Historical and Inspirational

Historical Context

While researching the Irish potato famine, Coupland crafted multiple short stories, complete with images drawn by the author. He then took these short stories, and bound them into individual small books at a copy center. Coupland then gave them out as presents to friends. They were not initially meant to form a complete novel. "I had no idea they'd become a book-book until near the end" (USA Today, 1994).
The original book jacket for the hard cover carried the message “You are the first generation to be raised without religion.” It also carried the message “Please remove cover jacket flap before reading”. This is because Coupland found the original cover to be a distraction from the text itself: "So the book won't be judged by its cover, and so readers will be aware that they are holding this oddly retro little zero-tech paper-and-word object called a book." (USA Today, 1994). As well, the story, "In the Desert" is dedicated to Michael Stipe from R.E.M.
The book was initially met with very mixed reviews. Most critics compared the book to Generation X and Shampoo Planet and found that it was not in the same vein; Coupland’s first two novels defined generations, while Life After God was much more introspective. This left critics wanting. Others saw the text the departure from the earlier work a virtue, and praised the text for being “sincere” instead of purely “ironic”. Generally, the text was received by critics very negatively.
Throughout the life of the book however, the popularity of the text has dramatically increased in both respectability and popularity. In reviews for texts such as Hey Nostradamus! and Eleanor Rigby, the text has been referenced as one of the best of Coupland’s career. The book has also had an effect in other creative fields. The Ataris have recorded a song based upon “My Hotel Year” with lyrics directly from the story. The anime Ergo Proxy has also named the 18th episode after the title of the text. The book also enjoys a life in the academic world. It has been taught at major universities, such as Simon Fraser University. It has also been written upon in the academic study of Coupland’s work, "Contemporary American and Canadian Novelists: Douglas Coupland" by Andrew Tate from Manchester University.

Inspiration

After Shampoo Planet, Coupland began to look for a low tech topic for his next novel. He began to study the Irish potato famine of 1845-1847. While researching this, short stories “started popping out of [him]”. Coupland’s religious life as a child was non-existent. He was raised as a blank slate, with no religious influence from his parents. He didn’t celebrate religious holidays such as Christmas or Easter.
"For me there was nothing - not even the seed of a religious experience to grow from - and I found that I had to build (and continue to) try and build some sort of faith for myself using the components taken from disposable West Coast suburban culture. Malls and nature and fast-food places."
—Coupland, USA Today, 1994.
Life after God is one expression of this pursuit.