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Max Barry Quotes

born 1973 Australia

Max Barry (born 18 March 1973) is an Australian novelist, short-story writer and essayist. His books include Syrup, Jennifer Government, and Company.

Australia
Essayists
Novelists
Short story writers

Also known as: Max Berry, Jennifer Government

Random Max Barry quote

42 quotes

Elizabeth is smart, ruthless, and emotionally damaged; that is, she is a sales representative.

Company (2006)

Ninety-five percent of all jobs suck, Jones. That’s why people get paid to do them.

Company (2006)

It’s much easier to be incomprehensible than intelligent, and most people can’t spot the difference.

Syrup (1999)

There’s nothing more fascinating than a girl who won’t have sex with you.

Syrup (1999)

People talk about bedroom eyes; well, Megan has the whole suite.

Company (2006)

To get a good job in marketing, you need to market yourself.

Syrup (1999)

There’s no requirement that jobs be meaningful, Jones. If there was, half the country would be unemployed.

Company (2006)

You can say this for Senior Management: it knows how to articulate a goal. The strategy may be fuzzy, the execution nonexistent, but Senior Management knows what it wants.

Company (2006)

“It’s all responsibility and no control,” 6 says. “The classic path to failure.”

Syrup (1999)

“Reversing gender stereotypes doesn’t eliminate them,” 6 says, tossing the bacon. “You just create a whole new set of prejudices.”

Syrup (1999)

Senior Management may have been incompetent; it may have been corrupt; it was certainly full of assholes—but they were their incompetent, corrupt assholes.

Company (2006)

Some people would break the rules to get things done and some wouldn't; it was simple as that. John didn't have much use for the latter.

Jennifer Government (2003)

I learned pretty early in my career as an agent to be friendly to utter jerks; it’s an essential skill.

Syrup (1999)

What’s not fair is that our society rewards selfishness. That’s not fair.

Jennifer Government (2003)

Someone tried to tell me the other day that the only habitable place in America is California. But I just don’t understand how you could spend your life restricted to summer outfits.

Company (2006)

I note that as in all large corporations that loudly subscribe to equal opportunity and employment based solely on skill, the receptionist is young, female and gorgeous.

Syrup (1999)

The atmosphere of desperate, ignorant terror essential to healthy rumors seeps away, replaced by a silent, wary paranoia. People bunker down, jealously keeping what they know, which is nothing, to themselves.

Company (2006)

"Hey, I saw this old British movie, all the people spoke so different, you could hardly understand them. But everyone here speaks American as good as you and me. What's with that?"

Jennifer Government (2003)

When someone thinks, “I liked his last book, I’ll hope this new one is good” and shells out their hard-earned, I fervently want that person to be thrilled.

“Look, how about this: just once, don’t assume every person you meet has a personal vendetta against you.”
6 frowns at her drink. “That’s not a sound strategy.”

Syrup (1999)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Max Barry (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.