MAX BARRY spent the best years of his life in the bowels of Hewlett-Packard, conducting secret research for this book. This is his third novel, following the cult hit Syrup and the bestselling Jennifer Government, which was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book. He was born on March 18, 1973, and lives in Melbourne, Australia. He writes full-time, but enforces a strict dress policy, requires that his desk be kept tidy at all times, and asks that he limit personal calls to less than two minutes.

A bitingly funny take on corporate life by the author of acclaimed bestseller Jennifer Government

Company: the Novel That Answers the Big Questions

What are the relative merits of sleeping with your boss versus someone at the same level? Which causes the more spectacular career implosion?
When is physical violence an appropriate response to management policy?
The Mission Statement: It can’t be that incomprehensible by accident, can it?
Why is that one reserved parking space always empty?
Taking an extra donut during mid-morning snack: Trivial matter or criminal offense?
If the company is reorganizing again, doesn’t that mean the last reorganization was a total waste of time and money?
What does Senior Management really do up there all day?
. . . and the big one . . .
What is the Meaning of Work?

At Zephyr Holdings, no one has ever seen the CEO. The beautiful receptionist is paid twice as much as anybody else, but does no work. One of the sales reps uses relationship books as sales manuals, and another is on the warpath because somebody stole his donut.
In other words, it’s an ordinary big company. Or at least, that’s what everyone thinks. Until fresh-faced employee Jones—too new to understand that you just don’t ask some questions at Zephyr—starts investigating.
Soon Jones uncovers the company’s secret: the answer to everything, what Zephyr Holdings really does, and why every manager has a copy of the Omega Management System. It plunges him into a maelstrom of love, loyalty, management, and corporate immorality—and whether he can get out again, now that’s a good question.