Jennifer Government

by Max Barry

Book Overview

A wickedly satirical and outrageous thriller about globalization and marketing hype, Jennifer Government is the best novel in the world ever.

Funny and clever.... A kind of ad-world version of Dr. Strangelove.... Barry] unleashes enough wit and surprise to make his story a total blast. --The New York Times Book Review

Wicked and wonderful.... It] does just about everything right.... Fast-moving, funny, involving...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400030927
• ISBN13: 9781400030927
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Length: 321 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 14 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 9 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Dark, humoristic view of the evolution of corporations.

I found this novel to be remarkably thrilling; it's a wonderful description of the world as it could be twenty or thirty years from now.It describes life when the corporation is the base unit of society, the Government is considered just another corporation, and corruption is inherent within. Throughout the book, the eerie reminders of modern-day corporate structures are shown, twisted and evolved.The book gripped my attention and did not let go until I had finished it; twists and turns abound, and there's no way to predict what'll be coming next -- except for a sense of dread. Wonderful read.I appreciated specifically a rather evil twist applied to a modern-day company's corporate slogan; while I don't say it here, it's easily recognized once found in the story line -- and it fits *beautifully* into everything. I have to wonder if the entire book wasn't crafted specifically as a vehicle for that one joke.I purchased it, hardback, and I'll probably donate it to my local library simply so that others can read it, too. If you've ever been interested in looking at what society, with corporations, will become, this is a viewpoint that I wouldn't miss.

Well Balanced

The cover caught my eye and the idea drew me in.A Capitalist WORLD? No way! That's not where we're headed!Capitalizm is how most of the world is run in this parallel/futuristic world. The stakes have risen higher than anyone would have imagined, but that's life. The United States has stretched its imperial hands and doubled in size. The Government has taken a back seat to big-time corporations.Barry is insightful, creative, and fun. This was his story to tell. At times the writing is a little simple, but it's polished, concise, and doesn't take away from the idea presented, which I consider to be a little more relevant. A very good read.

Marketing in the near future (4-1/2 stars)

Hack Nike, Haley McDonalds, Jennifer Government. You're given the name of the firm you work for; your allegiance is more to the company than to your country (which is really just a series of companies anyway). When unemployed you have no last name. Jennifer Government, Maxx Barry's second book after the equally well-written Syrup, is a fun fast read, interweaving different characters and points of view. I just loved the book and devoured it in a few days, then went and read Syrup. Now, the only bad part is that I have to wait for Mr. Barry to write another one.The book can give you bouts of paranoia when you think how close we are to living like the characters in the book. It certainly made me want to stay away from brand named foods and clothing for a while....There's no profit in the game as far as I know, so including this link shouldn't be a problem, should it...

Why aren't there more books like this?

It's not often you see car chases and satire together. But then this isn't your typical satire.The book is set in an ultra-consumerist world where everything--even the government!--is privatized. Sounds like the lead-in for an anti-capitalist rant, right? Wrong. Barry uses the setting as a playground, happily propelling the characters through its insanities but never stopping to preach about how terrible it all is. There's no time for that, not when Jennifer Government is having gun battles with NRA assassins, corporations are massing private armies, and a main character is entangled in a love triangle with two sisters.The story's the thing, and it's an awesomely fast one. There's more plot here than character, that's for sure, and at times you wish that Barry would just hold up for a second and take a breath. There are no deep insights into the human psyche. But this is probably the most entertaining satire you'll ever read, and one of the slyest thrillers.Less comedy and more thrills than Syrup (Barry's first novel), Jennifer Government is a broader, more ambitious and more compelling book. Especially at this price, it's well worth the money.

Biting wit

In this, Barry's second hilarious novel, we enter a world not-too-far removed from our own: capitalism is king, commercialism is rampant, and marketing is profligate. Individuality has been reduced to the point that individuals take their last name from the organization for which they work; our hero, John Nike, is one such consumerist citizen. John Nike works at his eponymous company, desperate for the chance to move into Marketing. He gets the opportunity, and his first assignment is to arrange the random killings of ten young consumers in an attempt to build the "street cred" for Nike's (the company's) newest shoe creation. The product has been heavily marketed for over a year, but never released to store shelves. Demand is great, but John's conscience is greater. The other John Nike, John's boss, plans to release ten thousand pairs of the shoes to the market-at twenty-five hundred dollars a pair. With an overseas production cost of thirty-eight cents each, evil John Nike sees nothing but profit-if his marketing campaign builds the purchasing frenzy he desires. Jennifer Government (guess where she works) must help our hero trap his nemesis and other assorted evil CEOs and stop the madness before too many people are killed. Don't be frightened by the dark nature of the material in a post-Columbine, post-9/11 world: Barry's brutally funny satire hits all the right notes of absurdity, pathos, and romance. His visions of teenagers getting bank loans at ATMs in the mall, guerilla marketing among the fast-food chains, and the police subcontracting to thugs and low-life criminals to preserve their own bottom line is only a minute step beyond the world in which we are living. Barry, whose first novel, Syrup, was an equally vicious satire of the Cola Wars, writes with the knowledge of a man from the inside, and the vision of one who can discern right from wrong even if his characters often cannot. He is a singular comic genius, whose novel will have you laughing even as you ponder its prescience.