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jeremyhornik's review against another edition
2.0
Great premise, but I never really cared about any of the characters. Probably would have made a killer short story.
thrifty_librarian's review against another edition
1.0
I was intrigued by the concept of this book and was looking forward to a witty, satirical novel about life in an office. This book didn't do the trick. Nothing that happened was funny. None of the characters was interesting, and the protagonist was annoying and one-sided at best. Once the twist was revealed, I thought the story might show some promise, but I was wrong. I'm not sure what the point of this was, or why it took so long to not go anywhere.
Barry points at many of the things that are backwards in corporate America, but he does not poke fun at them. Rather, this is like an awkward list of idiosyncrasies that anybody who works for a large company has seen first hand and could probably tell in a funnier way.
Barry points at many of the things that are backwards in corporate America, but he does not poke fun at them. Rather, this is like an awkward list of idiosyncrasies that anybody who works for a large company has seen first hand and could probably tell in a funnier way.
pepper1133's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book to a ridiculous degree. It would make an amazingly funny book. Should I ever get the opportunity to teach business communication again, this is, without a doubt, going on the syllabus. Anyone who has ever been a cog in a corporate machine will LOVE this.
jfranco77's review against another edition
3.0
Books about nothing usually end up being about something in the end. Company was no exception - it goes from The Office to Animal Farm in a few chapters.
It starts with Steve Jones (known as "Jones") being hired at Zephyr Holdings, and it becomes pretty clear to Jones that the company doesn't actually DO anything. The company is actually an experiment created by another company called Alpha to study and create management practices.
Jones gets hired to work for Alpha and work behind the glass curtain. But he is a stereotypical "good guy" and is appalled at the things they are doing, so after some moral conflict he brings down the management at Zephyr (revolution style) and eventually exposes their secrets.
The first few chapters are enjoyable as Author Barry describes the dysfunctional company that doesn't do anything. His stereotypical descriptions work well and make the book enjoyable. But there always has to be a bigger meaning, and the second half of the book wasn't as enjoyable. It was still a fun read, but if Barry had kept his hands off (or if Jones had), it would have been very different and possibly more fun.
It starts with Steve Jones (known as "Jones") being hired at Zephyr Holdings, and it becomes pretty clear to Jones that the company doesn't actually DO anything. The company is actually an experiment created by another company called Alpha to study and create management practices.
Jones gets hired to work for Alpha and work behind the glass curtain. But he is a stereotypical "good guy" and is appalled at the things they are doing, so after some moral conflict he brings down the management at Zephyr (revolution style) and eventually exposes their secrets.
The first few chapters are enjoyable as Author Barry describes the dysfunctional company that doesn't do anything. His stereotypical descriptions work well and make the book enjoyable. But there always has to be a bigger meaning, and the second half of the book wasn't as enjoyable. It was still a fun read, but if Barry had kept his hands off (or if Jones had), it would have been very different and possibly more fun.
omad's review against another edition
4.0
Horror/comedy. Strikes closer to reality than most people would like to be reminded.
thegreatmanda's review against another edition
3.0
This book begins with some fairly good satire on the typical office. That amusing beginning gave me high hopes which were later disappointed. As the deeper plot of the novel unfolds, the whole affair descends into ridiculous, tedious drama. I'm guessing it was meant to be dramedy, but as the humor falls somewhat flat, it's hard to say for sure. Overall it's a reasonably amusing read, but had it lived up to its potential it would have vastly better. All of which adds up to a feeling of letdown, in the end.
khoerner7's review against another edition
2.0
This book was recommended by a friend. A young man fresh out of college goes to work for a company to learn that no one knows with the company actually does and the rules keep changing for everyone. I was not a fan of this book. My friend seemed to think it was really funny. My problem was that I could too easily imagine this company and these sick people really existing.
theartolater's review against another edition
4.0
I love Max Barry. Not a lot of people do, unfortunately, and that's sad. This was about life in a company, essentially, with a bizarre twist that I don't really want to give away. It's probably the weakest of his three novels to this point, but it's still quite good.