Agent Palmer

As one of the younger persons in the generation that Douglas Coupland arguably named Generation X, it is no surprise that he can write so methodically and philosophically about tragedy and grief.

Dragon’s Milk by Susan Fletcher has been sitting on my shelf since elementary school. Did I read it back then? I have no recollection, but I decided it was finally time to read it. Let me tell you, for a book that was published in 1989, this book is incredibly relevant and was surely ahead of its time.

Next is a masterful chaotic mess combining real science and science fiction so seamlessly that you have no idea what is or isn’t fabricated or researched unless you have a Ph.D., which I don’t. It asks and deals with a lot of bioethical issues and raises as many concerns as it does questions.

I’ve been alternating my reading habits between fiction and non-fiction for a while now, but most of my fiction has been realistic fiction. These are stories that exist in a made-up real world. It could be argued that The Yiddish Policeman’s Union is realistic fiction that feels like surrealistic fiction, which was one of the reasons I couldn’t put it down.

Finding something relevant in a book 20 years after I was supposed to read it seems par for the course.