A marketopia populated by the rabid people, surnamed after the companies they work for. An inane world-for-profit. Tongue-in-the-cheek market worshipping leading to perception of capital and enterprise as the pinnacle of human achievement. And don't forget your constitutional rights, fraud included. Add to that all the nice touches. The gun of sentimental value. The Nike hype. The John guy assaulting a gal and all the way threatening to sue her for damages! Wow! Consider me a Max Barry convert!Q...

Jennifer Government maths:➽ This is one of my favourite books EVER and I don't give a fishing damn if:① Some people say it's overhyped and overrated.② Some people say it's predictable.③ Some people say it's pure, badly written crap.④ Some people say all the characters in the story are stupid, flat and unlikeable.➽ And I certainly don't give a fishing damn about the book snobs who compare this book to the supposed greatness of novels written by Huxley, Orwell, Stephenson and the like. The reverse...

A satire about neoliberalism leads to its ultimate goal that shows the immense flaws and unlogic of this fairy tale. Imagine the opposite of a state dictatorship like communism or state communism with state-owned companies and directed market economy. Instead, companies own everything and the state belongs to them. One may ask, where there is a difference to our actual situation. Well, in this case, it is official and no farce is held all few years and called a democratic election. In this gritt...

If asked to write the foreword to some 20th anniversary commemorative edition, I would say that Max Barry's Jennifer Government is like a bottle of Diet Neal Stephenson served with a twist of Christopher Moore (or perhaps a dash of Tom Robbins?) There is something uncannily similar between Snow Crash and Jennifer Government: in the comic book pacing; in the hyperbolic and impossible but chillingly familiar geo-political climate that he illustrates; in the characters that reek of auto-erotic

In a word, Max Barry is overrated. He has no ear for dialogue and his characters are completely flat and forgettable. He has an annoying habit of making his female characters drop-dead gorgeous and going on at length about just how gorgeous they are. And exactly what they’re wearing. That being said, he’s got a good enough sense of pacing and enough satirical bite (though it never breaks the skin) to keep a person reading. I mean, there has to be some explanation for the fact that I read three o...

I gave this book 2 stars, because I thought it was a good ride, but honestly it's only good at all if you can get past the fact that all of the characters are completely one-dimensional, poorly thought out, do things that are totally unrealistic, and have little to no motivation to do anything but do things that are completely bizarre. Seriously, Hack, the main character if there is one, is like Tess of the D'Urbervilles. He practically sleepwalks his way through the book and then when he grows

Back a few years after the turn of the century, the world was brand crazy. More than that, it was murderously brand crazy. Remember the debacle around Nike? Murders in gangland over shoes? Or how about the whole stink surrounding the marketing departments who not only capitalized but doubled down on the policies that made this?Yeah.Well, this novel truly capitalizes on THAT. :)And Max Barry takes it all to its natural conclusion. Governments are gutted, corporations rule everything. Do you want

There is so much I want to say about this book. It is so jammed packed with interesting ideas and characters that there are a million places to start. Perhaps I’ll just get the crude and vulgar out of the way first.The world of Jennifer Government reads like an Ayn Rand wet dream. Corporations have free reign in what is called the United States of America but actually comprises North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, and the British isles (or, for you George Orwell fans out there, Ocean...

This was really fucking good. Not quite five star read, but I'm giving it 5 anyway. Because.Review might come. If I ever do the other 5000 I've been promising.

'Jennifer Government' by Max Berry is pure rock-'n'-roll satire turned up to ten. In the fictional world of the novel, American corporations run the world. But if you think that means we have the peace of pushing around grocery carts and walking around stores looking for the best sales and visiting strip malls on the way home to pick up a hot dog, think again. Corporations have always been murderously competitive. Think Jack in the Box vs. McDonald's. Think Nike vs. Adidas. Think of corporate ma...

In some ways, Max Barry's Jennifer Government is like the inverse of Orwell's 1984. It's set in the near future where things have gone loopy, but instead of an out of control, totalitarian government oppressing everyone, it's uncontrollable megacorporations and hypercapitalism (or, one could argue, hyperlibertarianism) that's ruining everyone's day. Unfortunately, Jennifer Government is unlike 1984 in that it's not particularly well written.The hook, like I said, is that Barry has created a near...

Aw, this was kind of disappointing on the second read. I remembered it being really clever and fast-paced and fun, and it was fast-paced and a little bit clever, but also much cornier and flatter than I remembered. The characters were very one-dimensional, and the plot was fairly original but totally predictable. Honestly (and I feel like this is a terribly back-handed compliment), I think this would be a great action movie.

An enjoyable satire on the concept of unfettered capitalism. This story delivers a lot of interesting ideas: America as a franchise, the NRA as a mercenary army, corporations ruling the world, government as a vestigial organ. Unfortunately, the reader tends to be so far ahead of the characters in understanding the mystery that it is hard to be patient with them and really empathize.

You know how it seems like certain American corporations have wormed their way into practically every market overseas (McDonalds, Pepsi, Coke, etc.)? This novel takes it to the extreme as it supposes what would happen if corporations and capitalism took over the world and government was minimized into an underfunded major crime (e.g. murder) prevention body. There are no longer family surnames...you take the name of the company that you work for like Bob Nike or Cathy McDonalds. You have to give...

entertaining. female heroine who kicks a**. frightening future possiblity. your last name is determined by your corporate affiliation. everything is commercialized, even emergency services. if you can't pay you won't be aided...health 'care' is already there in America.amoral corporate marketing executives concoct a new advertising campaign - create hype by murdering the initial buyers of their new shoe line. other executives, disconnected from real appreciation for human life, see it as "proact...

It isn't fantastic writing, but it's so much fun it makes up for it. A little dated now, but it's biting satire of the late 90s/early 00s brand obsessed America.

I was currently reading another book, but stupidly left the iy in the car. It was rainy out, and I was in my jammies. Having no desire to get wet, I pulled Jennifer Government, by Max Barry, off the shelf.I started reading.About the author...interesting. Dedication- ok. Two quotes by Thomas Jefferson- nice touch. Then an author's note:"There are a lot of real company names and trademarks in this book, most in situations you are unlikely to see on the covers of any annual reports. That's because

Sharp, wickedly funny dark comedy/action satire in a future in which much of the world is a total laissez-faire corporatocracy, in which a few deaths in the pursuit of profits is just fine. The title character is a Government criminal investigator (people take their last names from their employers; thus John Nike, Theo Pepsi, Billy NRA and Jennifer Government) trying to pin a murder on an especially odious corporate executive who makes Martin Shkreli seem like Mother Teressa. In a way it's too b...

Jennifer Government is a novel that tries to have its cake and eat it. On the one hand it is an obvious satire on corporate power and greed and the inability of states to control these wayward creatures, on the other the story highlights individuals who by either opposing or aspiring to be major players in this selfish corporatism quite frequently espouse the self-same macho values that got corporatism where it is. While castigating the whole set-up Max Barry also revels in the rogue survivalist...

I’ll have to be honest with you, I really am not sure if this novel was set in some kind of futuristic, dystopian society, or if it was set in an alternate reality of our current society. At first I thought it might be futuristic, but in one scene two people are fighting “Black Friday” style for a VCR on sale. Now this book was written in 2002 and so VCR would have still been a viable medium at that point, so this has me leaning towards alternate reality. Not that it matters in the slightest whe...

Jennifer Government poses the most humorous "future gone wrong" I've encountered in the many of the other books of its kind that I've read. I've kind of been on a dystopian kick lately, and Barry's world of tomorrow isn't quite as grim as some other authors have dreamed up, but there've been some big changes.First, 75% of the planet is now part of the United States, with only pockets of foreign countries still rooted in democracy and free market. The parts of the world governed by the US are und...

There is a lot I liked about Jennifer Government. Thematically a few things hit really close to home right now. The merging of private industry with government functions, the availability of lifesaving services (such as EMS and police) to only the wealthy, and schools being for-profit run by corporations all come to mind. It was an easy read, a bit too popcorn for my tastes (or my tastes at this moment). I would probably read more Max Barry.

A simple lightweight read. Near future corporate dominated world but basically an almost slapstick bit of silliness with all the characters intertwined and yet it kind of works. But definitely not high art.

I found this book to be quite a good, cruisy read that was perfect for an easy afternoon. I didn't find it to be particularly in depth in many areas such as character building, plot etc but it was still quite enjoyable.I like how the characters were introduced individually and had their stories told and past constructed and then have them all intertwined as the book went on. Barry did a very good job on that part and made it highly enjoyable.Overall I found 'Jennifer Government' to be definitely...

Jennifer Government works for the Government in a world where everyone takes their last name from their employer or their school (Hack Nike works for Nike, and Billy NRA joins the National Rifle Association, and Hayley McDonald’s goes to a McDonald’s school). Jennifer is tipped off that there’s going to be a murder when Nike releases its new and hottest shoe, but she fails to catch the perpetrator and gets herself shot in the line of duty. Jennifer, however, is relentless in her pursuit of justi...

If McDonalds ruled the world: it would look like this book. Or, rather, if Nike owned the world.The Low-Down Dirty:Welcome to the not-so-far-away future, where everyone is identified by the company they work for. Hence, our trigger-man (in every sense of the word, sort of) is Hack Nike. Hack Nike works for John Nike and John Nike. **No, that wasn't a typo. There are two John Nikes in this book. One is prettier than the other.** John Nike has decided that the greatest marketing scheme of all time...

I really like this book, which is saying a lot because I read it expecting to be able to put it down in a hurry. A really vicious satire on modern global consumerism, sort of a SPACE MERCHANTS for the 21st century. The story follows a handful of apparently random characters whose lives meet and part weirdly, in a world where everyone’s last name is the company they currently work for or the corporation running the school they currently attend. Jennifer Government is a Jennifer who works for the

I started this book once or twice, and decided to add it to this year's book challenge. I just now finished it, and I have thoughts about it.I liked the way Barry used his characters to drive the story. It reminded me a little bit of Big Trouble (the movie. I haven't read the book). He starts with these seemingly disparate characters and then throws them all into a roiling pot of conspiracies, assassination and kidnapping. I've often heard as a person having a "cinematic" writing style, but I th...

This story takes place in an alternate universe where corporations are way stronger than the government, which is essentially its own company. The characters lack a family name, using their employer instead. How various individuals named John Nike or Mike McDonalds aren't often confused is not explained.Max Barry has created an interesting world, as least in the places he explored. The rest feels like a thin facade with no internal logic. The nonexistent character growth is barely overshadowed b...

Like much speculative fiction, the premise is better than the execution, but the premise isn't even that great. This might have seemed edgy at one time, but after having explored the extreme anti-corporate culture a bit in college — you know, the "Ad Busters" phase that many of us go through — it's more tired and played out than anything else.Any number of anti-corporate narratives are more satisfying and feature people you can actually care about: Mirror's Edge or Jet-Set Radio Future to name a...