The Egg Code

by Mike Heppner

A debut of remarkable depth and complexity, Mike Heppner's The Egg Code explores the influence of media and technology on a Midwestern community. The book's vast, nonlinear narrative investigates the lives of a handful of individuals with loose ties to a mysterious network management company called The Gloria Corporation. Gloria murdered the father of hyper-egotistical housewife Lydia Tree, manipulating her mother, expert cryptologist Kay Tree, into leaving her hometown to assist the developing company. Stuck in a dying marriage, Lydia's fortysomething friend Donna Skye remains devoted to her husband Derek, an author and motivational speaker on the brink of psychological collapse. Derek, a former Gloria employee, finds a friend in 24-year-old Scarlet, a sweet if hopelessly naïve disciple of his "easy steps" self-help philosophy. Scarlet's new boyfriend, Olden Field, is a self-proclaimed revolutionary who manages eggcode.com, a Web site devoted to spreading misinformation. As Olden's practices attract the attention of Gloria, his ad-exec friend Gray Hollows encounters legal trouble over a vaguely sexual ad campaign involving Lydia's son.

Though often as sprawling as they sound, these loosely connected narratives each reveal an aspect of communication's harmful effect on culture. Of particular interest to Heppner is the tragedy that results from the popularized belief in the potential for success without effort. The book's intertwining narratives and darkly humorous view of middle-class America recall the work of writer and film director Todd Solondz. Heppner, however, shows compassion and restraint in his albeit bleak assessment, rare qualities that help make The Egg Code a valuable, through difficult, work. --Ross Doll

480 pages, Hardcover

First published June 25, 2002

Reviews

[Kaylie Longley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Egg Code seeks to challenge readers with its sweeping plot. It's ambitious to try to intertwine characters who have minimal connections or contact with one another, as the plot is nonlinear. There are a handful of hustlers, including Lydia, a cynical mother who wishes stardom for her intellectually challenged son, Simon. Donna and Derek Skye are a motivational speaking husband-wife team who begin to doubt their own shallow wisdom and marriage. Olden creates a news website, the Egg Code, that is saturated with lies in a dark, "haha" funny way. The characters shape the novel's content yet it is ultimately not successful due to Heppner's convoluted approach. Each character ultimately serves a purpose in warning the reader of the dangerous nature of living in an increasingly connected world. Heppner suggests both the mediums and the messages are at fault, whether it's the vulnerability of Internet users to spread and believe disinformation, advertising companies perpetuating sexualized culture, speech and its curious power to influence and persuade, and the fall of traditional print media, due in part to this massive, seemingly infinite surge of information. Unlike other books in the genre, Heppner suggests Corporate America, in the form of the shady Gloria Corporation, is the ultimate culprit. Gloria loosely ties everyone together, and these small moments of connection shine in an otherwise cumbersome, even nauseating read.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't believe everything you read in a book or on the internet.

[Bradley Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

hOLDEN caulFIELD would have hated this book. Too many phonies.

[Dwheeler11 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing - like CloudAtlas, but worse, in terms of jumping around from character to character and different points in time. Very hard to follow the story, but easy to grasp the message.

[Whowantsphi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a great journey back and forth in time as the story unfolded.