From the acclaimed author of Hey Nostradamus! comes a wonderful comic novel with 'more one-liners than a decade of Woody Allen films' (Guardian), about the scramble for love and success in a brave new world... Bill is wise. Bill is kind. Bill is benevolent. Bill, Be My Friend... Please! At computer giant Microsoft, Dan, Susan, Abe, Todd and Bug are struggling to get a life. The job may be super cool, the pay may be astronomical, but they're heading nowhere, and however hard they work, however many shares ...
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From the acclaimed author of Hey Nostradamus! comes a wonderful comic novel with 'more one-liners than a decade of Woody Allen films' (Guardian), about the scramble for love and success in a brave new world... Bill is wise. Bill is kind. Bill is benevolent. Bill, Be My Friend... Please! At computer giant Microsoft, Dan, Susan, Abe, Todd and Bug are struggling to get a life. The job may be super cool, the pay may be astronomical, but they're heading nowhere, and however hard they work, however many shares they earn, they're never going to be as rich as Bill. And besides, with all the hours they're putting in, their best relationships are on e-mail. Something's got to give...
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Add this copy of Microserfs to cart. $3.75, very good condition, Sold by Harry Righton rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Worcs, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1996 by Flamingo.
Add this copy of Microserfs to cart. $4.19, very good condition, Sold by Reuseabook rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester, GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2004 by Harper Perennial.
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Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. Though second-hand, the book is still in very good shape. Minimal signs of usage may include very minor creasing on the cover or on the spine.
Add this copy of Microserfs to cart. $4.88, very good condition, Sold by Goldstone Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Ammanford, CARMS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2004 by Harper Perennial.
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Very good. All orders are dispatched within 1 working day from our UK warehouse. Established in 2004, we are dedicated to recycling unwanted books on behalf of a number of UK charities who benefit from added revenue through the sale of their books plus huge savings in waste disposal. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied.
Add this copy of Microserfs to cart. $4.93, good condition, Sold by Goldstone Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Ammanford, CARMS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1996 by Flamingo.
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Seller's Description:
Good. All orders are dispatched within 1 working day from our UK warehouse. Established in 2004, we are dedicated to recycling unwanted books on behalf of a number of UK charities who benefit from added revenue through the sale of their books plus huge savings in waste disposal. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied.
Add this copy of Microserfs to cart. $5.04, good condition, Sold by Goldstone Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Ammanford, CARMS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2004 by Harper Perennial.
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Seller's Description:
Good. All orders are dispatched within 1 working day from our UK warehouse. Established in 2004, we are dedicated to recycling unwanted books on behalf of a number of UK charities who benefit from added revenue through the sale of their books plus huge savings in waste disposal. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied.
Add this copy of Microserfs to cart. $6.83, very good condition, Sold by Reuseabook rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester, GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1995 by Flamingo.
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Seller's Description:
Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. Though second-hand, the book is still in very good shape. Minimal signs of usage may include very minor creasing on the cover or on the spine. Aged book. Tanned pages and age spots, however, this will not interfere with reading. Grubby book may have mild dirt or some staining, mostly on the edges of pages.
Add this copy of Microserfs to cart. $6.99, very good condition, Sold by Brit Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milton Keynes, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2004 by Harper Perennial.
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Very good. Simply Brit – welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring there's something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped within 24 hours and our lightning fast-delivery within 48 hours coupled with our prompt customer service ensures a smooth journey from ordering to delivery. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality.
Add this copy of Microserfs to cart. $6.99, very good condition, Sold by Brit Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milton Keynes, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1996 by Flamingo.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Simply Brit – welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring there's something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped within 24 hours and our lightning fast-delivery within 48 hours coupled with our prompt customer service ensures a smooth journey from ordering to delivery. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality.
Add this copy of Microserfs to cart. $6.99, very good condition, Sold by Brit Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milton Keynes, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1995 by Flamingo.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Simply Brit – welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring there's something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped within 24 hours and our lightning fast-delivery within 48 hours coupled with our prompt customer service ensures a smooth journey from ordering to delivery. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality.
Add this copy of Microserfs to cart. $7.99, good condition, Sold by BookHolders rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gambrills, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1996 by Harper Perennial.
I am the first to admit that Douglas Coupland's books are not for everyone. His penchant for using in-jokes and self-referential humor can slow down even the most pop-culture savvy reader. But Microserfs is that rare novel that achieves a perfect balance between the timeliness of its setting (the beginning of the Internet era, early to mid-1990s) and the timelessness of its characters' struggles to create true connections with each other.
In this book, Coupland manages to capture the particular and relentless corporate hive mentality of Microsoft in the early '90s, while never losing sight of the characters' individual longings. In fact, by juxtaposing the inherent isolationism of the industry with the narrator's insatiable desire for intimacy (with family, friends, lovers), Coupland demonstrates that the human soul can never be satisfied by technology alone. Indeed, the search for newer, better technologies IS the search for human intimacy; the sophisticated structures we imagine and invent are bridges that (we hope) will open our lives to the the world around us in ways we may not know how to express.
Finally, Microserfs captures the texture of its times so precisely that I felt literally "present" in the story. Anyone who can recall the heady early days of the dot-com boom, when even e-mail seemed like a little piece of magic, will feel at home here. Coupland's prose renders both Seattle and Silicon Valley in three-dimensional clarity. And his depiction of this motley band of programmers and software engineers is spot-on, in my experience.
There is so much to appreciate in this novel, I feel remiss that I can't mention it all. The book is "light" enough to read on holiday and be endlessly entertained, but I also feel sure that its place in the new canon is assured thanks to its unflinching look at who we were, and who we are.