‘Generation X’ in 2026

I recently re-read Douglas Coupland’s Generation X and had a few thoughts on reading it in 2026. § My copy of Generation X This is at least the fifth time I’ve read it. It came out in 1991 and was first published in the UK in 1992. I felt like I’d discovered it late when I bought it in, I think, 1993. Reading Generation X in 2026 is like someone in the year of its release reading a book about young people published in 1956. The twentysomething characters are often comparing people and styles to those of earlier eras, with 1974 in an imagined place – Texlahoma – being a common choice. I guess it was long enough ago to seem distinctively different. Which is like someone in 2026 comparing today to the long ago time of 2009. Which would feel ridiculous to me – It’s so recent! Not much has changed, style-wise! Is this because culture has stopped changing so rapidly or because I’m old? Seventeen years does not feel as long ago when you’re 55 compared to when you’re 25. A feeling described…