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sarahthebookdragon's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
bluestarfish's review against another edition
4.0
Life in a start-up isn't easy, especially when you are trying to track down a flakey bug in the software. After reading Ellen Ullman's autobiography it is quite nice to delve into some of her fiction too. She brings her knowledge and experience of the early computing days into the story that is probing the relationship between machines and people, and it shows. Ethan Levin and Roberta Walton take the lead in the narration as we spend time with this computer company and the software they are trying to ship, and the mysterious bug "Jester" that is causing chaos. None of the people in this world are very happy, and actually this is a tragedy. I found the computer stuff interesting as I've hovered around the margins, so I enjoyed reading those details.
jsokohl's review against another edition
4.0
A wonderful book. I love the fact that the technical writer has so much prominence in this book. ;) Really a great writer. Both The Bug and Close to the Machine inspired me to move toward user experience back in the '90s.
mxmlln's review against another edition
4.0
Story: 6.5 / 10
Characters: 6
Setting: 6
Prose: 5
Tags: Programming, relationships, marriage, infidelity, mental health, stress, work, downsizing, coding, software
Characters: 6
Setting: 6
Prose: 5
Tags: Programming, relationships, marriage, infidelity, mental health, stress, work, downsizing, coding, software
hoserlauren's review against another edition
3.0
Ethan Levin is a programmer, responsible for the interface of new database software. This is 1984 and it's the first software of its kind where databases across a network are talking to each other. Many investors are involved in this company and pushing for this software to launch quickly. Berta is a QA tester and one day, by moving her mouse a fraction below an open menu, the entire program freezes. This is a critical level one bug and it happens to be from Ethan's code.
While Ethan tries to find what is causing this bug, he's also having problems at home. His girlfriend leaves for a trip to India with a mutual friend and Ethan is pretty sure she has cheated on him. Work is consuming him and he isn't making any time to fix his personal life.
This book speaks about a technical world, but in language that non-technical people can understand. That said, if you have absolutely no interest in tech, I'm not sure there's enough in this book to be appealing. The story moves forward very slowly, which usually I find boring, but I really enjoyed Ullman's writing style which was enough to keep me engaged.
Having been a developer in the past, the interactions between programmer and QA were pretty spot on. It's always the other person's fault. How many times has a developer said "user error" to a QA tester? And though I've never been there myself, I've seen that bugs can absolutely consume people. Everything about Ullman's writing felt authentic to me.
While Ethan tries to find what is causing this bug, he's also having problems at home. His girlfriend leaves for a trip to India with a mutual friend and Ethan is pretty sure she has cheated on him. Work is consuming him and he isn't making any time to fix his personal life.
This book speaks about a technical world, but in language that non-technical people can understand. That said, if you have absolutely no interest in tech, I'm not sure there's enough in this book to be appealing. The story moves forward very slowly, which usually I find boring, but I really enjoyed Ullman's writing style which was enough to keep me engaged.
Having been a developer in the past, the interactions between programmer and QA were pretty spot on. It's always the other person's fault. How many times has a developer said "user error" to a QA tester? And though I've never been there myself, I've seen that bugs can absolutely consume people. Everything about Ullman's writing felt authentic to me.
rwarner's review against another edition
4.0
Software development is my career, and this really resonated -- the frustrations, dreams, lost sleep, hyperfocus, obsession. I would think the story is approachable for non-techies as well, as it's a human story set to a technical backdrop. Highly recommended.
aprilsarah's review against another edition
4.0
It was a used book that some how grabbed my attention and demanded to be bought. It isn't my usual read but I found that I did enjoy it.
The writing style isn't that inviting, in fact it seems kind of impersonal at times, just like the coding it is telling about. That fact is both a plus and a minus in its favor.
The book left a deep impact on me after the end. It seemed like a story that could easily happen to anyone in the field of programming and it almost reads as if it could be a real life event.
This isn't a book for everyone. I believe that someone with a personal background in coding or knowledge can really get into it. Then again those same traits might turn a true coder away.
The writing style isn't that inviting, in fact it seems kind of impersonal at times, just like the coding it is telling about. That fact is both a plus and a minus in its favor.
The book left a deep impact on me after the end. It seemed like a story that could easily happen to anyone in the field of programming and it almost reads as if it could be a real life event.
This isn't a book for everyone. I believe that someone with a personal background in coding or knowledge can really get into it. Then again those same traits might turn a true coder away.
juvation's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting study of obsession among computer professionals and how a seemingly illogical element can ricochet through social situations and fracture relationships. I've written code for a long time and suffered a number of Jesters myself, so I know exactly where this is coming from. The characters and environment are caricatures somewhat of regular tech life (or I've been lucky), but there's no doubt this is a well written and engrossing work. I didn't want to put it down! Non technical readers may have a very different experience, of course.
bangerlm's review against another edition
4.0
I read Ullman's recent book, A Life in Code, and thought it would be interesting to read her novels. I thought this book would be amusing, a programmer obsessed with a bug, but I actually found it anxiety inducing. My heart literally started racing when the programmer accidentally deleted his days worth of work, and my own memories of bugs, that seemed to become personal, was a little too real. While parts of the book tended to drag, and the tester, Berta's voice seemed indistinguishable from Ullman's own voice in a Life of Code, which was a bit distracting, I have a feeling that this book will stick with me.