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Microserfs (Paperback)

by Douglas Coupland (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Flamingo; New Ed edition (7 Oct 1996)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0006548598
  • ISBN-13: 978-0006548591
  • Product Dimensions: 17.7 x 13.1 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 139,148 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #15 in  Books > Fiction > Cult Authors > Coupland, Douglas

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Microserfs is not about Microsoft--it's about programmers who are searching for lives. A hilarious but frighteningly real look at geek life in the nineties, Coupland's book manifests a peculiar sense of how technology affects the human race and how it will continue to affect all of us. Microserfs is the hilarious journal of Dan, an ex-Microsoft programmer who, with his coder comrades, is on a quest to find purpose in life. This isn't just fodder for techies. The thoughts and fears of the not-so-stereotypical characters are easy for any of us to relate to, and their witty conversations and quirky view of the world make this a surprisingly thought-provoking book.

"... just think about the way high-tech cultures purposefully protract out the adolescence of their employees well into their late 20s, if not their early 30s," muses one programmer. "I mean, all those Nerf toys and free beverages! And the way tech firms won't even call work 'the office,' but instead, 'the campus'. It's sick and evil." END



Synopsis

This novel takes the reader on-line into the brave new world of computer giant, Microsoft. There they meet the lost generation, struggling to get a life within a high-speed corporate environment.

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Customer Reviews

39 Reviews
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4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (5)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (39 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Geek novel that is very readable, 2 Feb 2005
By A Customer
This review is from: Microserfs (Paperback)
Although written in 1995, the book is very readable and not dated even after a decade. The book is a tale of a communal house of Microsoft coders who all want more that the work/sleep/work routine. They join a start up software company aimed at making a software Lego modelling program. Slowly their real lives develop. Plenty of non-tech humour as well as a few computer jokes. Written as though it is a diary some parts are moving which means the author managed to reel you into his imaginary world enough that you care about the characters. It is that good it makes me want to read his other books.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Techies of the world unite, 3 Nov 2005
By A Customer
This review is from: Microserfs (Paperback)
Despite been a bit dated this book is still a classic, a very funny and almost poignant look at the tech industry. As a geek its very easy to relate to Dan and the others living the techy dream. Every geeky bloke (like myself) will fall in love with Karla the coolest geek girl ever!
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun book, 17 Jul 2005
By LFF12 (Cork, Ireland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Microserfs (Paperback)
I really enjoyed this book and was surprised to find that it hadn't really dated (except of course, it was written back in the days when option grants really were worth money and didn't just leave you marooned for years with worthless underwater options). Anyway I loved the eccentricity of the characters: the fads for "flat" foods, the long hours work, the familiar, god-like worship of the CEO (I've worked in at least one company with a similar mentality), and the emerging angst from the emptiness of it all.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars On my top ten of Books I have ever read
I first read this book in 1999. It was my first Coupland novel, I didn't want to like it but I did. It spoke to me and remains a firm favourite book of mine. Read more
Published 1 month ago by lil_fuzzy_ki10

5.0 out of 5 stars Nerd humour but perhaps not for everyone
I think the great thing about Coupland is that in this and JPod he really makes the whole idea of the nerd accessible. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. A. M. Laffey

3.0 out of 5 stars OK
Interesting idea. But it's all very cold-hearted. Coupland hasn't really found much humanity in his characters. Read more
Published 12 months ago by NickR

2.0 out of 5 stars Microserfs
I was very disappointed with this book - I loved JPod and several of the reviews suggested that Microserfs was better. Not so. Read more
Published 20 months ago by gerty guinea

5.0 out of 5 stars Coupland's best
In my opinion, this is Coupland's best, probably because I personally related to the main character most.

But a great story, well written and genuinely funny. Read more
Published 23 months ago by N. E. Mathers

4.0 out of 5 stars You'll hate to love this...
It was only a couple of years ago that I was sitting in the pub with a guy from my course at University discussing the merits of Coupland's breathtaking 'Generation X'. Read more
Published on 14 Dec 2006 by Deanne Dixon

2.0 out of 5 stars Iused to lover her but i had to kill her....
....ok i never used to love this book but def enjoyed it when i read it at uni...

what happened? well nothing but on a reread ive realised that nothing happens, its not very... Read more

Published on 27 Jun 2005 by Mr. G. Spicer

5.0 out of 5 stars hilarious
i stole this book from an exboyfriend and was laughing out loud. its brilliant.
Published on 13 Dec 2004

3.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Coupland it isn't
A solid book but I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed what with it being a Coupland book. His writng doesn't flow like it does in previous books like Shampoo Planet and... Read more
Published on 19 Jul 2004 by Paul Waghorne

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but dated.
I read this book a few years ago while working for another large corp with an even worse set of corporate values than Microsoft. Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2003 by LFF12

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