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The Bio

Max Barry is an Australian who pretended to sell high-end computer systems for Hewlett-Packard while secretly writing his first novel Syrup. In fact, he still has the laptop he wrote it on because HP forgot to ask for it back, but keep that to yourself. He put an extra X in his name for Syrup because it seemed like a funny joke about marketing, failing to realize everyone would assume he was a pretentious asshole. He was born March 18, 1973 and lives in Melbourne, Australia, where he writes full-time, the advantage being that he can do it while wearing only boxer shorts.

Q&A with Max

I heard Syrup is a thinly-veiled description of Hewlett-Packard.

That's a filthy lie. Why, if HP was like Syrup, it would be a seedy den of politics and corporate back-stabbing, brimming with sexual tension. That is absolutely not true. There was very little sexual tension.

Actually, HP was a great place to work and taught me a lot about how companies function. I worked with some tremendously talented salespeople, most of whom used their powers for good instead of evil.

So did Coca-Cola sue you or what?

Nope. I never heard from them. Before publication, everyone expected Coke to either lawyer me to death or put me on the payroll. Nothing happened, which was kind of disappointing. Either would have been exciting.

How come you're... you know... Australian?

It just kind of happened. Syrup is a very American story, set in Los Angeles, so some people wonder how I wrote it. My answer is that it's not about the reality of American life; Syrup belongs to the sanitized, pop culture America we see on TV. That's something the whole world is familiar with.

Is it true that all second novels are crap?

Yes, it is. That's why I wrote a terrible novel after Syrup, built a bonfire, and ritually destroyed it. The world needs never know. So Jennifer Government (published January 2003 in the US and Canada, out soon-ish in other countries) isn't really my second. In fact, it's more like my fifth. There have been a lot of ritual bonfires in the Barry back yard over the years.

Why didn't you call yourself 'Maxx' in Jennifer Government?

"Maxx" was always meant to be a one-book joke for Syrup -- although a friend suggested that if I write a sequel, I could call myself "Maxxx," which is pretty funny. But it makes no sense for Jennifer Government. So "Maxx" is consigned to history, only popping up now and again to frustrate computer searches.

Is Jennifer Government an anti-corporate novel?

Kind of. But I mostly like corporations. There's something inherently funny about them, both in how they work when you're inside one, and how they operate in society.

I don't believe corporations are particularly good or evil, though; I think it's a mistake to buy into the idea of corporations as real people. A publicly-listed corporation exists for the sole purpose of making money. It's not legally permitted to do anything else: that would be a breach of its fiduciary duty to the shareholders. Corporations are wealth-creation machines, and their employees are cogs in that machine, to be jettisoned unless they're producing. This is not the result of cruel CEOs or greedy executives: it's just what you get from an entity that has just a single, economic goal. Nobody should be surprised when we discover another corporation putting profits ahead of people's well-being, because that's all they're allowed to do.

What are you doing now?

Mostly I'm working on my third (ahem) novel. That's still a secret for now. Apart from that, I'm working out what to do with Jennifer Government: NationStates, a web game I wrote that was meant to be an amusing little promotion for the novel and instead threatens to consume my life.

What are some of your favorite books?

Some of my top reads are:

• The Gun Seller (Hugh Laurie). One of my all-time favorites: fast, hilarious, and very British (in a good way). Hugh is so cool.
• The Beach (Alex Garland). As good as they say it is. One of those "it's four AM and I really should stop reading now" books.
• Fight Club (Chuck Palahniuk). Startlingly good; somehow shocking and believable at the same time. And funny, too, if you have a twisted sense of humor. Worth reading whether you've seen the film or not.
• Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson). Contains far more Sumerian history than I ever wanted to know, but otherwise is the best modern sci-fi around. 
• Thank You For Smoking (Christopher Buckley). I can't believe no-one sat me down and forced me to read this earlier. The best kind of satire: fun, fast, and makes you feel dirty.
• The Nanny Diaries (Nicola Kraus & Emma McLaughlin). A gorgeous, funny-awful story with terrific characters and a light, friendly style (not a common combination).
• Pagan's Crusade (Catherine Jinks). A great, very funny young adult novel set in the Crusades; maybe my all-time favorite YA novel.
• Holes (Louis Sachar). Or if not, this one is. A scary, warm, funny, fast, brilliant story.
• Girl (Blake Nelson). A very cool, young, and weirdly endearing story.
• Rancid Aluminum (James Hawes). A neat mix of black humor, intrigue, and literary style, with an ending that will leave you either deeply impressed or deeply pissed off.
• The Wrong Way Home (Peter Moore). A hilarious travel book. All Moore's books are great.
• The World According To Garp (John Irving). It's a classic for a reason.
• Catch-22 (Joseph Heller). Ditto.