War could be seen as an allusion to the social decay of every culture, because everyone will be affected by the decay. A war to end and reverse the decay, or even just to handle the ever present decay. http://www.lyricsmania.com/this_is_war_lyrics_30_seconds_to_mars.html

Coupland throws these teens into his own life growing up, it was his home town and his mood. This talks of Karen's coma starting through a misunderstanding, thinking she is just passed out from starvation and over indulging in alcohol. Coupland wrote "beyond the edge of the known world" in this novel about post apocalyptic world in Canada. http://go.galegroup.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CH1100033666&v=2.1&u=chandler_main&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w

Coupland throws these teens into his own life growing up, it was his home town and his mood. This talks of Karen's coma starting through a misunderstanding, thinking she is just passed out from starvation and over indulging in alcohol. Coupland wrote "beyond the edge of the known world" in this novel about post apocalyptic world in Canada.

Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture was Coupland's first novel. This article describes it has a "Serious" novel, that is actually popular! Such a surprise that people would like a serious novel about the middle-class. The journey that Andrew Palmer goes through culture degrading.