Book Review - Worst. Person. Ever.

I've become a big Douglas Coupland fan and Worst. Person. Ever. is the third book of his that I have read, plus I have viewed one of his works of art.

Meet Raymond Gunt. A decent chap who tries to do the right thing. Or, to put it another way, the worst person ever: a foul-mouthed, misanthropic cameraman, trailing creditors, ex-wives and unhappy homeless people in his wake. 

Worst. Person. Ever. is a deeply unworthy book about a dreadful human being with absolutely no redeeming social value. Gunt, in the words of the author, "is a living, walking, talking, hot steaming pile of pure id." He's a B-unit cameraman who enters an amusing downward failure spiral that takes him from London to Los Angeles and then on to an obscure island in the Pacific where a major American TV network is shooting a Survivor-style reality show.

After the first chapter, I thought that Fiona, Gunt's ex-wife, was the worse person ever but it turns out she would only be in the race. Gunt is the pure winner. In fact, most of the people in this book are basically not nice individuals. There are a few good ones ... maybe two in the whole book but all are enjoyable to read about.

I thought this book was quite improbable and extremely hilarious. It's an example of an author letting his imagination run wild to the fullest.

Finally, on the back on the book is the following, This novel contains much talk of bodily functions, improbable sexual content, violent death, nuclear crisis and elaborately inventive profanity. Viewer Discretion is advised ... and it all works.

Worst. Person. Ever. is a fun read and I book I would highly recommend.