Customer Reviews

Syrup

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Or is that charmingly oblivious?

No matter the turn of phrase, Maxx Barry (or as the copywrite states: Max Barry) has hit the mark with Syup. The narrative moves at a steady, and highly amusing, clip, though there are a few initial setbacks.

The main character is named after animal droppings, for one, (Scat, really?) and too much of the book revolves around one character's secuality, but both of those "faults" fold nicely into the overarching theme of "perception is reality".

I would recomend this book for anyone who's in the mood for a masterful spoof of Corporate America.

Michael George Holloway, the narrator and marketing graduate from Cal State summa cum laude, changes his name to "Scat" in order to better market himself for a marketing job. So begins this rollicking novel about the cut-throat world of business. Along the way Scat meets the beautiful 6-- her parents named her zero and changed her name every year on her birthday, but they both died just after renaming her "6"-- there's also the aptly named "Sneaky Pete" and the beautifullly blonde @. I suppose we could probably spell her name "Ambers Anne" because of her lemony looks.

In keeping with the tone of this novel, the chapters are marked by bar codes; and marketing case studies are interspersed throughout this tale: for example, mktg case study #1: mktg perfume - TRIPLE YOUR PRICE. THIS GIVES CUSTOMERS THE IMPRESSION OF GREAT QUALITY. HELPS PROFITS TOO.

Mr. Barry, who has taught marketing at "two major universities" in Australia, convinces me that he understands the ugly but funny world he writes about. What we ultimately have, however, is an old-fashioned love story with enough laughs for everyone.

a couple of weekends ago i received a copy of Syrup, a very hip and delightful short novel. in this particular story we find our characters, scat, six, and sneaky pete all work in the world of corporate advertising. they're all in their mid-20's, more successful (even before the story really gets going and they find employment) than you or i were at that age, and before you know it it's a dream/nightmare life for them. funny how fiction is like that ...

barry creates a world where satire attacks corporations, the job world, and sexual ethics, all deftly told. definitely for the younger crowd, for people who view marketing with a strange mix of contempt and glee, and for people who enjoy a fast-paced story this summer. not a edgey as it could be, and it shows some failure in its execution, but a decent treatment of the subject of corporate marketing.

The funniest thing I have read in a very long time. Any description falls flat.

Maxx Barry, author of "Syrup" has written a brilliant, satirical novel of marketing. Maxx or Max ( he added an extra "x" to make his name look more worldly) was a teacher of marketing back in Australia. He used to work for Hewlett Packard, and he has imagined life in the US-he has never visited us.

Scat, also know has Micahel George Holloway, wants to be famous. He could be an actor, but he can't act. He does have one option: he can be very young, very cool, and very, very rich. This line of fame is open to everyone. All he has to do is find something he is so good at that he can make a million dollars by the time he is twenty-five.

Scat has read somewhere "that the average adult has three million-dollar ideas per year. Ideas are cheap, what you need is the conviction to follow through!" Scat's life started at ten past two in the morning of January 7th. He got THE IDEA.

Scat developed the idea for a new cola drink with a name so smooth all the "x" generation would drink it up. Scat got the inside scoop and developed a meeting with a representative of a cola company. The rep who's name is 6, was quite interested and brought Scat into the company. Unfortunately, someone stole the idea and Scat and 6 are left to reclaim their careers. Scat and 6 have energy, imagination, ambition and just enough of a work ethic to follow through. The novel follows their paths as they heed the underhandedness of the Black Hats.

The brilliance of Maxx Barry is evident in his writing. His humour and intelligence bring us through LA, Hollywood, corporate America and Madison Avenue and into the marketing world. Marketing is the biggest industry in the world, and it is invisible. "Marketing is like Los Angeles. It is a gorgeous, brainless model on cocaine having relations, drinking Perrier."
The characters that Maxx Barry has developed, Scat, 6, @, Sneaky Pete more than live up to their names. They are cool, charming and hilarious. This novel is a must read- move on over Seinfeld- Maxx has arrived.
prisrob

I read this book in 4 frickin hours. That's how good it is. Seriously. It is amazing. It's a hilarious, outrageous, fast-paced satire that doesn't require a lot of thinking but the social commentary on the absurdities of capitalism and the followers of it, i.e. marketers, is in-your-face. By the time I read the first page, I was hooked. It is fun, intelligent, and unpretentious and that's why I will recommend this book to anyone who can read.

OKay okay, i came off a little standoffish there. i apologize for that.

but first lets review this book, and not my spelling please.

Barry's characters are instantly loveable, and those from California, know these people. From the delicious Six, to the evil Sneaky Pete, one can simply look in their own backyard to find these people. But my review of this book.

Cast yourself as SCAT, remember that the only thing you know is CSU Marketing, and Scoring. But thats beside the point...the book review right?

Coca Cola was quite brave in allowing this little bad boy to get out. however lets remember that the only reason im reading this book is because i drink coca cola and love their products. But the book like i said.

Simply put, if you want to read something that makes you laugh, please read this book. carry yourself with dignity, and realize that there is nothing in this world that should make us take ourselves that seriously. So please...DON'T!

buy it...its good...i promise.

Well i'm only 40 pages into it and it's already the most enjoyable booki have ever read. The humor in it is simply amazing. I have never really laughed out loud while reading before.

Max Barry is a delightful voice in modern literacy. He decribes the corporate business world in a cleverly satyrical setting, leaving many assumptions about concepts and views for the reader to interpret as he or she might.

Novels sometimes start out boring and slow. Withing minutes, you are already pulled deep into a horrendous back-stabbing, cutthroat business world. There are surprises on every page, and the ending to the book is more a shock than one could ever fathom.

All in all, this novel is a glorious addition to any collection.

True enough, ridiculing the world of marketing and corporate politics is a lot like shooting fish in a barrel, but it's also fun! Syrup is an excellent appraisal of life in a world when giving the people "what they want" is very difficult when your people have been turned into undiscerning consumers by decades of lies and spin-doctoring. Our hero sells a product that doesn't exist, and eventually parleys his non-deal into producing a movie. Anyone who has had to deal with the inanities and petty miseries of company life will appreciate the protagonist's good-hearted snake-oil selling, although some suspension of disbelief is required a little later on -- Max Barry isn't quite as au fait with the movie world as he is with marketing. All the same, a fun read; it made me go straight back for Barry's follow-up, Jennifer Government. But what's up with the cover? It has no relevance whatsoever to the book? Was someone in Penguin's marketing department sulking about being found out...?