The Gum Thief
Encyclopedia
The Gum Thief is Canadian
author Douglas Coupland
's twelfth novel. It was published on , by Random House Canada
in Canada and Bloomsbury Publishing in the United States.
An epistolary novel
, The Gum Thief is written as a collection of journal entries, notes, and letters written by various characters. Among these are regular installments of the characters in Roger's novella, titled Glove Pond.
A special boxed edition was also released including a special hardback edition signed by Coupland, as well as a hardback copy of the Glove Pond novella by "Roger Thorpe." The jacket for Glove Pond features a pull-quote written by Douglas Coupland.
The primary plot of this novel involves two characters, Roger and Bethany, employees of a Staples in North Vancouver, British Columbia
, Canada
. The two characters come from very different walks of life. Roger,a middle-aged alcoholic, is coping with an ugly divorce
from his wife and the loss of access to his child. Bethany, a goth
girl, is dealing with coming of age and working in what Coupland referred to in his 1991 novel Generation X
as a McJob.
What brings the characters together is a journal
that Roger has decided to keep. In the journal, Roger begins to discuss his issues and his pressing thoughts, including a novel he would like to write called “Glove Pond." Bethany finds this journal, and writes a letter to Roger. In the letter, Bethany says they should continue to write to each other, but to pretend that they know nothing about each other outside of the letters themselves at work. After writing letters back and forth, Roger and Bethany strike up a friendship in the letters.
Soon, more letters are included in the book from other characters, for instance, from Bethany’s mother, DeeDee, who went out on a date with Roger, and also went to high school with him. Other letters include a letter from Roger’s wife, emails from employees within the store, and more.
Interspersed within the main text is the novel within the novel: Glove Pond. As Roger begins to write Glove Pond, different characters in the novel respond to his writing in their letters. The Glove Pond sections are interspersed within the other letters.
Glove Pond
Excerpts of Glove Pond are scattered throughout the book, presumably appearing as Roger writes them. Glove Pond is a corruption of Edward Albee
’s 1962 play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? It concerns the two main characters, a couple named Steve and Gloria, and their dinner guests, Steve's younger colleague, Kyle Falconcrest, and his wife Brittany, a surgeon.
Roger writes in his diary that Glove Pond was supposed to contain characters such as Elizabeth Taylor
and Richard Burton
—drunk movie stars who engage in witty repartee
. This is a fairly accurate description of Steve and Gloria, who are, in fact, a pair of broke alcoholics living in a dusty, neglected home. The plot of Glove Pond follows the dinner interactions between these characters.
A reference to Glove Pond is seen in a short scene in the final episode of the TV adaptation of Coupland's jPod. The character of Jim Jarlewski (Alan Thicke) is seen reading a hardcover copy of Glove Pond by Roger Thorpe.
Glove Pond
Glove Pond has characters that revolve around Roger’s life situations. Since Roger is unable to tell his story straight to Bethany he uses the characters of Glove Pond to write about his stand in situations he has been through.
The Staples location that inspired The Gum Thief is located at the corner of Capilano and Marine Drive, in North Vancouver, British Columbia
Epistolary Format
The novel is in the epistolary format, that is, written as a collection of letters. Coupland chose this format because of the strength of voice within the written letter.
and production studio, Crush Inc.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
author Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland is a Canadian novelist. His fiction is complemented by recognized works in design and visual art arising from his early formal training. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularized terms such as McJob and...
's twelfth novel. It was published on , by Random House Canada
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
in Canada and Bloomsbury Publishing in the United States.
An epistolary novel
Epistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
, The Gum Thief is written as a collection of journal entries, notes, and letters written by various characters. Among these are regular installments of the characters in Roger's novella, titled Glove Pond.
A special boxed edition was also released including a special hardback edition signed by Coupland, as well as a hardback copy of the Glove Pond novella by "Roger Thorpe." The jacket for Glove Pond features a pull-quote written by Douglas Coupland.
Plot summary
Roger and BethanyThe primary plot of this novel involves two characters, Roger and Bethany, employees of a Staples in North Vancouver, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The two characters come from very different walks of life. Roger,a middle-aged alcoholic, is coping with an ugly divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
from his wife and the loss of access to his child. Bethany, a goth
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
girl, is dealing with coming of age and working in what Coupland referred to in his 1991 novel Generation X
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, published by St. Martin's Press in 1991, is the first novel by Douglas Coupland. The novel popularized the term Generation X, which refers to Americans and Canadians who reached adulthood in the late 1980s...
as a McJob.
What brings the characters together is a journal
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
that Roger has decided to keep. In the journal, Roger begins to discuss his issues and his pressing thoughts, including a novel he would like to write called “Glove Pond." Bethany finds this journal, and writes a letter to Roger. In the letter, Bethany says they should continue to write to each other, but to pretend that they know nothing about each other outside of the letters themselves at work. After writing letters back and forth, Roger and Bethany strike up a friendship in the letters.
Soon, more letters are included in the book from other characters, for instance, from Bethany’s mother, DeeDee, who went out on a date with Roger, and also went to high school with him. Other letters include a letter from Roger’s wife, emails from employees within the store, and more.
Interspersed within the main text is the novel within the novel: Glove Pond. As Roger begins to write Glove Pond, different characters in the novel respond to his writing in their letters. The Glove Pond sections are interspersed within the other letters.
Glove Pond
Excerpts of Glove Pond are scattered throughout the book, presumably appearing as Roger writes them. Glove Pond is a corruption of Edward Albee
Edward Albee
Edward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story , The Sandbox , Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and a rewrite of the screenplay for the unsuccessful musical version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's . His works are considered well-crafted, often...
’s 1962 play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? It concerns the two main characters, a couple named Steve and Gloria, and their dinner guests, Steve's younger colleague, Kyle Falconcrest, and his wife Brittany, a surgeon.
Roger writes in his diary that Glove Pond was supposed to contain characters such as Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
and Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
—drunk movie stars who engage in witty repartee
Wit
Wit is a form of intellectual humour, and a wit is someone skilled in making witty remarks. Forms of wit include the quip and repartee.-Forms of wit:...
. This is a fairly accurate description of Steve and Gloria, who are, in fact, a pair of broke alcoholics living in a dusty, neglected home. The plot of Glove Pond follows the dinner interactions between these characters.
A reference to Glove Pond is seen in a short scene in the final episode of the TV adaptation of Coupland's jPod. The character of Jim Jarlewski (Alan Thicke) is seen reading a hardcover copy of Glove Pond by Roger Thorpe.
Characters
Main Plot-
- Roger
- Roger is a middle-aged ‘aisles associate’ at Staples. He is bitter and depressed after a recent divorce and firing from his job at an insurance firm. He begins a friendship with co-worker Bethany after she reads his journal, where he has written a character sketchCharacter sketchA character sketch is an abbreviated portrayal of a particular characteristic of people. The term originates in portraiture, where the character sketch is a common academic exercise. Following the translation of Theophrastus's Characters into English, a number of British and American painters...
pretending to be her. He also begins working on a novellaNovellaA novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
, Glove Pond.
- Bethany
- An unhappy mid-twenties gothGoth subcultureThe goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
, who lives with her mother, DeeDee. Bethany also works at Staples, and she is in charge of restocking aisles 2-North and 2-South. After reading Roger’s diary, she writes back, and the two begin an epistolary friendship.
- Deedee
- Bethany’s twice-divorced mother and Roger’s old schoolmate. She is mainly concerned with her daughter’s unclear ambitions and wants her to go to college.
Glove Pond
-
- Steve
- One of the main characters in Roger’s novella Glove Pond. He is married to Gloria, and is a novelist himself, having written five poorly selling novels, and is also the head of the English department at a "large, prestigious university." Steve is an alcoholic, mainly drinking scotch.
- Gloria
- Another character from Glove Pond. She is Steve’s wife, and, like Steve, an alcoholic. Largely self-absorbed and obsessed with her personal appearance, she is a minor actress, playing Lady Windermere in a local production of Lady Windermere's FanLady Windermere's FanLady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman is a four act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first produced 22 February 1892 at the St James's Theatre in London. The play was first published in 1893...
.
Glove Pond has characters that revolve around Roger’s life situations. Since Roger is unable to tell his story straight to Bethany he uses the characters of Glove Pond to write about his stand in situations he has been through.
Inspiration
SettingThe Staples location that inspired The Gum Thief is located at the corner of Capilano and Marine Drive, in North Vancouver, British Columbia
North Vancouver, British Columbia
There are two municipalities in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada, that use the name North Vancouver. These are:*The City of North Vancouver...
Epistolary Format
The novel is in the epistolary format, that is, written as a collection of letters. Coupland chose this format because of the strength of voice within the written letter.
History of the Novel
The Gum Thief has been selected for a number of honours. It is a Globe and Mail Best Book, and a New York Times Editor’s pick. The novel was advertised through a series of award-winning video clips by a Toronto-based graphic designGraphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
and production studio, Crush Inc.
External links
- Book review from The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- Book review from The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Promotional videos for the novel from Crush Inc.