Third Place in my Book

Top three favorite book? Definitely.

Microserfs, by Douglas Coupland, has made the case to enter into that arena, coming right in under Ender's Game and the as-yet discussed White Teeth, by Zadie Smith.

I think what makes this book so great for me is the style. Written as journal entries, this was blogging before it got popular (the book was published in 1995). Our knowledge about everything comes from the narrator, and everything therefore comes from his perspective. Clearly, Coupland is not the first person to use this narrative-style, but I think he does so exceedingly well that it’s easy to forget that the narrator is also a character in the book. If it wasn’t for him quoting other people saying his name, you might think that this is an omniscient third-person, instead of someone experiencing everything and then telling you about it.

To me, this is a good thing. Why? you ask. Because remember, this is supposed to be someone’s journal. I use “I”, not my name, when doing these blogs. It at once keeps you in the story, and keeps the story personal.

Other good things:

* It is a journal. He talks about everything. And yet, his (Dan’s, the protagonist) thoughts are really interesting. If he hasn’t had a grand insight, someone else around him did. In a way, this is how other people wished they could blog. It helps Coupland that he can make the stuff up. Because, in the end, it is also a story, and a story that has climax and resolution and is therefore satisfying. I don’t feel like this story in any way lets me down. The pieces are presented, and in the end, they fit together to form a great picture.

* It’s a fascinating look at both 90’s tech culture and culture as a whole. As the title implies, the main characters all start off working for Microsoft. So throughout you get an in-depth look at the corporate culture of that company, and then of Silicon Valley and it’s plethora of companies. Dress, speech, products, social interactions: Coupland inundates you with details that somehow seem fascinating. Coupland is writing for my age group (I’m a little too young), but at the same time I still grew up during all the changes he writes about, and so I can easily connect. Throughout the book, all the characters philosophize about various segments of life, and although you might think: Who actually has conversations like these all the time, but then Coupland is careful to remind you that these people are, in fact, highly intelligent/creative people. So nothing they say is really out of character.

* The product they are designing is so cool, that I wish it was real and that I was playing with it right now. Essentially a digital Legos program (Legos feature quite prominently in the story), it just seems like the kind of computer game I would have played when I was younger and would try to play now if I could find a version that worked on today’s computers. I am a Legos nerd (check this out: http://www.mocpages.com/), so this only helped urge my fascination with this book. The fact that there are Legos on the cover is one of the reasons I bought the book in the first place (Because, as people, it is clear that we do judge books by their covers. You have to. At some point, the only way you can know if you want to read something or not is to let it past that first, sometimes crucial, litmus test: what does the cover do for me?)

(By the way, for some reason Microsoft Word recognizes "Lego," but not "Legos." Is there a plural to "Lego" that I am as yet unaware? Should it just be "bricks" and "beams" and such? The first person to give me a satisfactory answer at eyeoflondon@hotmail.com wins a prize).

One insight that the book brings up is that Starbucks has apparently found a way to keep water liquid above 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, I don’t drink coffee, but I do occasionally stop in there for hot chocolate or tea, and I am convinced this is true. (Remember, this is written in 1995, so at the time this idea was probably very insightful).

Overall, I completely recommend this book for anyone ages 25 to 40. If it does not awaken something inside of you, then you either didn’t have a very creative childhood or you are completely dead inside.

Which makes me (modestly) wonder why you’re reading my blog in the first place.

I’m also curious to know how many people read the book and then try to start their own sub-conscious file (as Dan does – again, read the book).

Enjoy.