Rating: 
Summary: Marketing in the near future (4-1/2 stars)
Review: 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...
Rating:
Summary: Gripping, Smart, and Edgy, Edgy, Edgy
Review: When I read Jennifer Government, I thought it was well written. So well written, in fact, that I really believed it might avoid becoming one of those books that force you to choose sides in that oh-so-tired culture war between the literary and the popular. Silly me. Yet again, it's been made clear that just about any book with a good old-fashioned plot will be dismissed by someone as popular tripe, fit for the beach but little else. This is the only way to account for Jennifer Government's mixed critical reviews, I think. I won't bore anyone by listing the great works that were once in the center of this culture war; that's been done enough on the Harry Potter pages. I repeat, though, that this war is TIRED. Anyway, if the question is What have we learned, here's the answer: we've learned that the world of Jennifer Government is not merely "where we might end up" in some quirky alternate universe. It is, of course, where we are now. It is a picture of the ultimate triumph of the impersonal business entity over the person, of a world in which the ruthless rise fastest and where white collar crime is practiced for fun and profit. To those who think Jennifer Government is a beach read about a "horrific future," I respectfully pose the following question: can you not imagine being asked, here in the present, why you are leaving your workplace at "only five o'clock"? If not, consider yourself lucky. The real world is filled with people for whom concepts such as the weekend and the 40 hour work week have no relevance; people who either work two jobs or one job that equals two. Vacations, for many, are those identity-less periods between jobs, as they are for Barry's "Violet--just Violet." To those who don't find much time to spend on the beach, Jennifer Government might really look more like this century's Vanity Fair than a beach read. I don't mean to argue that civilization is coming to an end, exactly--just that Barry's book creatively explores uncommonly large themes. Themes that are of pressing importance to lots of people. His book deserves respect, even if he does also insult us with bits of serious humor and a compelling plot. A plot which, I might add, Barry totally forgets to smother in lots of flowery, narcissistic prose. Those who can overlook these flaws will recognize that Jennifer Government is a great book. If I were a teacher, I'd teach it. If I were a publisher, I'd publish it. And if I were an author, I'd probably either steal from it or dismiss it in favor of other, mediocre books, in the interest of insuring that my own mediocre writing would be well received.
Rating:
Summary: Capitalism taken to the furthest point
Review: Absolutely Awesome work of ... well it's hard to really describe the category of fiction this book could fit into. It has smarts, but still a book that is irresistable to read and fun to sit down to. Qirky characters end up in situations seemingly guided by Murphy's Law, which in all truth happens in real life. Kinda scary how in Jennifer Government's alternate universe, we can still see the frightening resemblance to our own... and to where we could end up, or where we could have gone with one simple twist of fate. Children attending school's owned by Mattel and McDonalds, taking the last name of your corporation, freaking about job security, being soley identified by your stasus and job,the feeling that our nation is the only nation and our way is the best.... oh no wait.. we already do some of that, or feel we do! Seriously.. read it and be stumpted, scared, enlightened, and amused.
Rating: 
Summary: a pleasant and fun read, if not overwhelmingly so
Review: With Jennifer Government, Barry steps into the territory of better known traveler William Gibson-that of large multi-national amoral corporations, consumerism/marketing gone amok, personal technology's disorienting effects, etc. It's a world grown familiar to us over the past decade or so, made so by Gibson and others, and this new foray into it bears up fine, if not spectacularly so, in comparison (Gibson's newest, Pattern Recognition, in fact makes a nice companion novel to read with or just after this one)
By the time the novel takes place, the not-so-distant future, all facets of society, from entire countries to single individuals, have been suborned by large conglomerates such as Nike and the NRA. Employees take as their last name their company name (thus John Nike), assassination becomes just another marketing tool, "street cred" is literally to die for, the police subcontract out their work into a bewildering array of contracts and sub-contracts, and the government, while it still exists, is about as powerful as your typical independent bookstore is in comparison to the Barnes and Noble that moved in around the corner.
One of the main characters, Hack Nike, gets involved in the aforementioned assassination and the title character, on the scene at the time, makes it her mission to find him and then those more culpable. The plot is fast-paced, the characters enjoyable, and as a whole the work makes for a pleasant read-laugh-out-loud funny a few times, wryly amusing most times, but with a nice edge to it throughout. The pace does tend to bog down toward the end, the satire grows a bit heavy and tired, some contrivances of plot mar the last few chapters, and while the lack of background details allows for the quick pace, at times as a reader you wish he would have slowed down a bit to give us a more full vision of the world. Then again, there is room for more of Jennifer, so perhaps we'll get a more fleshed out vision in a later book. You won't be blown away by this book, and if you're one of those reader who does a chapter or two a night then you might be tempted to give it up toward the end, but stay with it; you'll surprise yourself by thinking of it now and then later on while watching a new commercial or reading another article on media consolidation.
Rating:
Summary: There's No Denying It
Review: It's simple: Max Barry is a god, and a genius. With this masterfully written novel, he's proved his status as the New Australian King of All Things Satirical. I can't even go on to explain the book; there's no explaining it. It's way up on the same levels as Brand New World and 1984, it's got the same understanding of characters and plot as Jesus might have if he were a writer. So, to summarize: Buy this fantastic book. Or you shall die a deprived life.
Rating:
Summary: Good But Not Great
Review: I read Jennifer Government in two quick days; one a coast-to-coast airline flight and the other day waiting around a courthouse. It is good entertainment; fast paced, easy-reading. You won't want to put it down as a bad book. However, Max Barry could have pushed it so much further. The first 80 pages you marvel at how brilliant his ideas are, but then he gets bogged down in the transcontinental plot and all the characters. He runs out of steam a bit, and you wish that this could only be a draft. Acts II and III are not as hot as the opening. It's no Brave New World, but it is a good effort. Examples of what I mean: explaining Jennifer Government's tattoo, for one thing. It would have been so much cooler if EVERYONE were bar-coded--then Max Barry could have explored the strange connection between letting capitalism run free and yet eliminating personal freedom (i.e. tracking everything about everybody all the time for their buying habits etc.) Anyway, a good early novel.
Rating:
Summary: Friggin AWSOME Man!
Review: This book is so cool! Max Barry isn't lying when he says, "...Jennifer Goverment is the best novel in the world ever." This book if full of non-stop action! Tom Clancy ain't got nothin on this guy! And what makes this book even better is that it's funny too! This is such a good book, you'll never want to put it down, seriously. I stayed up till 1am and didn't even know it. That's how good this book is! I'm not lying. READ JENNIFER GOVERMENT! BUY JENNIFER GOVERMENT! NOW! WHAT ARE YOU DOING READING THIS REVIEW! BUY THE FRIGGIN BOOK ALREADY! GO! (Let's just hope Hollywood doesn't ruin it for us.)
Rating: 
Summary: Douglas Adams lite, sort of
Review: Yah, it was OK. Good, actually. A bit subversive, a little silly, lots of good pokes at ultraconservatism and libertarianism in there. You know, fun to read, but a little smart, you get to feel a little superior after you've read it because it's not just fluffy escapism. More kind of thinking person's escapism. Time and place are the world, a little in the future. Government is almost, but not quite, irrelevant; the Bushies have pretty much triumphed and big corporations, mostly American ones, have become the de facto world leadership. Even The Police are privatized (theme song "Every Breath You Take" is played in the The Police station) and have a competitor, the NRA. Corporations are so important, in fact, that your very name is tied to your employer. John Nike, Theo Pepsi, and the title character, Jennifer Government, for example. Jennifer is a Government agent who, now that she has secured funding for her operation from a crime victim's rich family, is on a mission to bring down the requisite bad and evil man. She's a neat character, a combination of the Terminator and Mom Next Door. Barry does a nice job fleshing her out while leaving most of the other characters comically two-dimensional at most, a swatch of a few softer pastel hues in the midst of rowdy primary colors. Characterization was the best part of the novel, and worth reading the book for. Was it great? Nah. The style is a little like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, that kind of unhinged, not-at-all-believable-but-somehow-makes-sense kind of fiction, but really only two of the hinges out of three are off. A little more reserved? A little too much sense? When the novel threatens to careen around a corner, two wheels off the side of the cliff while the others still hang on, you get the feeling the brakes are tapped at the last minute. A little screeching of tires, some skid marks, but still on the road. It was fun, though. Quick beach reading, rainy day stuff. Read it and lend it to a friend. They'll appreciate it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent plot, weak characters
Review: Almost everything in the United States and its affiliated countries (including Australia, New Zealand, and Great Britain) is privatized. People take the surnames of the companies they work for. Kids go to corporate-run schools. Even freeways are private, costing a dollar a mile. The Government investigates and prosecutes crime, but that's about all they do, and they can only do it if they can raise funding from the victims. The story starts when Hack Nike, a hapless corporate merchandiser, is approached by a couple of guys, both named John Nike, with a contract for a Marketing job, which he signs without reading. He finds out that the contract involves killing the first people who buy Nike's new product, "Nike Mercurys", in order to generate market demand. Since he doesn't want to kill anyone, he subcontracts with the Police, who then subcontract to the NRA, which has evolved into a company of mercenaries. Jennifer Government and her fellow government agents get a tip that the murders are about to happen, and are in place at the local Nike store. Also on location is Buy Mitsui, a stockbrocker who is so relieved that he's met his annual quota that he gives a lot of money to a random kid, Hayley McDonald's, who longs for a new pair of Nike Mercurys but doesn't have the money. Hayley gets killed in front of Buy, and the bad guys get away from Jennifer. Jennifer investigates the crime amid a lot of other supporting characters and subplots that all come together in a convoluted but brilliant way. The plotting is excellent: creative and unexpected. The world Max Barry creates is intricate and well-rounded. And although it would be easy to make a statement about how all corporations are evil with this kind of speculative fiction, Mr. Barry does not fall into this trap. For example, even though the ultra-free-market mentality is delightfully skewered, so is the ineffectually idealistic protest group. There are no happy solutions to the ludicrous overarching free market, and this free market, while awful, ultimately turns out not to be completely terrible, either. The one weak point in this book is the characters, who are neither unexpected nor well-rounded: Jennifer is an overachieving public servant with a mysterious past who doesn't have enough time for her daughter; John Nike (one of the John Nikes, anyway) is sheer evil; Billy NRA is a lying, inept doofus; Hack Nike is a hapless idiot who falls in with a group of equally idiotic socialist protesters; Violet ExxonMobile is scheming and ineffectual.
Rating:
Summary: Great ideal, mediocre execution
Review: Max Barry's "Jennifer Government" takes us into a not-so-futuristic world in which corporations have more power than governments, the newly-revamped NRA has more firepower than the recently privatized police force, and people assume the surname of the company for which they work. The story follows a fistful of characters as they battle to meet their own needs as two competing parent corporations, Team Advantage and US Alliance, fight for market loyalty. Various sabotage schemes evolved, including one which has Hack Nike, a lowly Nike employee, inadvertently contracted to kill Nike customers in a savy marketting ploy. The story, and the satire, have their strengths and weaknesses. As a story, there are simply too many characters to care about any one of them and towards the end I found the novel veered away from its proper roots as a corporate satire and into a more mainstream gun-fighter cat-and-mouse chase type action novel. Add a few unlikely personal relationship coincidences and a bad guy run amok of all common sense and I didn't find the finish of the novel overly compelling. I enjoyed the earlier chapters, where every action was dictated by some obscene futuristic corporate ideology, far more. As satire there's only so much to say, because only so much is there to delve into. I was disappointed that there weren't more layers introduced and more focus given to some of the issues raised, because each and every one of them is interesting. What if corporations tried to physically eliminate the government? What if law enforcement units had to raise funding before beginning investigations, no matter what the crime or societal interest in justice? What if corporations waged war on each other, as countries do now? In the end, you won't find an overly compelling answers, just glossed over ones. This isn't "1984", where every nook and cranny and ideological point of this new society is given in full detail and rational and punched home with every single things that happens throughout the novel. I was still left wondering about how this world had evolved, what the interaction between the government and corporations had been limited to, what had become of hot-button issues like poverty, the environment and crime. But, on the other side, even raising these questions is more than most novels do, and for that, perhaps, the novel is still worth a read. That said, there are some ingenious set-ups, some interesting (if almost uniformly similar) characters, and memorable lines. The most memorable thing I will take from this novel, however, is the cover photograph, which will live in my mind long after the details of this novel have completely faded away. Matthew D. Johnston
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