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Amiga
by
To deal with her present, she must face her past.
In 1985, a young Laura Rodriguez goes to Silicon Valley to start a career as a computer programmer. She finds a job at a quirky startup run by a family with secrets.
In 2016, a now middle-aged Laura faces growing professional and family crises and the most divisive presidential election in recent history. She fears losing her ...more
In 1985, a young Laura Rodriguez goes to Silicon Valley to start a career as a computer programmer. She finds a job at a quirky startup run by a family with secrets.
In 2016, a now middle-aged Laura faces growing professional and family crises and the most divisive presidential election in recent history. She fears losing her ...more
Kindle Edition, 261 pages
Published
November 25th 2019
by Black Rose Writing
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Laura Rodriguez wants to be a great computer programmer, but after not finding the 'perfect' corporate job with benefits, she stumbles on an ad about a need for a programmer in the oddest of places - in someone's home. She goes for it! She takes a chance. The good news, she discovers her young boss has brilliance and new creative ideas she never saw coming. The bad news, she gets wrapped up in a strange family with some bizarre secrets that haunt her for years.
Amiga is one of those stories that ...more
Amiga is one of those stories that ...more
A Wondrous Tale of Female Empowerment in the Tech Age
Amiga by Matthew Arnold Stern is stirring and gripping novel about the experiences of the computer programmer Laura Rodriguez in the nascent 1980s and later in millennial charged 2016. The novel deftly alternates between these two periods. The 1980s scenes unfold an inspiring story of software and coding innovation – in this case what sounds like an early version of Photoshop – even as ominous secrets about the family-run start-up are reveale ...more
Amiga by Matthew Arnold Stern is stirring and gripping novel about the experiences of the computer programmer Laura Rodriguez in the nascent 1980s and later in millennial charged 2016. The novel deftly alternates between these two periods. The 1980s scenes unfold an inspiring story of software and coding innovation – in this case what sounds like an early version of Photoshop – even as ominous secrets about the family-run start-up are reveale ...more
I hardly know the difference between a 32-bit computer or Motorola 68000 assembly language and a package of salami, but I enjoyed this well-written tale about the 1980s tech industry and one woman’s effort to survive her personal and professional career obstacles over the course of 30 years.
The author has a casual and nimble writing style, assisted by fluid dialogue, that should help any reader easily navigate the nerdy world of early floppy drives, clumsy start-up discs and techie buzzwords. Th ...more
The author has a casual and nimble writing style, assisted by fluid dialogue, that should help any reader easily navigate the nerdy world of early floppy drives, clumsy start-up discs and techie buzzwords. Th ...more
Amiga is brilliantly plotted, well-crafted historical novel that follows the life of it's Latina protagonist, Laura Rodriguez, during two separate timelines: 1985-86 and the Fall of 2016.
In 1985, Laura's a computer programmer struggling to break into the booming tech industry in Northern California where both her gender and ethnicity work against her. In 2016, Laura is now a member of the old guard in a recently acquired firm where layoffs are in the wind, and senior management wants to get you ...more
In 1985, Laura's a computer programmer struggling to break into the booming tech industry in Northern California where both her gender and ethnicity work against her. In 2016, Laura is now a member of the old guard in a recently acquired firm where layoffs are in the wind, and senior management wants to get you ...more
With a master’s degree in computer science, Laura Rodriguez was a whizz in her field. If only she could convince these companies to give her a chance. The story starts off with her interviewing for a job.
“Men like girls who are smart, but not too smart, and certainly not as smart as they are. And men don’t like a girl who tells them they’re wrong.” (13)
Evidently, just being smart wasn’t good enough. What else was she missing? Besides a penis.
I liked that the main character was a Latina. Not onl ...more
“Men like girls who are smart, but not too smart, and certainly not as smart as they are. And men don’t like a girl who tells them they’re wrong.” (13)
Evidently, just being smart wasn’t good enough. What else was she missing? Besides a penis.
I liked that the main character was a Latina. Not onl ...more
Honestly, I drunk ordered this book. I was browsing Twitter one day and this book came up. I can't remember how or why it did, but there it was. I ordered it and forgot about it. Several weeks later is showed up in my mailbox and I was excited to have something new to read, about the history of the Amiga! Well, that's not what this book is about, it's the story of a person and her life working on an Amiga, and being an amiga, the trials she faced in the 80s working on this revolutionary machine
...more
Matthew Stern has crafted a brilliantly written historical fiction novel that highlights the rise of California tech start-ups and the difficulties associated with the 'political correctness' of breaking into that industry. Stern masterfully navigates crafting his story via parallel timelines in both 1985 and 2016.
We witness both the professional and family struggles of the main protagonist, Laura Rodriguez, as she navigates her tech career challenges including breaking into the new industry and ...more
We witness both the professional and family struggles of the main protagonist, Laura Rodriguez, as she navigates her tech career challenges including breaking into the new industry and ...more
Amiga, voor iedereen ouder dan 35 een begrip. In de jaren '80 van de 20e eeuw was het een van de eerste computers met multi-tasking, het was de eerste computer met 4096 kleuren (PC's hadden er maar 16, en Apple maar 2!), 8 bits geluid en meer. En dat voor een computer die vele malen goedkoper was dan de simpelste PC.
Het verhaal gaat over de jonge Laura Rodriguez die in de jaren '80 een baan als programmeur vindt bij een startup, geleidt door een familie met geheimen. Ook gaat het over de Laura d ...more
Het verhaal gaat over de jonge Laura Rodriguez die in de jaren '80 een baan als programmeur vindt bij een startup, geleidt door een familie met geheimen. Ook gaat het over de Laura d ...more
Amiga was a fast-paced, well-written novel that artfully juxtaposed the protagonist's past with her present. Laura, a young programmer of the 80's must deal with gender and racial inequality when taking a chance on a low-paying programming job working for the darkly mysterious Posnor family. Fast-forward to 2016, and we find Laura working for a millennial boss and grappling with the trauma of her present life and her shadowed past. The story beautifully came together for me, and Stern does a fan
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I enjoyed this story because it was easy to see the author had much experience with early days of personal computing. He did a good job of translating that experience, incorporating it into the story and keeping it readable for readers like me.
I liked the jumping back and forth between the two time settings that showed Laura at the beginning of her career and as an established programmer. The earlier setting was downright weird but I have no doubt that it was probably representative of some of ...more
I liked the jumping back and forth between the two time settings that showed Laura at the beginning of her career and as an established programmer. The earlier setting was downright weird but I have no doubt that it was probably representative of some of ...more
Matthew Stern does an amazing job of weaving the past and the present together, never giving away too much too soon. The story is compelling and deals with issues such as suicide, rape, gender inequality, race/ethnicity, and ageism and delves into what it was like in the 80s with startup computer companies and new technology.
I really enjoyed this book!
Ya gotta love computers for this book. And, hopefully, understand a bit of programming lingo. The story is VERY interesting!
Warning: there ARE typos and grammar errors.
Ya gotta love computers for this book. And, hopefully, understand a bit of programming lingo. The story is VERY interesting!
Warning: there ARE typos and grammar errors.
Love it
It made me laugh that this was historical fiction from 1985. I had my first DOS and Kaypro experiences about then. So I loved the book, the history and the strong women portrayed in it. Great reading!
It made me laugh that this was historical fiction from 1985. I had my first DOS and Kaypro experiences about then. So I loved the book, the history and the strong women portrayed in it. Great reading!
Something different from my usual reading matter; gives insight into progress made in computer world. Easy to read.
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I am an award-winning public speaker and writer. My novel Amiga came from my experiences in the computer industry in the 1980s as a technical writer and computer journalist. My awards for writing and public speaking include Distinguished Toastmaster and an Award of Excellence from the International Online Communications Competition. I graduated Summa Cum Laude from California State University, Nor
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