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)

BORING

I knew I was in trouble from the very beginning of this book, when the main character takes the nickname "Scat" because everyone who wants to succeed in marketing needs a cool name, I thought "Huh?" That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard, not to mention a dumb moniker. Maybe that's how marketing folks roll in LA but not here in the midwest. All the marketing people I've ever worked with, and I've worked with some great ones, have normal names. If this was satire about the marketing industry, I wasn't getting it. After about 40 minutes of listening, without laughing once, I just decided to move on to the next book in my queue.

No Story

There are two "Max Barry"s at work. The first we will call "MAX" because he writes really amazing books like Jennifer Government and Lexicon. Then there is the second we will call "max" who writes junk like Syrup and Machine Man. The two books of the second Max are terrible lame stories. You should avoid those. But you must read/listen to the books of the first because Lexicon and Jennifer Government are awesome.

For you Max Barry readers - where does that place the book Company? In my opinion, it is somewhere in between, good, clever, and interesting, but not awesome.

Totally fatuous

Would you try another book from Maxx Barry and/or Scott Brick?

No both story and narration were unbearable

How could the performance have been better?

The story was so bad nothing could improve it

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Syrup?

All

Any additional comments?

If you thought Brett Ellis is bad, this is worse

stick with "Lexicon"

This is only the third Maxx Barry book that I've read, and I appreciate that it was his first. However, coming from "Lexicon" to this book was a sad surprise. It makes me wonder if there's another Max Barry out there and I just have the two authors confused.

The characters and plot of "Syrup" are boring, uninteresting, bitchy, predictable or all of the above. It's ironic in a book about marketing which emphasizes the need for reliability in marketing. By contrast, "Lexicon" is complex, unpredictable, fresh and totally engrossing. So, if you're contemplating trying out Maxx Barry, skip this book and go straight to "Lexicon". The other Barry I've read was "Company" which was adequate, neither excellent nor too horrible to finish.

I like to think that I'm pretty patient, even with books I'm not sure about, but I couldn't finish this book. I just didn't care what happened. Even more than that, I was dreading how the novel would end with regard to 6. Perhaps the book and I are just products of our different times, and other people won't find it as annoying. To sum up (without spoilers, since I didn't finish), the female main character, 6, tells the main character that she's a lesbian, which he doesn't believe (because he's a jerk) because he assumes that it's a ploy in the way that she markets herself. He continues to obsess over her and disbelieve her continual rejections. I could just see it coming that she really wasn't a lesbian and she falls in love with him or somesuch. If you don't think there's anything wrong with that, then maybe you won't find anything wrong with the book. If, like me, you think that's not really ok, I shouldn't have to explain why it aggravates me.

I'm not sure if Scott Brick did a poor job of reading this book or if the subject matter just made an interesting telling impossible. I've enjoyed other things he's narrated, so I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.

uhhhh... long with no payoff

Would you try another book from Maxx Barry and/or Scott Brick?

I'd read the reviews first and think twice about it. This one was way too long and didn't really have a payoff. It was like reading a diary from a Jr. High girl.

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He's a great narrator. Did well with the characters. Narration was the best part of the book.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I kept waiting for SOMETHING big to happen. It didn't. Should have stopped in the middle when the first signs of lameness showed up.

Any additional comments?

Can't believe this thing averages even 3.7 stars. Did we listen to the same book?