It seems that Chatwin is narrating his own life, from the false starts, unsatisfying jobs, unfinished studies and unpublished writing to the precipitate moves, the eruptions of boredom and the infatuations with people, with places, with ideas. These letters burst with affectionate salutations, explosions of rage, sudden enthusiasms

This collection should be cherished not least because it is Chatwin's last

The editors brief and beautifully pointed comments in the footnotes provide some of the most enjoyable moments in this book

A masterpiece of sympathetic and diligent editing, absolutely fascinating and larded with acerbic comments from Shakespeare's joint editor, Elizabeth Chatwin

Every drop of Chatwin is worth it. The same exquisite observations found in his novels and the penetrating ideas found in his essays infuse even his most casual letters

As Under the Sun poignantly reveals, when he died Chatwin's extravagant writing gifts were gelling into a wider and deeper understanding of the human condition and the world we inhabit

Fascinating... the letters radiate kindness, generosity, insecurity and consistency

Invaluable

These letters burst with affectionate salutations, explosions of rage and sudden enthusiasms

The travel writer's wanderlust generated bestselling and Booker-nominated work, but his collected letters unveil the man behind the books

These letters are as close to the real McCoy as we're going to get - not least because he sloughs off the confident, self-possessed persona exhibited in his books and allows his vulnerabilities to show

'[a] page turner...a series of profound, and mystifying, stories within a stoy that will confound and delight...Another confirmed bestseller

Eighteen years on from Generation X, Coupland still satirises pop culture better than anyone. This globe-spanning tale, set in the near future, is masterfully told and often hilarious

With this exceptional sequel to Generation X, Douglas Coupland may be one of the smartest, wittiest writers around . . . He is a terrifically good writer . . . Generation A is set in the near future . . . Bees have become extinct, but then five people are stung . . . It is the attempt to get to the bottom of this mystery that brings the five together on an Alaskan island where they are made to tell stories to one another. Coupland weaves common elements across these tales and into the main narrative: large themes . . . comic themes . . . existential themes . . . There is a compelling plot . . . Coupland scatters his smartly satirical observations throughout . . . This is a clever, brilliant book - and it's loads better than Generation X . . . funny and profound . . . Straight A . . . (Coupland) deserves top marks for his latest novel

Coupland is a master at creating eccentric, lonely characters and illuminating the mundaneness of dull lives in our celebrity-obsessed, technology-driven world . . . Ideas bounce of his writing like sparks off a live electrical wire

[A] tour-de-force myth of the near future . . . As ever, the writing is sharp and witty, displaying Coupland's keen eye for cultural trends and an awareness of the ever-expanding limits of technological advancement

Highly recommended. Like Murakami in thriller-trope mode. Go for it

Ambitious and weird . . . genuinely experimental

Unusual circumstances ensue in this latest read from the brilliant social commentator

Coupland is a smart, witty writer . . . A delight

Coupland juggles some fascinating ideas . . . Equal parts humor and revelation...An intelligent look at pop and digital culture

From the very first pages it jumps out: the language, the preoccupations, the political and technological references, the humour - they're all so now . . . Scintillating . . . I must admit I read the novel enviously. Oh, to have written something so clever, funny, heartfelt and original . . . The narration is layered, there are passages that are very funny, others that are wise, and throughout the language crackles with vitality . . . In the future, if people are curious about what it was like to live in our times, in the early 21st century, they will do well to read Douglas Coupland

Superbly entertaining stuff. Coupland's dialogue is witty and spiky and makes you laugh out loud . . . Coupland just can't resist making his characters as smart as he is, which is very smart indeed. He's one of the few writers who has really grasped what different times we live in . . . But Coupland's personality as a writer isn't just smart, it is also charming humane and fundamentally optimistic. A pure pleasure

A delightful Decameron of a book . . . rich, educative and even consoling

One of the most popular serious writers of our time