Company

By: Max Barry

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Nestled among Seattle's skyscrapers, The Zephyr Holdings Building is a bleak rectangle topped by an orange-and-black logo that gives no hint of Zephyr's business. Lack of clarity, it turns out, is Zephyr's defining characteristic. The floors are numbered in reverse. No one has ever seen the CEO or glimpsed his office on the first (i.e., top) floor. Yet every day people clip on their ID tags, file into the building, sit at their desks, and hope that they're not about to be outsourced.

Stephen Jones, a young recruit with shoes so new they squeak, reports for his first day in the Training Sales Department and finds it gripped by a crisis involving the theft of a donut. In short order, the guilty party is identified and banished from the premises and Stephen is promoted from assistant to sales rep. He does his best to fit in with his fellow workers, among them a gorgeous receptionist who earns more than anyone else, and a sales rep who's so emotionally involved with her job that she uses relationship books as sales manuals, but Stephen is nagged by a feeling that the company is hiding something. Something that explains why when people are fired, they are never heard from again; why every manager has a copy of the Omega Management System; and most of all, why nobody in the company knows what it does.

©2006 Max Barry (P)2006 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Finalist, Humor, 2007

"Mr. Barry is a deft and focused satirist, and his sense of business ethics is right on the money." (The New York Times)
"[Barry's] at his funniest lampooning the suits that tread the stage, consumed by the sound and fury of office politics that signify nothing." (Publishers Weekly)

Characters brought to life

There have been various comments about this reader…either love him or hate him. I happily align with the former.

Since there are many other sources for a review of the book, I’ll comment only what makes this different, the reader. With so many characters in the story, I found different voices the reader used for each helpful and delightful in the reading of this very clever story.

I rate William Dufris right along my other favorite reader, Scott Brick.

Easy, fun listen.

Dark humor for the office crowd

Combine "The Office" with "The Borg" from Star Trek and you'll get an idea of what this book has in store for you. The characters are people easily recognizable by anyone who's ever worked in a cube farm or a large company - some are sad, some are scary and some are downright like-able - all have that sense of realism to them that makes them familiar. I enjoyed the dark humor and twisted take on how easily employees can be manipulated by gossip, clueless management techniques, and the whims of "upper management". This was a fun read overall and I think it would make a fantastic movie or TV series.

Company

When Stephen Jones joins Zeyphr eneterprises he enters a strange world filled with donut obsessed co-workers, female napoleons and a secret conspiracy the tries to draw him in deeper. a good listen with moderate sound effects the narrator attempts to bring feeling to the characters with all their quirks (Watch out for One particular charcter's habit which you be glad eventually stops) Great story like the previous Jennifer government.

Another Max Barry Success

Another wonderful "read" from Max Barry. I read Jennifer Government before this and enjoyed it and the premise of Company did not disappoint.

Also might I say that William Dufris does a simply fantastic job in his narration, I have another tab open right now to see if he has done any other books I might like.

I think I understand why some people are not in love with the book. Its not written as pure comedy, amidst the satirical exaggerations there is a serious argument going on between the two sides of the work/life issue and if you don't buy into that dichotomy then you just not going to enjoy it as much.

Good fun

If you're looking for piercing new insight into the corproate world, this isn't it. But if you work as a cog in the machine of a large company as I do, or enjoy Dilbert or "the Office" on TV, then this will make you laugh and is well worth the price. I found the reader to be excellent and thought he picked up nicely on the spirit of the book.

Now when I talk with my fellow cogs about "senior management", it takes on a whole new meaning...

Hilarious look at business

I recently started working in a large company again. Reading this book has provided me with many laughs; some while reading and some while sitting in meetings remembering passages. I may get this for my VP as a holiday present.

I found the book entertaining enough to listen to multiple times!

Wanna have fun? This is the book!

Strictly satirical about corporate life. Much of this book loosely resembles places I have worked and people I've worked with. You know all the pettiness that goes with the workplace.
Its humor is delicious all way thru. I know I'll be listening again to Company.
Author is top notch, he is from Australia and oh wow so is Bryce Courtenay. Might say that Max Berry ranks next to Bryce in my opinion. But of course Max Berry is early in his career so I shouldn't judge just yet. But the potential is here
William Defris is the narrator and thank God I finally got a third in my best narrator list.
My other 2 are Rupert Degas and Humphrey Bower.
Yes he is in their league. He has a vast array of maarvelous voices.
Pick this book and I'm sure you'll be very happy.

Great Read

Funny, witty read. Enjoyed the play on the office characters that everyone can relate to. Narrator does a great job on portraying each character, as well.

Hilarious

Unfortunately this book really hits home to many of us with more than a few years in the workforce. All of the characters are identifiable, with clean, sharp humor.

I highly recommend this book.

Good Listen

I enjoyed this book. It was funny and easy to listen to. I really liked the narrator too.