Microserfs is a novel by Douglas Coupland that takes readers into the world of overworked coders at Microsoft in the early 1990s. The story is narrated by Dan Underwood, a computer programmer who documents his life and the lives of his friends in the form of a Powerbook entry.

These six "microserfs" are code-crunching computer whizzes, spending upward of 16 hours a day "coding" and eating "flat" foods, such as Kraft singles, passed under doors. They live in constant anticipation of the great Bill's emails, fearing whether he might "flame" one of them.

Seizing a chance to become innovators instead of just cogs in the Microsoft machine, they strike out on their own to form a high-tech start-up named Oop! in Silicon Valley. Living together in a digital flophouse—"Our House of Wayward Mobility"—they strive to cultivate well-rounded lives and find love amid the digital chaos.

Funny, illuminating, and ultimately touching, Microserfs is the story of one generation's strange and claustrophobic coming of age in a tech-driven world.