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Title: Microserfs by Douglas Coupland ISBN: 0-06-098704-9 Publisher: Regan Books Pub. Date: 19 June, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.39 (192 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Northwest culture explained... or not?
Comment: Once again, Doug Coupland manages to nail both the interior worlds of his characters and the exterior world in which they function. In 'Microserfs', Coupland takes on the corporate culture of Washington State's most famous export- Microsoft, and its 'nerd' employees. From Redmond, home of Bill Gates' universe, to California's Silicon Valley, Coupland describes with frightening accuracy the local culture as it relates to his characters. (Anyone who hails from the Seattle area will recognise the yuppie techno-world of the Eastside -Starbucks, Lexuses, Uwajimaya, and the Evergreen Point Bridge). Anyone who likes to really get inside the protagonists' heads will love Daniel Underwood (the title Microserf) and his increasingly revealing computer diaries. Coupland does a masterful job of bringing Daniel out of his stereotypical techie shell and into the 'real' world as it appears to us non-nerd types. Along the way Daniel experiences first love, closure of the death of his brother, and helping his suddenly unemployed father find his place in the modern world. The storyline is typical Coupland, with a road trip, endearing co-conspirators, razor-sharp insights, and cultural references, with a few surprises to keep you going. Buy this book.
Rating: 3
Summary: Ramblings...
Comment: Though the journal-entry style of this book is refreshing when compared to other fiction books masquerading as reality, I find it hard to discern anything more than the generic ramblings of twenty-somethings in the hi-tech industry. They talk about completely random things, such as what programs pet animals would write if they could. Each character also voices their personal opinions on the purpose of life throughout the book. These odd bunch of friends start their "lives" (in the real world) influenced by the Microsoft-cult-culture. Their lives revolve around work (usually past midnight and even on weekends) and sleep (they all live in the same house close to "campus"). Naturally an event such as a close-friend's proposal to start up a new company and recruit them as "equity partners" (aka employees) throws them off balance and threatens the humdrum existence and pseudo-harmony they've come to expect as employees in Building Seven on the Microsoft campus. That's where the adventure begins for these people. Moving from Redmond to Silicon Valley, they set up shop in Daniel's parents' home in the Valley. From here, the book turns into a coming out party of sorts. Dan's dad is having a midlife crisis after having been laid off by IBM. Bug comes out of the closet. Dusty gets pregnant. Michael falls in love. All these happen while they're trying to come out with a product they can showcase in the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas.
This book is unnerving in some sense. It is able to accurately capture what many people in the hi-tech industry are like -- their habits, propensities, worries and fears (even their "language"). But it falls short in certain aspects. The storytelling was at times uncoherent and lacked a fluid story-telling aspect. It got too bogged down with the philosophizing. And at times, it felt like writing for the sake of writing. I particularly disliked the ending however poignant. My thoughts as I finished the final pages were "That's not fair to the reader!" I was referring to the whammy of Dan's family tragedy. I couldn't find any reason as to why that was added except to reinforce the randomness and cest la vie attitude of this book.
This book is so random. If you like to read what "geeks" have in their minds, then this book is for you. If you prefer to read a story with a real plot about what the dot-com world is like, I would highly recommend Startup by Jerry Kaplan instead.
Rating: 4
Summary: Take a walk on the Geek side
Comment: Coupland does a wonderful job of illuminating world of the oft-derided Geek. The style and presentation is so close to depicting some of the coders I know in real life. This book is an adventure of some poor 'Microsofties' who realise that outside of work for Bill, they have no life.....and set out to create one of their own. Coupland shows that Geeks are people too, with hopes, dreams and aspirations. If you're patient enought to get to know most of these people you'll find them to be surprisingly interesting. This book does a great job of encapsulating their world......and rekindled my love of LEGO
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Title: Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland ISBN: 031205436X Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: October, 1992 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: All Families are Psychotic : A Novel by Douglas Coupland ISBN: 1582342156 Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Pub. Date: 07 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Girlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland ISBN: 0060987324 Publisher: Regan Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 1999 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: LIFE AFTER GOD : LIFE AFTER GOD by Douglas Coupland ISBN: 0671874349 Publisher: Washington Square Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 1995 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Shampoo Planet by Douglas Coupland, Judith Regan ISBN: 0671755064 Publisher: Washington Square Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 1993 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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