Shimmer (novel)
Encyclopedia
Shimmer is a novel
from Unbridled Books. Eric Barnes
(born February 28, 1968) is an American author of the novel Shimmer as well as the author of numerous short stories
, including stories published in North Atlantic Review, Prairie Schooner, The Northwest Review, Raritan
and other publishers of short literary fiction
.
Robbie Case, whose high tech
company is built on a lie, Shimmer follows Robbie as he attempts to unwind the lie he has created. The fictional company, Core Communications, is a provider of high end networking services to mainframe
computer
s. Along with his partner and cousin, Robbie has created an elaborate system that supposedly allows mainframe computers to communicate at impossibly fast speeds. However, the system does not work. It is actually built on a technical and financial Ponzi scheme
that will fail if the company ever stops expanding.
"...a sheen of elegance and terror; one is reminded, in Barnes' language and locution, of Don DeLillo's
scalpel-sharp delineation of American corporate culture and paranoia, and of David Foster Wallace
's penetration into the heart of the relationship between human consciousness and rapidly changing technologies." -- Fredric Koeppel, The Commercial Appeal
"I haven’t been able to get the people in the book out of my head.... Beautifully written, quiet and intense, Shimmer was absolutely riveting."
"The book moves at a breathtaking pace, but I was purposely slowing my reading to enjoy both the writing and the structure of the book. Shimmer is beautiful in the way that a collapsing building is; more beautiful, because throughout it you can cling to the hope that the building will somehow put itself back together."
"Robbie is one of those engagingly conflicted heroes who comes along from time to time, an essentially good man who knowingly perpetrated a swindle of epic proportions and who will now do whatever it takes to minimize the damage." -- Booklist
"[T]his page turner isn't for techno geeks only. Bottom Line: Even the computer challenged reader will be wired into the intrigue." -- Wanda McKinney, Southern Living
"[A] remarkable character study, unflinchingly probing the psyche of its flawed but compelling protagonist. [A]n insightful and incisive rendering of the kind of high-tech confidence man that it's impossible not to recognize. [A]s with … Delillo
and Gibson
, the technology, though high concept, is not the main subject of Barnes’ interest, except in the ways it transforms the characters. Eric Barnesis completely fearless." -- Benjamin Whitmer, INDenverTimes
"The real story of Shimmer is the interaction between the people of Core. An ode to good people who do bad things and who genuinely believe it's not always about the money. Sometimes it's personal." -- Chris Scott, Chapter 16
"Shimmer is a 21st century thriller about technology and morality.... Shimmer's origins owe more to the dot-com bust." -- Rich Fisher, Studio Tulsa, Tulsa Public Radio
, a newspaper covering business and politics, as well as the weekly edition of The Daily News, known as The Memphis News. Barnes received his BA
from Connecticut College
and his MFA from Columbia University
. He was formerly a reporter and editor
in Connecticut
and New York City and, before that, worked in Kenai, Alaska
. He grew up in Tacoma, Washington
. He lives in Memphis
.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
from Unbridled Books. Eric Barnes
Eric J Barnes
Eric Barnes is an American writer. He is the author of the novel Shimmer, from Unbridled Books as well as the author of numerous short stories, including stories published in North Atlantic Review, Prairie Schooner, The Northwest Review, Raritan and other publishers of short literary...
(born February 28, 1968) is an American author of the novel Shimmer as well as the author of numerous short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
, including stories published in North Atlantic Review, Prairie Schooner, The Northwest Review, Raritan
Raritan Quarterly Review
Raritan is a well-regarded literary journal that publishes poetry, fiction and essays. The journal is based at Rutgers University in New Jersey...
and other publishers of short literary fiction
Literary fiction
Literary fiction is a term that came into common usage during the early 1960s. The term is principally used to distinguish "serious fiction" which is a work that claims to hold literary merit, in comparison from genre fiction and popular fiction . In broad terms, literary fiction focuses more upon...
.
Synopsis
Barnes has written the novel Shimmer (Unbridled Books, July 2009, ISBN 1932961674). A book about CEOChief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
Robbie Case, whose high tech
High tech
High tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology...
company is built on a lie, Shimmer follows Robbie as he attempts to unwind the lie he has created. The fictional company, Core Communications, is a provider of high end networking services to mainframe
Mainframe computer
Mainframes are powerful computers used primarily by corporate and governmental organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.The term originally referred to the...
computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s. Along with his partner and cousin, Robbie has created an elaborate system that supposedly allows mainframe computers to communicate at impossibly fast speeds. However, the system does not work. It is actually built on a technical and financial Ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation...
that will fail if the company ever stops expanding.
Reviews of Shimmer
"Case's slow but accelerating downward spiral drives the narrative.... The corporate intrigue should hook anyone fascinated by the collapse of Wall Street and the crimes of Bernie Madoff." -- Publisher's Weekly"...a sheen of elegance and terror; one is reminded, in Barnes' language and locution, of Don DeLillo's
Don DeLillo
Don DeLillo is an American author, playwright, and occasional essayist whose work paints a detailed portrait of American life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries...
scalpel-sharp delineation of American corporate culture and paranoia, and of David Foster Wallace
David Foster Wallace
David Foster Wallace was an American author of novels, essays, and short stories, and a professor at Pomona College in Claremont, California...
's penetration into the heart of the relationship between human consciousness and rapidly changing technologies." -- Fredric Koeppel, The Commercial Appeal
"I haven’t been able to get the people in the book out of my head.... Beautifully written, quiet and intense, Shimmer was absolutely riveting."
"The book moves at a breathtaking pace, but I was purposely slowing my reading to enjoy both the writing and the structure of the book. Shimmer is beautiful in the way that a collapsing building is; more beautiful, because throughout it you can cling to the hope that the building will somehow put itself back together."
"Robbie is one of those engagingly conflicted heroes who comes along from time to time, an essentially good man who knowingly perpetrated a swindle of epic proportions and who will now do whatever it takes to minimize the damage." -- Booklist
"[T]his page turner isn't for techno geeks only. Bottom Line: Even the computer challenged reader will be wired into the intrigue." -- Wanda McKinney, Southern Living
"[A] remarkable character study, unflinchingly probing the psyche of its flawed but compelling protagonist. [A]n insightful and incisive rendering of the kind of high-tech confidence man that it's impossible not to recognize. [A]s with … Delillo
Don DeLillo
Don DeLillo is an American author, playwright, and occasional essayist whose work paints a detailed portrait of American life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries...
and Gibson
William Gibson
William Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
, the technology, though high concept, is not the main subject of Barnes’ interest, except in the ways it transforms the characters. Eric Barnesis completely fearless." -- Benjamin Whitmer, INDenverTimes
"The real story of Shimmer is the interaction between the people of Core. An ode to good people who do bad things and who genuinely believe it's not always about the money. Sometimes it's personal." -- Chris Scott, Chapter 16
"Shimmer is a 21st century thriller about technology and morality.... Shimmer's origins owe more to the dot-com bust." -- Rich Fisher, Studio Tulsa, Tulsa Public Radio
About the writer
Barnes is also the publisher of The Daily News (Memphis)The Daily News (Memphis)
The Daily News is a newspaper covering business, government and legal news in Shelby County, Tennessee, including the largest city in the county, Memphis, Tennessee. The Daily News, which is published Monday through Friday, is the paper of record for the county...
, a newspaper covering business and politics, as well as the weekly edition of The Daily News, known as The Memphis News. Barnes received his BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from Connecticut College
Connecticut College
Connecticut College is a private liberal arts college located in New London, Connecticut.The college was founded in 1911, as Connecticut College for Women, in response to Wesleyan University closing its doors to women...
and his MFA from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He was formerly a reporter and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and New York City and, before that, worked in Kenai, Alaska
Kenai, Alaska
Kenai is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 7,464...
. He grew up in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
. He lives in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
.
Short stories by the same author
Barnes has published a number of short stories. They include:- "Something Pretty, Something Beautiful", Prairie Schooner
- "All I Can See", Other Voices
- "And We Would Drive", The Northwest Review
- "The Arsons", The Louisville Review
- "Auntie Gail and Uncle Dan", Press
- "Captain Marvel", PearlPearl (literary magazine)Pearl is an American literary journal founded by Joan Jobe Smith in 1974. Currently Pearl releases an annual fiction issue and an annual poetry issue as well as hosting an annual poetry prize. It is currently edited by Joan Jobe Smith, Marilyn Johnson, and Barbara Hauk.-Contributors to the...
- "Friday Afternoon", Arkansas Review/Kansas Quarterly
- "Dreams Where I Can Fly", RaritanRaritan Quarterly ReviewRaritan is a well-regarded literary journal that publishes poetry, fiction and essays. The journal is based at Rutgers University in New Jersey...
- "Macramé Today", North Atlantic Review
- "The Huts", The Greensboro ReviewThe Greensboro ReviewThe Greensboro Review is a literary magazine, based at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Greensboro, North Carolina. It publishes fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction on a quarterly basis. Work from the journal is featured in such anthologies as New Stories from the South, the...
- "Slower", The Portland Review
- "Stories About Them", CrazyhorseCrazyhorse (magazine)Crazyhorse is an American magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, and essays. It is published twice yearly by the Department of English and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina...
- "Swimming", The Portland Review