The Nothings

By Ron B. DeBoer

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0969885520
• ISBN13: 9780969885528
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: Wiindmill Press Publishing House
• Length: 585 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Urban Carnage

This book reminded me why I liked Fight Club so much. The fact that my generation is so complacent about everything, that we expect everything to be handed to us, and we don't believe that we have anything to fight for all comes together in this novel. The fact that it is set in my hometown and when places were described I could see and smell and hear the surroundings made the book all that much more real. If you haven't read this book, do so as soon as you can.

Nothings Changed My Life

If you've read Jack Kerouec's ON THE ROAD or Salinger's CATCHER IN THE RYE or Douglas Coupland's GENERATION X and were moved, Ron DeBoer's THE NOTHINGS will knock your socks off. I couldn't put it down. It's about four University of Toronto students who, upon graduation, decide to "play" a sociological experiment and immerse themselves in the city for one year with no money, no identification, no education...in short, with no history--and survive. The four characters--Moses, Lot, Eliza, and Boyd--faced with an uncertain future and high parent expectations decide simply to disappear without a trace. The first 250 or so pages lead up to this immersion. In this beginning section of the book, we learn about each of the characters--Moses is the son of a Baptist preacher; Eliza's mother is the famous feminist novelist Margaret Ross (Margaret Atwood?!); Lot's father is a wealthy mall owner; Boyd's parents work in a car manufacturing factory. In the middle section of the book, we learn about the four characters from their first-person accounts. Some pretty raunchy "city" stuff here. But the climax of the novel comes with a terrible fire that engulfs much of Toronto and knocks out all electricity and power. Everyone is forced to live without technology for a few hours and turn to each other for support. The final section of the book takes place at Christmas three months after the "Urban Carnage," which is what the four of them call their experience. There is a closing scene that is one of the most memorable I can remember. Check it out. If you love Douglas Coupland, you'll love Ron DeBoer

Novel About World of Television Excellent

RETURNING LIGHT TO THE WIND is the story of a brother and sister, Dillon and Sarah Lewis, who journey into a world of television. The main character, Sarah Lewis, travels into Islone (satire for Nielsen, I think) to save her brother who has been named King of television and placed in charge of choosing children's programming. Sarah runs into an evil villain named Rollad Taroproc (Corporate Dollar, I think) who attempts to thwart her attempt to save her brother and redeem and television. When Sarah arrives, she finds out she is the long-awaited Lightbringer and her journey to save her brother turns out to be a quest to save the world of Islone. This book is excellent for middle and young adult readers; we use it in our school board at various levels in the grades 5-10 range. It gives kids a fun look at the inner workings of television and advertising and is very well written.