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What Members Thought
Brilliant and original, I really enjoyed this book while finding it an intellectual challenge. I dinged it one star for not having a single likable character, but there were plenty that I "loved to hate".
The structure of this book is what makes it special. Egan simply launches into each chapter, and the reader initially has no idea how the chapter (s)he is reading relates to the rest of the novel. Until you do. To top it off, the chapters are not on a linear timeline, so as a reader, you are wor ...more
The structure of this book is what makes it special. Egan simply launches into each chapter, and the reader initially has no idea how the chapter (s)he is reading relates to the rest of the novel. Until you do. To top it off, the chapters are not on a linear timeline, so as a reader, you are wor ...more
Independently, I liked most of the short stories/chapters that make of A Visit from the Goon Squad. However, I did not feel like the novel was as good as any of its parts. Egan's writing is a lot of "this character feels this way" and "now this character thinks this." There is no discovery, no organic element, that made this reader care about any of the characters or the plot(s). She has nice moments strung together because of their connection to the two main characters (Bennie and Sasha), but n
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I love books like this. The multiple narrators and points of view, the jumps across time and space, the finding out what happened to characters (even minor characters). What really happens in the book? I can't exactly explain it--we just learn about a variety of characters and the ways their lives interact, whether they know it or not. Much of it is a little bit funny, some crazy, some sad. But it is just points in the lives of some people. And it's great.
I was leaning toward 5 stars, but I got ...more
I was leaning toward 5 stars, but I got ...more
Published: 2010
Pages: 274
Genre: fiction, Punk Rock Music, Psychological Fiction
My copy: Library book
A series of interconnected stories of a wide cast of characters who all have some kind of connection to each other, covering five decades with the backdrop of the music industry and covering locales such as New York, San Francisco, Africa and Naples. I loved this book because it is about time. I like stories about time. The title, A Visit From the Goon Squad, is a reference to time. Time is a goon ...more
Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010) is a wonderfully quirky novel comprised of thirteen interlinked short stories. The stories in the book dart about around the globe - New York, Naples, Africa, San Francisco and beyond – and cover about 40 years in the lives of various characters. A character that is marginal in one chapter becomes the protagonist in the next. Just when you are left wondering, “I wonder what happened to…” you find a passing reference to someone at a different poi
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This book started out strong, but the resolution fell flat for me. The futuristic ending did remind me of Justin and Esme texting and talking to each other on GR's when they are brother and sister living under the same roof. :)
The texting/Facebook and pop culture references were interesting and made me wonder what the future holds. ...more
The texting/Facebook and pop culture references were interesting and made me wonder what the future holds. ...more
Describing this book is best left to professionals--it's not a novel but it's definitely something more than a collection of connected short stories. And even though it leans towards precocious in a couple of spots, it rarely hits a wrong note. This is my third Jennifer Egan book and I like each one better than the last. One of my favorite reads from this year.
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Jun 19, 2011
Michelle
marked it as to-read
Jun 23, 2011
Rachel
marked it as to-read
Jun 08, 2010
Sabrina
marked it as to-read
Sep 18, 2012
Jennifer
marked it as to-read
Nov 18, 2014
Chinook
marked it as to-read
