Microserfs is a novel by Douglas Coupland, published in 1995.

Factually, it is a fascinating insight into two tiny, but globally significant subcultures of the 1990s. The first glimpse is into the lives of employees of Microsoft: the people that create the technology that sits on the majority of office desks in the world. We see the role of both technology and the personality of Bill Gates in their lives. The second is a view of the same characters after they have moved to California to work as a tiny start-up company. We get an intimate view of this phenomenon - the struggle for capital, to get to the market first.

Thematically, the book explores ideas of identity, man's desire for independence, and above all, the desire to belong.

ISBN numbers

  • ISBN 0614977800 (paperback, 1996)
  • ISBN 0060987049 (paperback, 1996)