Syrup

By: Maxx Barry

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

When Scat comes up with an idea for the hottest new soda ever, he's sure he'll retire as the next savvy marketing success story. But in the treacherous waters of corporate America, there are no sure things. Suddenly Scat finds himself scrambling to save not only his idea, but his yet-to-be-realized career. With the help of a scarily beautiful and brainy girl called 6, he sets out on a mission to reclaim the fame and fortune that, time and again, elude him.

This brilliant debut is a scathingly hilarious send-up of celebrity, sexual politics, corporate America, and the fleeting status that comes with getting to the table first before the other guy has you for lunch.

©1999 Maxx Barry (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Seductively hip....Wickedly funny." (USA Today)
"Barry's delightful first novel delivers a charming and hilarious send-up of the wicked world of marketing....This terrific comic novel is certain to provoke as many belly laughs in print as it might one day on screen." (Booklist)
"A deft, satirical indictment of an industry that makes its living pushing satire, Syrup is understandably deep in hip meta references. What distinguishes the novel from, say, a Thomas Frank-style critique is that it never gets mushy, even after Scat lands the girl." (SPIN)

Interesting for market nerds

Mostly interesting. I had to force myself through the last few hours. It seemed to become predictable. Pretty good though.

Things Don't Necessarily Go Better At Coke

This is the third book by Max Barry that I've read (the prior two in print), and as a former participant in the corporate work force as both employee and executive, I have enjoyed his biting satires of that world. Jennifer Government imagines a world in which corporations operate with minimal governmental regulation and go so far as killing people as part of their marketing campaigns. Company imagines a corporation in which employees don't actually know what their company produces, and what happens when one of them tries to find out.

Syrup, Barry's first novel, examines marketing techniques and internal corporate politics set inside the Coco-Cola Company. Like its successors, it starts with a smart but naive young man just trying to do his job and get ahead, a strong and sexy woman who has the power to make his personal and professional dreams come true, a cold-blooded nemesis who lies and cheats his way to the top, and a spectrum of corporate drones, mindless media types, inept executives, and hip outsiders.

All three books had the same effect on me: I loved their initial premise, liked the characters, bought into the parody for the most part, but ultimately felt that the satire, following a vicious course of logic, strayed a little too far into surrealism. They are all good in the end, all good overall, but there is something unsettling about a strict devotion to the internal logic of the premise taking the story to illogical conclusions. In Syrup, the primary result is repetition in the final act, which costs Barry one star in my estimation.

I got this audiobook when I saw Barry's name, based on past experience with him, and never even looked at the narrator. I wasn't more than three minutes in when I felt the need to increase the playback speed to 1.25, and as soon as I did so, I thought -- this must be Scott Brick. Sure enough. I didn't recognize him at first because this is not as plodding as his normal pace of narration, but it still needed that little bit of speed to pick things up.

Funny and Fast

Syrup is a hip and all-around entertaining novel. While this book was fast paced it was un predictable and well written. This story will provide you a small taste of the corporate world and the line "and I'm homeless again" will have you laughing throughout the book.

fun book

for people who like satire and Maxx Barry's work: the book is Amazing. I got the book when I couldn't find the book anywhere else, which leads me to believe audible is the last source for this book.

for those that don't get/comprehend satire....:find another book...?

Maxx Barry Disappoints with Syrup

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Perhaps because advertising is my profession, I may have had more issues with this book than the average reader. Marketing and Advertising are not the same thing. Getting around that for me made the book less appealing.

Any additional comments?

Maxx Barry typically has a fantastic sense of humor and a biting satirical view of consumerist and technology culture. Syrup had some of that but lacked some of the darker insights from his previous books. This was not Jennifer Government. I wasn't a fan of either of the lead characters and though I think the flimsy love story was a metaphor for "marketing" I still found it pointless to the story. With most of Maxx Barry's work you have to suspend disbelief but in doing so, you kind of want it to go even further out there to make that worthwhile.

Very funny, but also insightful

What did you love best about Syrup?

The humor, the dialog, and the plot (it was not at all predictable).

What was one of the most memorable moments of Syrup?

The first twist and the begining

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

He is just a great reader, the best!

Never gave up on Scott Brick or Max Barry before

I'm not sure if I should blame Scott Brick or Max Barry but I didn't finish this book. The main female character is an unrelenting bitch and the main male character is such a doormat doofus I started to hate him for putting up with her.

I think Scott Brick misread the female character. In my opinion she was meant to be coldly calculating but he reads every word she says like she's about to fly into a rage.

Just my opinion. I normally enjoy this author and narrator both.

My last Maxx Barry Book

Loved The Company but the last two I've purchased have been a great disappointment. I can't tell if this is really his writing style or if The Company with its humor is his writing style and this book along with Jennifer Government just fell short. In any event, I've determined he is not the author for me!

Silly post-adolescent fantasy

This was a silly book, with thinly filled out characters. The main character is clearly the author's fantasy twin - beautiful women falling all over him, deserving millions for coming up with a soda name, saving the day with a "let's put on a show!" mentality. I didn't expect great literature, but it really wasn't even funny.

I imagine this would be very appealing to the author's own demographic, but I would not recommend it to anyone outside of that.

Lame

Hard to believe the protagonist could be so dumb - and that business professionals could be so incompetent. I kept on listening hoping it would turn the corner and become entertaining. It never did. And it's not even funny. Was a waste of my audio credits...