Hey Nostradamus! (Book)

God is nowhere.

God is now here.

God is nowhere.

After reading jPod, I decided to read Coupland's previous effort. It was one I had, but never found the time to read until now. The book is broken up into 4 parts in 4 different time periods. The first section is about a girl named Cheryl who in 1988 is killed in a school shooting. The second part takes place in 1999 and is about Jason, Cheryl's boyfriend at the time of the shooting. He has yet to fully recover from her sudden passing. Part three is about Heather, Jason's girlfriend and the year is 2002. The final part is a letter from Reg, Jason's father, written in 2003.

All four characters are dealing in some fashion with the place God has in their lives. Sometimes the connection is obvious and at other points, like wisps of spider silk. I did stop to consider an idea. What if God was a gardener with a backyard, which represents the world. A lot happens in the backyard that either escapes the attention of the gardener or the gardener simply does not care about. To wit, a battle is constantly being waged between various insects and rabbits and birds and over growth of grass and plants. Some things are taken care by the gardener, others are not. Perhaps we are like the insects in this garden. To think God cares for us directly is akin to an ant believing in the gardener to take care of it. This is not to belittle the ant, but instead to illustrate the ant's feeling of over importance.