''Jennifer Government'' is a 2003

dystopian A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmenta ...

novel by

Max Barry Max Barry (born 18 March 1973) is an Australian author. He also maintains a blog on various topics, including politics. When he published his first novel, ''Syrup'', he spelled his name "Maxx", but subsequently has used "Max". Barry is also the ...

, set in an alternate reality where most nations in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

and

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

are dominated by powerful corporations and corporate libertarianism coalitions, and where government power is extremely limited. It was a finalist for a Campbell Award, and was included in ''The New York Times annual list of notable books. The novel was retitled from ''Jennifer Government'' to ''Logoland'' in its German and Italian editions. In its Brazilian edition it was retitled to ''EU S/A'', an abbreviation of ''Estados Unidos Sociedade Anônima'', which roughly translates to ''United States, Inc.'' To help promote the novel, Barry created a

browser game A browser game is a video game that is played on the internet using a web browser. They are sometimes referred to more specifically by their format, such as Flash games or HTML5 games. They are generally free-to-play and can be either single-pl ...

titled '' Jennifer Government: NationStates'' (later shortened to ''NationStates''). In the game, players make choices which are inspired by the novel and which affect the economy, society, and culture of their countries. ''NationStates'' launched alongside the book and remains active as of 2025.

Plot

In the alternate present the novel portrays, the United States has taken over all of North and South America (except for Cuba) and dominates much of the rest of the world. The United States adopts "capitalizm", a form of

minarchy A night-watchman state, also referred to as a minimal state or minarchy, whose proponents are known as minarchists, is a model of a state that is limited and minimal, whose functions depend on libertarian theory. Right-libertarians support it ...

that abolishes taxation and privatizes government. People take the names of the corporations that employ them as their surnames, and persons with two jobs hyphenate their name, e.g. "Julia

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

". Employees of the government, including the novel's title character, take the surname Government. John Nike, Vice President of

Guerrilla Marketing Guerrilla marketing is an Advertising, advertisement strategy in which a company uses surprise and/or unconventional interactions in order to promote a Product (business), product or Service (business), service. It is a type of publicity. The ...

, contracts Hack Nike, a clumsy and naïve low-level-employee, to execute an ambitious and unethical secret marketing scheme. John plans to increase interest in the upcoming Nike Mercury shoes by having Hack kill people who try to buy them, intending to make the shoes appear so desirable that customers are killing each other to acquire them. Hack signs the contract without reading it. When he finds out that it requires him to commit murder, he subcontracts the scheme to the Police, now a

mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...

organisation, in an attempt to keep his job (which requires fulfilling the contract) without having to take responsibility for murder. After several children are murdered at various Nike stores on opening day, Jennifer Government takes it upon herself to track down the perpetrators, even if she cannot get the funding for her investigation. One of the murdered children bought the shoes with money given to her by Buy Mitsui, a French stockbroker flush with money after recent professional success. Feeling personally responsible for the girl's death, Buy joins forces with Jennifer. At the same time, Violet (Hack's girlfriend) creates a dangerous computer virus, intending to sell it to the highest bidder. She succeeds in selling it to

ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the Successors of Standard Oil, largest direct s ...

. Her handlers take her all over the world to exploit the virus's power, but never pay her for it. Angered, Violet turns to John Nike, who promises to help her revenge herself on ExxonMobil. In exchange, John demands that Violet kidnap Kate, Jennifer Government's daughter, intending to use her as leverage to deter Jennifer's investigation. Hack Nike is fired and founds an anti-corporate activist group in order to take revenge on John Nike. Hack and Jennifer Government succeed in rescuing Kate and arresting John.

Attempted film adaptation

Barry

optioned In the film industry, an option agreement is a contract that "rents" the rights to a source material to a potential film producer. It grants the film producer the exclusive option to purchase rights to the source material if they live up to the te ...

film rights for ''Jennifer Government'' to Section 8, a production company owned by

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh ( ; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern Independent film, independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventiv ...

and

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...

early in the book's life. In 2005,

Louis Mellis Louis Mellis (born 20th century) is a British actor and screenwriter from Edinburgh, Scotland. Career Along with David Scinto, he wrote the screenplay for the films ''Sexy Beast'' (2000) and '' 44 Inch Chest'' (2009). In 2010, Mellis signed on ...

and Dave Scinto, writers of ''

Sexy Beast ''Sexy Beast'' is a 2000 black comedy crime film directed by Jonathan Glazer (in his feature film directorial debut) and written by Louis Mellis and David Scinto. It stars Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, and Ian McShane. It follows Gary "Gal" ...

'', were chosen by Soderbergh and Clooney to write the screenplay. However, with the closure of Section 8 in 2006, the film rights returned to Barry.

References

External links

Max Barry's ''Jennifer Government'' page''Jennifer Government: NationStates'' website
* *{{isfdb title, 846861 2003 Australian novels 2003 science fiction novels Doubleday (publisher) books Dystopian novels Fictional civil servants Novels about consumerism Novels by Max Barry Australian satirical novels