Publisher/Year: HarperCollins, 1995
Synopsis: Narrated in the form of a Powerbook entry by Dan Underwood, a computer programmer for Microsoft, this state-of-the-art novel about life in the '90s follows the adventures of six code-crunching computer whizzes. Known as "microserfs," they spend upward of 16 hours a day "coding" (writing software) as they eat "flat" foods (such as Kraft singles, which can be passed underneath closed doors) and fearfully scan the company email to see what the great Bill might be thinking and whether he is going to "flame" one of them.
Seizing the chance to be innovators instead of cogs in the Microsoft machine, this intrepid bunch strike out on their own to form a high-tech start-up company named Oop! in Silicon Valley. Living together in a sort of digital flophouse --"Our House of Wayward Mobility" -- they desperately try to cultivate well-rounded lives and find love amid the dislocated, subhuman whir and buzz of their computer-driven world.
What Others Have To Say
Entertainment Weekly
"As the group relocates to California to start their own cutting-edge-of-technology company, the plot turns slightly soggy, but the writing maintains its satisfying level of mind candy. "
Baltimore Evening Sun
"...you can’t help but wonder after a while if Coupland had a master plan or scheme for his book, or if he just wrote the thing in one protracted burst of energy. Or if he’s in cahoots with the art department to come up with marketing profiles for Generation X to be sold to MTV, Zima, and the Rollerblade Company."
The New York Times
"On the one hand, there is the black spy Douglas Coupland -- slacker sociologist, nonlinear storyteller and pop culture taxonomist. On the other hand, there is the squishier author of "Life After God," the white spy who wants to get beyond the generational "irony that scorches everything it touches," who still yearns for happy families and happy endings."
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