside world may be disappearing for all we know. There is the occasional contact with Karen's daughter, but they cannot leave the lounge because there is a sniper outside. And why not?

I don't really see the point in all this.

5/10