Jennifer Government<\/i> by Max Barry<\/p>\n
This book went on and off my wishlist a couple times. I heard about it somewhere as a witty Orwellian satire, and I added it. I later heard there was an online game based on the novel (http:\/\/www.nationstates.net\/), which I signed up for and was bored by, and thus later I took the book off my wishlist. Then, it cropped up somewhere else as a recommended novel for its smart wit and satire, so I added it back.<\/p>\n
I dunno. It was an okay read. There was not a lot of depth or originality to any of the characters. The alternate future was a bit outlandish (Privatizing the government? Just how would that work, and how is that not a paradox?), but with a bit of effort I was able to suspend my disbelief… like Cars<\/i>: accept the premise, don’t think too hard about it.<\/p>\n
I wasn’t bored by it, and early on I knew there wasn’t going to be any big payoff, so the ride was fairly enjoyable. Though I can’t figure out what some of the reviewers “laughed out loud” about.<\/p>\n
Max Barry’s other books (Company<\/i> and Syrup<\/i>) look like more of the same. As one Amazon reviewer put it, “knee-jerk anti-corporate humor is occasionally funny…” I probably won’t bother.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jennifer Government by Max Barry This book went on and off my wishlist a couple times. I heard about it somewhere as a witty Orwellian satire, and I added it. I later heard there was an online game based on … Continue reading