Maxx Barry has seemed to develop almost a cult following and it is easy to see why after reading this breezily-paced, wickedly funny, immensely-entertaining, and bitingly satirical novel. Scat is a fresh college graduate looking to make it big in the world. He is smart but naive, creative but hapless, ambitious but starry-eyed, and he is humbled at every rung of the corporate ladder. He has this brilliant idea about a new soda and he takes it to Coca-Cola. The executive at Coke, a stunningly beautiful ice queen called 6, likes the idea and convinces Coke's management to buy the trademark for the new drink for three million dollars. But Scat is too late at registering the trademark in his name and he is betrayed by his confidant who registers the idea under his own name and sells it to Coke. Later, Scat and 6 end up working on different projects together for Coke, and at each step Scat learns the convoluted games played with twisted rules in Corporate America. He tries to stay positive, eager and hopeful but it becomes increasingly difficult as he is deceived at every step by shrewd businessmen with ulterior motives and hidden agendas. To make matters worse, he falls in love with 6 who is brilliant but aloof, beautiful but indifferent, smart but manipulative: in short, she epitomizes the surface elegance and underlying heartlessness of modern corporate culture. Barry's novel is full of witty dialogues, barbed humour directed at the world of marketing, and a host of celebrities with their own idiosyncracies. As Scat desperately works towards his personal version of the American Dream, he is thwarted at every step by obstacles that seem impossible to get over, but Scat works around them using his charm, intellect, and sometimes plain old pleading. This is a hugely entertaining read that would make a great movie. I think Hollywood has just about started on the job (in the first quarter of 2008). Barry squeezes in brief marketing strategies for various products throughout the book. Here is my favourite:"Marketing Shampoo - Pick a random chemical in your product and heavily promote its presence. When your customers see 'now with benzoethylhydrates!' they will assume that this is a good thing."Some of the plot twists in Barry's novel are rather improbable but that is only a minor quibble given the amount of fun one is going to have reading the book. With the protagonists of the story choosing such hip names for themselves as 'Scat' and '6,' Mr. Barry also decided to add an extra 'X' to his first name only for this novel.With this solid debut, Maxx Barry seems destined to be a major player in the newly emerging genre of 'Corporate Satire' along with other talented authors like Christopher Buckley and Joshua Ferris. I've read another of Barry's novel called 'Company' and that was a great read, too. Having read these two scathingly funny novels, I can safely declare that I am now a part of the rapidly growing cult following of Mr. Barry.
Max Barry's writing here is sharp and quick, clever and whimsical. Even his characters that are merely quick sketches are sketched deftly to service the ever increasing color palette of the narrative. Additionally, his central concept here is one that I've always found fascinating—the subtle, and often blatant manipulation of human desires. (There were two subjects in school that I found unexpectedly engrossing, Copyright Law and Marketing—or, "what do we have the right to do" and "what are we led to do.")This book takes you behind the scenes to see how your desires are designed by corporations while you follow the trials of the protagonist learning to navigate those choppy backstabbing waters. Lest you think this is just some manner of marketing textbook, it is also the hilarious and engaging story of his personal life as it is affected by his career choices and the surprising encounters he makes along the way.I really can't say enough about how much I enjoyed reading this book. The weakest part for me was the less insidery last third of the novel when a new business shift comes into play. It feels like the author may have realized he'd bit off a bit more than he could successfully chew and cleverly spit back at us, so the elements seemed a little glossed over after we'd gotten so much minute detail earlier. However, the relationship dynamics of the characters' personal lives remain strong throughout, so there's very little enjoyment of the story lost.Max Barry is a keen and clever observer of human behavior and it really shines through in the novel. I'd be hard pressed to think of anyone that I would not recommend this book to, but for those who are interested in relationship dynamics and marketing techniques this is an absolute "can't miss."
What do You think about Syrup (2000)?
Loved the ideas and storytelling aspects of this book! Maxx's wit and keen insight give his characters depth. I love the over-the-top concepts that he tackles in each of his books. The only thing keeping it from five stars for me was a bit too much foul language. I know this is common for today's authors, but I find it unnecessary and distracting. Though I must admit the shock-value of the cola featured in this book would not have been as dramatic if some other word had been used, but my point remains.
—David DeWelt
I don't know if it's the fact that this book is too naive for me or I just missed out on how it's supposed to be "sharp" and "sarcastically funny", but either way I thought this book was pretty dumb. As a previous reviewer commented, "I like reading stories about somewhat realistic people doing somewhat realistic things". I stopped falling for the lame hype of downtown LA and the corporate world a long time ago, and Syrup doesn't even do the glittering, star-studded streets justice in this novel. The characters are extremely under-developed and unmotivated. In fact, they aren't even likeable or unlikeable - they just exist. The plot is completely unstructured, the only benefit being that you never know what's going to happen next. The downside being that what happens is usually stupid, unrealistic and uninteresting. The writing is incredibly juvenile, and conversations are dull. At least the formatting of the chapters and scenes is cool, and the marketing case studies cropping up all over the place are a nice touch. But overall, this book really lacked in substance.
—Jess
I really enjoyed this book. I decided to read it because a movie based on this book is currently being filmed in NYC starring Shiloh Fernandez, Kellan Lutz, Amber Heard and Brittany Snow (June/July 2011). I always try to read books before the movie, although I know the script for this movie is very different from the book. The main character Scat seems to always try to see the best in people and continually gets screwed over because of it. I found the book to be a very witty and funny take on th
—Rosemarie
