Published in 1991, Douglas Coupland’s novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture focused on the coming to late twenties maturity of Americans and Canadians in the late 1980s. The novel’s three main protagonists embark on a journey of self discovery, distancing themselves from the ferocious pace of a society overseen by the godless yuppie generation. In the same year, Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho hit bookshelves amid a furore of controversy. Ellis became the stereotype of the enfant terrible, and American Psycho became a test case for censorship. The New York Times Book Review urged the public to “snuff the book”. But despite the backlash, the text emerged as the key novel of Generation X. Ellis sought to fight the advance march of popular culture and rampant consumerism by satirising society while at the same time satirising the notion that the valuelessness of society will culminate in extreme behaviour. … There’s more →