Microserfs

This cutting-edge novel about life in the 1990s, told via the voice of Microsoft computer programmer Dan Underwood as a Powerbook entry, chronicles the exploits of six computer whizzes who crack codes. Sometimes referred to as "microserfs," they put in up to sixteen hours a day "coding" (writing software), eating "flat" foods (Kraft singles, for example, which can be passed under closed doors), and nervously checking the company email to see what the great Bill is up to and whether he will "flame" one of them. Taking advantage of the opportunity to be trailblazers rather than just parts of the Microsoft system, this daring group sets out on their own to establish a high-tech start-up firm called Oop! in Silicon Valley. In the disoriented, subhuman hustle and buzz of their computer-driven world, they live together in a type of digital flophouse called "Our House of Wayward Mobility" and struggle mightily to build well-rounded lives and find love.

Microserfs is a humorous, insightful, and ultimately heartwarming tale about a peculiar and confining generation's coming of age.