Alright, alright, I apologize. I'm really, really sorry. I apologize unreservedly. I offer a complete and utter retraction. The imputation was totally without basis in fact and was in no way fair comment and was motivated purely by malice, and I deeply regret any distress that my comments may have caused you or your family, and I hereby undertake not to repeat any such slander at any time in the future.
or
Douglas Coupland booster club, meeting four

Just finished Microserfs by Douglas Coupland, and I have to immediately retract my complaint in this post where I state: "The primary problem with Coupland's fiction is that there is never a single happy, uplifting, unalloyed moment." Hence I invoke the above apology from A Fish Called Wanda. I mean it all sincerely, except for the "malice" part, because I've never experienced anything like malice or even its distant cousins towards Coupland and his writing. He is one of my new literary heroes. Douglas, meet John, Steve, David, and Issac.

Microserfs jaunts to the upper regions of my favorite books of all time list. I couldn't put it down. I was moved to tears of joy. I laughed out loud. And not just "ha ha ha", but one of those 15 minute bouts where you taper off with a sort of exasperated sigh, and then five minutes later you recall it and laugh again. I even chuckled a couple times later while going through my obligatory "day review" before falling asleep. (This is not a conscious effort. Since early memory, I have been gifted/cursed with this thing where my mind shoots through a recollection of the highlights and lowlights of the day. It's weird, I know.)

Most of Coupland's fiction is timeless, which is one of the earmarks of great lit-chure. I did not expect Microserfs to be because it's about a specific place and time in the computer industry on the west coast. Yet, he managed to do it. I finally had to check when the thing was published because it seemed so up-to-date (1993). Even when we are far past the cultural squall that this book captures, those portions that are specifically stuck in that time will just gain prominence as an accurate historical capture, and the rest of the work will just never age.

It's also the first time I've encountered so-called "experimental writing" that worked. David Foster Wallace's efforts contain near hits and lots of misses, but the stuff in Microserfs really complement the piece as a whole, giving it a thematic richness.

Therefore, if you are going to read only one Coupland novel, Microserfs is the one to read. Heck, if you're going to read only a couple this year, put this on your list. If you happen to like Coupland enough to explore further, then also read Generation X and Hey Nostradamus! (And, hey! Christmas is coming up! Here's an idea for that bookwork of yours.)

I think it goes without saying that all computer geeks need to read Microserfs as it belongs in the geek canon alongside Star Trek, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and Asimov's robot stories.

Now I have to wait for him to write a new one, dammit.