Douglas Coupland: Eleanor Rigby

With a title like this, it's hardly a surprise Eleanor Rigby is about loneliness. Liz Dunn is lonely, she just doesn't have much to look forward to in her ordinary, lonely life. Just when Liz decides to look for peace in her life, a huge change happens: a young man is brought to a hospital, with a bracelet bearing Liz's name as someone to contact in case of emergency. Who is he?

That's all it takes to turn Liz's life upside down. Coupland piles unlikely, charming, entertaining and touching twists until things get absurd, but it works. The plot moves on on different times, as Liz is writing about what happened earlier and what happens right now. The different points of view alternate and keep the reader anxious to read on. Liz is a delicious character, as is the young man he meets, Jeremy, and this is a rather delicious book. (Review based on the Finnish translation.) [ Eleanor Rigby at Amazon.co.uk ] [ Eleanor Rigby at LibraryThing ]