[XBM]⋙ [PDF] Jennifer Government Max Barry 9780349117621 Books

Jennifer Government Max Barry 9780349117621 Books

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Jennifer Government Max Barry 9780349117621 Books

A fairly vapid representation of a post-government capitalist society, essentially satirical in it's execution. Although it had moments of creativity, it was largely predictable and mostly unimpressive.


Tags : Jennifer Government [Max Barry] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In Max Barry's twisted, hilarious and terrifying vision of the near future, the world is run by giant corporations and employees take the last names of the companies they work for. It's a globalised,Max Barry,Jennifer Government,Time Warner Books Uk,0349117624,Modern fiction,Fiction

Jennifer Government Max Barry 9780349117621 Books Reviews

Very imaginative. There are lots of government gone beserk dystopias. This is government diminished to near nothing, and conglomerate corporations calling the shots. Government services are contracted to corporations, including prisons and armies. When free market utopians imagine the world, and everybody is free running like competing farms. This is a very strong case that it won't be that way, if corporations run as they do now but without government. Why wouldn't corporations steadily accrue power and dominance over their employees with no checks or counter balancing laws?
i had just finished barry's new novel, lexicon; i wanted to see what else he's done. now, i have just finished "jennifer government"... and it's great. at first, i worried that there might be too much whimsy (not something i want in a book); has a sort-of terry gilliam vibe to it. but it's a great read, and gets deeper, and more interesting, as it goes along.

great connections between the players, and a great story. found myself engrossed (especially the last 3rd of the book). did not put it down until i finished.

fun, funny...and (sadly), believable. well worth reading.
Barry introduces us to a not-too-distant future in which the American ideals of free-market capitalism have spread throughout the world. Many countries have become new states within the USA. Corporations run everything, and the government has a significantly reduced role that consists mostly of fighting crime.

Beneath the surface of this compelling caricature of the future, however, is an even more interesting story about apathy. Throughout the story, we follow the "good guys" who don't know how to stick up for themselves and keep getting into trouble, and the "bad guys" who are not afraid to do what they want, so the keep doing what they want. As we reach the end of the book, the meek grow a backbone and find happiness, while the tyrannical ultimately become the downtrodden.

With its political, philosophical, and personal allegories, I believe Jennifer Government puts Max Barry into an elite league of fiction writers along with the likes of Orwell.

This is a fun book to read. You really feel yourself connecting with the characters. It would make a fantastic movie.
At first, it reads extremely simply, as if it was written for an extremely easy, young read. As you go along, the level of skill of writing seems to improve, either intentionally or due to Barry's own skill. However, Barry is a fantastic author, so I suspect it's a commentary on the mental state of the characters introduced in the early chapters. Once the plot starts rolling, it just becomes a very engrossing, worryingly realistic ride through a speculative future of science fiction that isn't so fiction-y. If books about a chilling near-future that doesn't seem so farfetched are your thing, give this a try.
The book contains interesting ideas and offers much food for thought. Unfortunately, the themes are underdeveloped and the text is almost entirely lacking in literary merit. Read it and use it as a stimulant to insight and social action, but read it quickly and then pass it on to a friend who enjoys pulp fiction.
A summer blockbuster movie in print.
In a parallel/alternate, slightly futuristic universe (which will probably soon be reality) where corporations rule and people "marry" their jobs, some interesting characters can be found.
I found this to be an above average read. Entertaining, sure. I felt I was reading a sequel or spin off to Fight Club. It starts hard and fast but cools off and perhaps goes on a bit too long in areas. There isn't a lot of characters but the way they interact by the end of the book I'm sure I confused who was who. That could be just me.
Jennifer Government was more intriguing to me based on the world it creates than the actual plot it follows. Max Barry's writing style is spare to a fault--so spare that parts felt more allegorical than narrative. And while portions are exciting and gripping, some of the character interactions felt forced and a bit false (such as two characters who meet when one arrests the other, meet a second time and fall into bed and by the third time they meet, they are positioned as soulmates destined to live happily ever after.)

Those concerns aside, the incredible world Barry creates is both crazy and also not so far removed from our own world. His setting is a future world where brands have gone amok, taking the place of government, which itself has been reduced to a brand that can only operate where there is profit motive.

The plot has a very agile pace and is packed with a great deal of action. In fact, given this book was written in 2004 and offers such an interesting twist on the growing consumerism of our world, it is surprising to me this hasn't yet been made into a movie. This is not a perfect book, but it captured my imagination and was fun to read.
I have recommended this book regularly over the past decade. I read it for the first time when it was published (14?) years ago, and it has stuck with me long enough to purchase again. To read again for myself, and for my husband to read now.

Jennifer Government is a look into a possible future. Extreme, maybe. But gaining possibility every day. The fact that it predicted not only the unification of Europe, but its title as well (European Union) is unnerving upon a reread.

The story winds between many characters, separate, but each playing and integral part in the action as it plays out. The characters are well developed, and you wince when the bad guys get a break and when the good guys hit an obstacle.

Good luck putting the book down once you start. I still can't!
A fairly vapid representation of a post-government capitalist society, essentially satirical in it's execution. Although it had moments of creativity, it was largely predictable and mostly unimpressive.