Description: "Coupland shines, the story is humorous, frenetic, focused and curiously affecting." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Mr. Coupland remains a funny novelist, but he has become a poignant one as well." -- Kyle Smith, Wall Street Journal "[Roger and Bethany are] two of the most engaging fictional characters I've met in some time... The Gum Thief is also a novel that might (or might not) make you think about YouTube, retail work, and buttering toast in a whole new way. This book doesn't offer easy answers. Having new people in your life won't erase the mistakes you've made or automatically give you a better future. But it does show, compellingly, that connection, compassion, and love are possible almost anywhere - even in aisle 5-North surrounded by Sharpies." -- Kevin O'Kelly, Boston Globe "Coupland turns out an honest and LOL funny book." -- People Special "Wait for an insomnia jag, and then read Coupland's latest in one long, solitary night. A 43-year-old sad-sack drunk leaves his blistering diary, including a manuscript riffing on Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, in the break room at Staples; his twentysomething Goth co-worker stumbles upon it and starts writing letters to him. These wildly differing perspectives merge beautifully into one cohesive look at loneliness and despair. Yes, Coupland is dark and cutting about our fluorescent-lit times, but there's also a real underlayer of gratitude here, for the hand that can reach down and unite with you in the darkness. A-." -- Karen Valby, Entertainment Weekly

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