Hey Nostradamus!

By: Douglas Coupland

Narrated by: Jenna Lamia, David LeDoux, Jillian Crane, John Randolph Jones

Pregnant and secretly married, Cheryl Anway scribbles what becomes her last will and testament on a school binder shortly before a rampaging trio of misfit classmates gun her down in a high school cafeteria. Overrun with paranoia, teenage angst, and religious zeal in the massacre's wake, this sleepy suburban neighborhood declares its saints, brands its demons, and moves on.

But, for a handful of people still reeling from that horrific day, life remains permanently derailed. Four dramatically different characters tell their stories: Cheryl, who calmly narrates her own death; Jason, the boy no one knew was her husband, still marooned ten years later by his loss; Heather, the woman trying to love the shattered Jason; and Jason's father, Reg, whose rigid religiosity has separated him from nearly everyone he loves.

©2003 Douglas Coupland (P)2003 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"[Coupland]'s best novel to date." (LA Weekly)
"It's an extraordinarily well-written novel with characters you know you shouldn't be liking but do. So real." (Whoopi Goldberg)

Truly an amazing story

What an amazing story! I chose this book because of narrator, David LeDoux whom I adore but now it is one of my favorite books of all time. Try it and you really won't regret it.

Superb

This is one of those books that you think about for days after you have finished it. I enjoyed it immensely. The 4 different readers added dimension to the story rather than detract like I initially expected. I had read where this book had been compared to 'Lovely Bones', but I think it is far superior.

Surprisingly Enjoyable

Great Readers - each of the four really fit the parts they read!

Dark yet uplifting

Well-written story of the aftermath of a high school massacre and the lasting effects on several closely involved people. Each got to tell their own version of themselves and their story. While not a happy subject or a happy book, it was immensely listenable with excellent narrators.

great listen!

Authentic characters and smartly written. I wish I could read more from this author!

Good stuff

I really enjoyed this one. Good unusual characters as per the coupland style.

Coupland is a genius

Awesome book. great choice of narrators. one of my absolute favorites, and ive read and listened to close to 500 works of literature. Wish someone would do more Coupland works. "Generation X" for example. "Life After God" hint hint.

as always excelent

My crit may be biased. I am one of those coupland junkies, yes there are plenty out there, almost religious preechers of his novels. Hey Nostradamus is not just a moving and compelling story, it is the kind of book that will change your life for ever.

Deep thinking encouraged

This book has stayed with me for weeks. It is unlike most books I've ever read. I think the author did not expect all who read it to understand it in the same way. Sort of like Life -we do not understand experiences in the same way that others do and no one really helps us to interpret them. So, while this book had a great story line, it kept us interested and was the means to encourage the reader to develop her/his own understanding. I think that is why some readers felt let down by the ending. Ambiguity can be difficult to cope with, but it does help us to think more deeply than we otherwise could.

Wow! So well written, so thought provoking

I was really wowed by this book, the first Coupland book I've ever "read". It's nominally about the tragedy and after-effects of a school massacre much like the Columbine shootings in 1999, but in reality it's about hope, dreams, religion, despair, faith, secrets, and guilt. It's in four first-person accounts by a victim, a survivor, a girlfriend of a survivor, and a parent of a survivor.

As one might expect with those subjects, nothing is neatly resolved by the end of the book.....but that's part of its strength. Questions of faith, love, hope, guilt, and dreams will always be with every one of us, and all we can do is keep puzzling things through. The journey is as important as the destination.