Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland

This is a story about high school massacre in Vancouver in 1988 and how that massacre affected various characters in the novel, at least on the surface. More than this story being about a cause and effect play by play of an unfortunate event, it is about how people deal with situations with faith and the difference between religion and spirituality. Before I get ahead of myself here I would like to say that this book is not at all preachy, nor is it accusatory or abrasive. It is not so much a book about religion as it is a book about how people act when being 'religious' or not, and what that actually means. Each of the main characters in turn display a fervent belief and then a denial or realization that what they once believed may not be what they supposed it to be. Some people may not want to read this book because it has religion in it, and to those under that category I say that you will not be offended and will enjoy the book. To those who may read the book because it is about religion I want to say that it is more about individual interpretation and potentially exploitation for personal gain than it is a celebration of any faith, and you may be offended at some parts, but not deeply.

The novel is told through the eyes of four people, and each person was strongly impacted by the narrator before him or her. The story begins with two high school sweethearts, Cheryl and Jason, who love each other immensely and get secretly married (both because they love each other and because they want to have sex without committing a sin). Cheryl, the first narrator, became religious because she liked Jason and he was very religious (because of family reasons), but she soon come to strongly associate with the faith personally and throughout her segment of the story she speaks only to god, and we the audience over hear her prayers. Then one day a couple of youths from their high school hijack the school cafeteria with a couple of guns and kill some people, one of those people being Cheryl. Jason comes in to save her at the last minute and kills one of the terrorists, but is too late to save Cheryl.

Jason is the next narrator and we come into his life several years after the tragedy. Though Jason was seemingly religious in high school, he was so because of his father's fervent, almost nervous devotion to religion. His father was a very judgmental man and Jason could never seem to do anything quite good enough to satisfy him. After the massacre it was rumoured that Jason had planned the entire thing, and of course a majority of the town believed it. Even after he was proved innocent by the law and was named a hero by some of the papers his father could only see the fact that he'd killed a boy, no matter how many lives he might have saved in the process. Jason's account is very bitter in some places. The world had not been kind to him and he could not move on. Unlike the other narrators, Jason's account doesn't largely deal with his own personal relationship with religion. He talks more about how others relationships with religion have affected him, and how even though he isn't religious himself, he still falls back on some of the institutional rituals followed by people who believe.

The next narrator is named Heather, a woman who enters a sort of awkward relationship with and eventually marries Jason. Jason disappears shortly after her segment begins, and Heather deals with a psychic named Allison who seems to be in contact with Jason on some sort of spiritual level. This segment was interesting for me because it made me reflect on how people in contemporary, secular society seem to find pathways to express some sort of religious behaviour. Obviously believing in a psychic being able to contact individuals is a reflection of faith on some level. But more than the whole psychic thing, what was interesting to observe was Heather's behaviour and relationship with her desire to contact this person. Her need at these times were, while completely devoid of religion, were still strongly tied to faith. And what's more is I could associate her behaviour to what I've seen people feel while in a romantic relationship, or while at work, or studying, etc. That almost feverish desire is present in many aspects of life, not just religion, and that calls into question where one can draw the line between faith and religion. Or where one can start to separate faith and spirituality. Religion has a very defined identity in pop culture, and if you're not a card carrying member, the idea of it can be very unattractive. But how many of our day to day hopes and dreams and actions could be classified by an outsider as being likened to what we classify religious action? Just something to think about.

The last narrator is Jason's father, Reg. We hear many tales of this man throughout the novel, most of them unflattering. So by the time we get to hear him speak there is already a sort of prejudice against the man. Reg's account is more of a reflection than it is a narration or a tale recounted. He speaks of his faith, but in a refreshing way that I will not go into detail about.

I listened to this book aurally and I really enjoyed the voice actors. I thought the people chosen were well suited to their roles and were a pleasure to listen to. Overall this was a good book and I would recommend it.