The publicity materials accompanying Douglas Coupland’s eleventh novel, The Gum Thief, claim that he ‘is fast becoming an icon for the modern age’. This sounds more like a punishment than an achievement, and it’s easy to find parallels between Coupland and Roger Thorpe, the divorced, middle-aged wannabe novelist protagonist of his latest book.

Many of Roger’s complaints, such as the fact that all his personal details are freely accessible on Google, are similar to those voiced by Coupland at readings, and seem more applicable to a famous novelist than an anonymous ‘aisles associate’