A book where a major storyline is the investigation of a stolen donut is a special thing. The scary part is that this is based on an actual incident at Hewlett-Packard. The rest of the novel doesn’t draw as literally from Max Barry’s time at the computer giant, but what does it say about HP when Zephyr Holdings (the company in Company) has no product, no customers, and seemingly no purpose?

Max Barry is making a pretty nice life for himself (and family) satirizing the corporate world, and Company‘s imaginative scenario is equal in stature to his two prior novels. The execution here is good, but not quite to the level of Syrup and Jennifer Government, which are still enjoyable after multiple readings.

Max has set up a website, Tales of Corporate Oppression, for stolen-donut-type tales from the office.